The Influence of Paper-Based Friction Material Porosity on the Performance of a Wet Clutch

One of the major characteristics of paper-based wet friction materials used for clutch plates and brake bands in automotive automatic transmissions is represented by the combinations of resilient and porous properties.

In a previous paper, the relationship between porosity and the friction characteristics of a paper-based friction material was studied, based on Stribeck Diagrams and the torque curves obtained from an SAE No. 2 friction tester.

In this paper, the effects of porosity on the frictional performance and thermal resistance of a paper-based friction material were studied, for practical paper-based friction materials, the contents of which are varied but the geometries are the same as used in real applications. It was found that the thermal resistance and the friction performance are influenced by the porosity of the material.