Theoretical and experimental investigation of non-asbestos friction lining material applied in automotive drum brake

Automotive brakes are the important machine element which provides an artificial frictional resistance to control the speed of an automobile. In the present work, theoretical models for the coefficient of friction between brake drum and friction liner are generated and simulated using MATLAB Simulink. A test set up designed and manufactured according to the brake lining quality test procedure (SAE J661) is used to investigate tribological properties of a non-asbestos friction lining material having 11 different constituents, which is manufactured from one of the brake liner manufacturer. An experiment is designed using response surface methodology (RSM) with vehicle speed, braking force, and sliding distance as the input parameters, whereas coefficient of friction and wear as an output. It is found that vehicle speed is the most significant parameter among the three. Fade and recovery behavior of the friction lining material is also studied and it is found that the developed friction lining material satisfies the criteria specified in SAE J661. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectoscopy (EDS) have revealed the significant surface phenomenon.