Study of the Tribological Characteristics Based on the Hardness of the Brake Disk between the Sintered Metallic Friction Material and the Heat-resisting Steel Disks

Because of the growing need for high-speed transport options such as trains and aircraft, there is increasing demand for technology related to high-speed trains. Among them, braking systems are important in high-speed trains in terms of reliability. Especially, the disk brake system, in use in most high-speed trains, transforms kinetic energy into thermal energy and noise. Therefore, the material properties of both the friction materials and disks are expected to influence the tribological characteristics. In this paper, the tribological characteristics depend on the hardness of the brake disks between the Cu-based sintered metallic friction material and the heat-treated heat-resisting steel disks. A lab-scale dynamometer used to perform braking tests at a variety of braking speeds using dry conditions. The test results revealed that the hardness of the disks affects the friction coefficients, friction stabilities, and wear rates. Thus, the brake system using the heat-resisting steel disk requires proper heat-treatment. These differences are considered to be caused by the change in tribological mechanisms and the generation of an oxide layer on the friction surfaces. The oxide layers on the friction surfaces are confirmed to Fe₂O₃ by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis.