Thermomechanical analysis of hybrid friction composite material and its correlation with friction braking performance

Abstract

In the present research work, organic hybrid friction composite materials based on synergistic binary and ternary fibrous combination of ceramic–organic fibers were designed and fabricated especially for automotive braking applications. It encompasses masterbatch of straight phenolic resin, barite, and graphite reinforced with aramid pulp, potassium titanate whiskers and aluminosilicate ceramic fiber amounting to 100% by weight. Fabrication was carried as per formulation design and as per standard industrial procedure using hot molding compression machine followed by post-curing and polishing of pad surface. Thereafter, specimens were characterized for their physical, thermal, mechanical and friction braking performance. The performance parameters (viz. frictional response, friction–fade, friction–recovery, wear, etc.) were evaluated on the Krauss friction testing machine following European Commission for Energy Regulation-90 (ECE R-90) regulations and (pulse velocity wave) PVW-3212 standard test protocol. In this work, thermal characteristics (i.e. DMA and TGA/DTG) of the investigated composites are discussed in details and an attempt has been made to correlate various thermophysical–mechanical characteristics and their possible influence on the braking tribology and wear performance.

Keywords:

• Thermal stability
• TG-DTG
• brake pads
• DMA
• T_g
• composites

Acknowledgments

The authors express their sincere gratitude to the Department of Mechanical Engineering of National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur-177005, Himachal Pradesh, INDIA and Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur-302017, Rajasthan, INDIA for their all kind of financial as well as other miscellaneous infrastructural support. The authors also obliged Allied Nippon Pvt. Ltd., Sahibabad-201010, Ghaziabad (U.P.), INDIA for extending their facilities for the fabrication and other experimental works.