Braking-experimental study on the relationship between friction material type and brake disc temperature

Purpose This study aims to clarify the relationship of friction material type and brake disc temperature through braking experiment. Design/methodology/approach The braking performances of resin materials (RM), semimetallic materials (SM) and copper-based powder metallurgy materials (PM) friction blocks mating with forged steel brake disc were examined based on TM-I-type reduced-scale inertial braking dynamometer. The brake disc surface temperature was recorded by infrared thermal camera during braking. Findings Experimental results indicate that the thermal wear resistance of three friction materials differs with mental content, resulting in the deviation of pad-disc system contact state during braking, thus forming different temperature distribution on the brake disc surface. The peak temperature on the disc face of RM (190 degrees C) is 36.6% and 45.4% lower than that of PM (300 degrees C) and SM (348 degrees C) at 160 km/h. The maximum radial temperature deviation of PM (35 degrees C) is approximately three times than that of RM (12 degrees C) and 40% higher than that of SM (25 degrees C) at 50 km/h, whereas the maximum temperature deviation of SM (97 degrees C) is six times than that of RM (16 degrees C) and 31% higher than that of PM (74 degrees C) at 160 km/h. Originality/value The effect of friction material type on the disc surface temperature distribution is revealed, which provides a meaningful reference for the design of brake friction pairs and choice of brake pad materials.