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Unlubricated fretting tests were performed with a nanocrystalline surface layer of a 99.99 wt.% copper fabricated by means of surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT), in comparison with a coarse-grained (CG) copper. The measured friction and wear data show that the fretting wear resistance is markedly enhanced with the nanocrystalline surface layer relative to the CG counterpart. The friction coefficient and wear volume of the SMAT Cu are lower than that of the CG Cu. For both samples, the friction coefficients and wear volumes increase with an increasing applied load and fretting frequency. A rapid increase of the friction coefficient and wear volume under an applied load above a critical value (30 N for the SMAT Cu and 20 N for the CG Cu) is noticed, corresponding to the formation of a continuous oxide layer between two contact surfaces. Also two sharp increases of the friction coefficient and wear volume at fretting frequencies of 50 Hz and 175 Hz were observed for the SMAT and the CG Cu. The former is correlated with the formation of a continuous oxide layer, while the latter corresponds to wearing away of the oxide layer. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.