Effects of Reinforced Fibers on Friction and Wear Properties of Ceramic-based Friction Material

Ceramic-based friction materials with different reinforced fibers was prepared by hot-pressing. The effects of steel fiber, steel/mullite fiber, mullite fiber, steel/aluminium-silicate fiber and aluminium-silicate fiber as reinforcing materials on the friction and wear properties of ceramic-based friction material were investigated. The results show a complex relationship between different kinds of reinforced fibers and the friction coefficients. For friction material reiforced by single fiber, steel fiber reinforced sample had the highest wear resistance, while aluminium-silicate fiber reinforced sample had the poorest wear resistance, mullite fiber reinforced sample had the moderate wear resistance. The wear rates of sample with steel/mullite fiber or steel/aluminium-silicate fiber were lower than that of the samples reinforced by the corresponding ceramic fibers. The friction and wear tests at elevated temperature reveal that the main wear mechanism of mullite fiber reinforced ceramic-based friction material was abrasive wear while the main wear mecanism for friction materials with aluminium-silicate fiber and steel/aluminium-silicate fiber were adhesive wear. Abrasive wear and adhesive wear were the dominated wear machanisms for the friction material containing steel fiber and steel/mullite.