Characterization of surface morphology and its correlation with friction performance of brake pads

Abstract

The present work presents the morphology evolution of a brake material surface submitted to braking tests through a laboratory-scale tribometer. Optical microscope images of the material’s surface were obtained for every 10 braking operations. These images were post-processed in appropriate computational software. By means of the image segmentation technique, morphological parameters related to the brake material surface were estimated. The wear rate and also the coefficient of friction resulting from the tests were measured. For the NAO material used in this study, the friction behaviour revealed to be strongly associated with the amount of contact plateaus. Besides, the mean area of the contact plateaus was the main factor responsible for increasing the real contact area of the friction material. The higher wear rate observed in the first braking operations can be mainly attributed to the higher surface roughness measured in this condition. As the braking operations progress, the plateaus becomes flatter and wear rate is reduced. Finally, the image segmentation technique proved adequate for investigating morphological aspects in friction material surface.