Friction and Wear Characteristics of Polymer-Matrix Friction Materials Reinforced by Brass Fibers

Abstract

This study is an investigation of friction materials reinforced by brass fibers, and the influence of the organic adhesion agent, cast-iron debris, brass fiber, and graphite powder on the friction-wear characteristics. Friction and wear testing was performed on a block-on-ring tribometer (MM200). The friction pair consisted of the friction materials and gray cast iron (HT200). The worn surface layers formed by sliding dry friction were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray energy-dispersive analysis (EDX), and differential thermal analysis-thermogravimetric analysis (DTA-TAG). The experimental results showed that the friction coefficient and the wear loss of the friction materials increased with the increase of cast-iron debris, but decreased with the increase of graphite powder content. The friction coefficient and wear loss also increased slightly when the mass fraction of brass fibers was over 19%. When the mass fraction of organic adhesion agent was about 10–11%, the friction materials had excellent friction-wear performance. Surface heating from friction pyrolyzes the organic ingredient in the worn surface layer of the friction materials, with the pyrolysis depth being about 0.5 mm. The surface layers were rich in iron but poor in copper, and they were formed on the worn surface of the friction material. When the mass fraction of brass fibers was about 16–20%, the friction materials possessed better wear resistance and a copper transfer film formed on the friction surface of counterpart. Fatigue cracks were also found in the worn surface of the gray cast-iron counterpart, with fatigue wear being the prevailing wear mechanism.