Contact Wear

This copper alloy abrasive wear particle is from an oil sample collected from a 8400kVA transformer. This transformer was reportedly gas blanketed and sealed. This particle is typical of abrasive wear between contacting surfaces. The "corkscrew" shape characteristic of open surface abrasion can't occur between two conforming surfaces. The result is the elongated particle with striations running parallel to the long axis of the particle. This is typical of "contact wear" in electrical equipment.