Characterisation and comparison of disc brake pads of heavy vehicles by experimental methods

Abstract

In this study, characteristics of disc brake pads of heavy vehicles produced by three different manufacturers were compared experimentally. The former pad is the original (OEM), the latter pad is the subsidiary industrial production (SIPM), and the third pad is the Turkish production (TM). These brake pads which have different compositions; components, wear and friction characteristics, mechanical and physical properties were investigated and also the environment and usage were compared among each other. For chemical analysis, energy distribution spectroscopy (EDS) system integrated with scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) device were used. Thermal gravimetric (TG) analysis was performed to determine the mass losses in the pad materials. Wear friction tests of pads were made according to JIS D 4411 standard. Apart from these, the hardness, density and internal shear strength values of the pads are measured.