SUMMARY
The object of research is the process of changing the wear resistance of bronze under the conditions of electrostatic treatment of hydraulic oil. The wear resistance of the bronze elements of the friction pairs determines the life of the axial-plunger pumps and affects their «feed – pressure» main characteristics.The studies were based on the theory of experimental design and statistical methods for processing test results. The research methodology provided for modeling the process of sliding friction using a «block – roller» friction pair on the SMC-2 friction machine (the country is the manufacturer of the USSR, modernization in Ukraine). This type of friction takes place in the «plunger – cylinder block», «distribution disk – cylinder block» tribosystem. Also, the method was supposed to pre-treat the hydraulic oil with an electrostatic field in the device, followed by feeding it into the tank with a roller using a pump station. Two independent factors varied: electrostatic field strength and hydraulic oil operating time. The constant factors were the hydraulic oil flow rate in the device, hydraulic oil temperature, contact pressure, linear roller sliding speed and time of each test.The obtained experimental data made it possible to establish a regularity characterizing the sliding friction process when a force field is applied to hydraulic oil. This pattern reveals the effect of electrostatic field strength and hydraulic oil operation on the wear resistance of a bronze block, which was tested on a friction machine SMC-2. This made it possible to determine the rational values of the parameters of the electrostatic field, at which the maximum wear resistance of the bronze is achieved depending on the operating time of the hydraulic oil, ranging from 1 • 106 V/m to 1.25 • 106 V/m. Thus, the effect of the field on oil helps to increase the wear resistance of bronze up to 5 times in the conditions of hydraulic oil in the delivery state and up to 3 times in oil with an operating time of 2000 hours. The influence of the field leads to polarization effects in the oil, which contribute to the formation of quasicrystalline films on the friction surface, increasing the tribojunction wear resistance.