Wear of Friction Material during Vehicle Braking

An analysis of the vehicle braking, combining with the linear relation between wear and frictional work already investigated, was used to establish a wear equation. Initial braking velocity, the number of brakings per 1 km and pad thickness loss per 1000 km were determined by using taxis with identical car types and identical pad qualities. Based on the averaged experimental results and some normal braking conditions, the calculated average apparent specific wear rate through the equation was unexpectedly found to decrease firstly and then increase with the increase of average initial braking velocity. The pad friction properties relevant to the equation analysis were tested by using a dynamometer, followed by measuring wear as a function of temperature at three different initial velocities that equal the average initial braking velocities respectively. The measurement showed that wear was approximately proportional to initial velocity squared at the temperature of 50 to 300 °C, in good agreement with the equation. The estimated vehicle braking temperatures by comparing two different types of wear are close to the previously reported ones.