Simulated and experimental study on the relationship between coefficient of friction and temperature of aluminum-based brake disc

PurposeThis study aims to clarify the relationship between the coefficient of friction (COF) and temperature of aluminum-based brake discs.Design/methodology/approachThree friction blocks with different COFs are examined by a TM-I-type reduced-scale inertial braking dynamometer. On this basis, the thermo-mechanically coupled model of friction pairs is established to study the evolution of brake disc temperature under different COFs using ADINA software.FindingsResults indicate that the calculated disc temperature field matches the experimental well. The effect of COF on the peak temperature is magnified by the braking speed. With the COF increasing, the rise rate of instantaneous peak temperature is accelerated, and the dynamic equilibrium period and cooling-down period are observed in advance. The increase in COF promotes the area ratio of the high-temperature zone and the maximum radial temperature difference. When the COF is increased from 0.245 to 0.359 and 0.434 at 140 km/h, the area ratio of high-temperature zone increases from 12% to 44% and 49% and the maximum radial temperature difference increases from 56 degrees C to 75 degrees C and 83 degrees C. The sensitiveness of the axial temperature difference to the COF is related to the braking time. The maximum axial temperature difference increases with COF in the early stages of braking, while it is hardly sensitive to the COF in the later stages of braking.Originality/valueThe effect of COF on the aluminum-based brake disc temperature is revealed, providing a theoretical reference for the popularization of aluminum-based brake discs and the selection of matching brake pads.