Mechanical and Morphological Studies on Compressive Properties of Brake Materials

抄録

Mechanical and morphological studies were made to clarify the mechanism for compressive behaviors of friction materials of automotive brake pad which were prepared by the compression molding of mixtures of aramid pulp (very short fibrous powders), potassium titanate (short inorganic fibers), barium sulfate (fine particles), zirconium silicate (fine particles), mica (flakes), cashew dust (organic particles) and phenolic resin (cross-linking agent). Mica and cashew dust were used as elastic materials which reduce Young's modulus of the brake pad. Porous structures of four kinds of friction materials as models for the automotive brake pad were examined by fluorescence microscopy and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with back scattered electron (BSE) image mode, which was first applied to the friction materials. Elastic properties of mica and cashew dust were successfully correlated with their morphologies obtained by the fluorescence microscopy and BSE-SEM. The present study was found to give important information in clarifying reduction of squeal (noise) generated at braking during driving.