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Natural and synthetic sulfides are important components in friction materials such as pads, linings and even clutch facings and are summarized under the term “Friction Stabilizers”. Their unique properties lead to a high and stable friction coefficient, low wear of pad and disk and decrease of vibrations.
The tribological behaviour of friction stabilizers strongly depends on load and temperature.
Analytical methods like DSC and TGA are used to investigate the chemical changes of these compounds during braking at high loads and temperatures.
Tribological phenomena also strongly depend on the physical properties of the metal sulfides such as crystal structure, Mohs hardness and character of the chemical bonding.
This discussion will cover the characteristics of classical natural sulfides like antimony, molybdenum and lead sulfide but also of synthetic complex sulfides.
The obtained data are compared with practical measurements generated by dynamometer testing. Selected metal sulfides, as part of low metal, organic type formulations, were investigated at different speeds, temperatures and loads.
The tribological data, like friction coefficient and wear of pad and disk, are put into correlation with the chemical and physical properties of the metal sulfides.