A pin-on-disc tribometer study of disc brake contact pairs with respect to wear and airborne particle emissions

• Published in: Wear Vol. 384-385; pp. 124 - 130
• Main Authors: Wahlström, Jens, Lyu, Yezhe, Matjeka, Vlastimil, Söderberg, Anders
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.08.2017; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Aerodynamics; Airborne particulates; Brake presses; Coating; Disc brake; Disc brakes; Emissions; Flame spraying; Formulations; Friction; Materials; Pin-on-disc; Road transportation; Surface treatment; Tungsten carbide; Wear; Wear rate; Friction; Wear; Materials; Disc brake; Coating; Pin-on-disc; Emissions
• ISSN: 0043-1648; 1873-2577; 1873-2577
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wear.2017.05.011

In the EU, PM10 from the wear of disc brakes can contribute up to 50% of the total non-exhaust emissions from road transport. The wear originates from the contact surfaces of the friction material and the disc. One possible way to decrease PM10 emissions is to change the materials of the contact pair in terms of composition and coatings. The wear and particle emissions of three novel friction material formulations, one novel disc formulation, one disc WC/CoCr coating realized with the HVOF technique, and one disc surface treatment realized by a nitriding process, were investigated. Pin-on-disc tests were run to rank the novel materials in terms of specific wear rate and particle number and mass rate. The results show that it is possible to achieve a reduction in particle emissions of up to 50% by changing the materials of the contact pair. •Pin-on-disc study of novel brake materials focussing on wear and particle emissions.•Reduction in particle emissions of up to 50% by changing to WC/CoCr coated disc.•Secondary contact plateaus are built on the WC/CoCr coated disc.