Tribological performance of non-asbestos brake friction material in contact with brake disc of varying topography

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate experimentally the influence of different surface roughness of the contacting disc on tribological performance of the non-asbestos brake friction material (BFM).Design/methodology/approachTaguchi method was applied to design an experiment using three different discs of gray cast iron with different surface roughness, which is measured using optical profilometer. These discs were subjected to sliding against pins prepared with the developed non-asbestos BFM, using pin on disc friction and wear monitor.FindingsThe experimental results shows that the disc 2 (Ra = 3.77µm) gives wear of 22.78µm and coefficient of friction of 0.462, which is recommended for extreme brake performance. Analysis of Taguchi design revealed that the disc surface was most significant parameter among the parameters under study.Practical implicationsDuring braking, continuous sliding between the BFM and brake disc or drum not only results into wear of BFM but also changes the surface finish of the brake drum or disc. This leads to variation in surface topography of the drum or disc surface with application of brakes, which further affects the characteristics of the BFM.Originality/valueThe tribological performance of BFM depends upon the topography of the surface on which it was sliding. To get best performance of the non-asbestos friction materials, disc having moderate surface finish is recommended. Scanning electron microscope micrographs had shown the different plateaus formed and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy spectra identified presence of different chemical elements prior to sliding of the pins surface over different discs surface topography.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at:https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-04-2020-0120/