Laser Surface Conditioning of Semimetallic Friction Materials

Surface conditioning is one way of reducing the duration and magnitude of the initial transients occurring in friction materials. In developing a laser searing system for semimetallic materials the changes occurring on the surface were characterized as a function of the power density. Excessive power melted the surface of the lining and produced an undesirable microstructure, while too little power did not produce the changes desired. The changes produced by laser searing were found to be similar to the changes produced by other types of surface conditioning.

The friction and wear performance was studied for linings seared with different power densities. Laser searing primarily increased the low speed, low temperature, pre-burnish friction level. The amount of increase was proportional to the amount of searing. After burnishing the searing did not effect the friction level of the lining. Excessive power densities produced undesirable surface microstructures and persistent rotor scoring.