The effects of grooved rubber blocks on stick–slip and wear behaviours

Abstract

This work presents an experimental and theoretical combined study of the effects of the elastic rubber blocks with different surface modifications on the friction-induced stick–slip oscillation and wear of a brake pad sample in sliding contact with an automobile brake disc. The experiments are conducted on the customized experimental setup in a pad-on-disc configuration. The experimental results show that (1) the friction system with the plain rubber block still exhibits visible stick–slip oscillation, but the intensity of the stick–slip oscillation is reduced to a certain degree compared with the Original friction system (without rubber block); (2) the grooved rubber blocks display a better ability to reduce the stick–slip oscillation compared with the plain rubber block; (3) the rubber blocks with a vertical groove (perpendicular to the relative velocity) or a horizontal groove (parallel to the relative velocity) or a diagonal groove (45° inclined to the relative velocity) on their surfaces can suppress the stick–slip oscillation more effectively with various degrees of success. The experimental results also reveal the varying effects of the different rubber blocks on wear. To explain the experimental phenomenon reasonably, a theoretical analysis is conducted to investigate the effects of different rubber blocks on both stick–slip oscillation and wear using ABAQUS. Furthermore, the analysis of the contact pressure on the pad interfaces and the deformation of the rubber blocks are studied to provide a possible explanation of the experimental results.