An Experimental Study on Friction Noise Properties of Groove-Textured Surfaces

Grooved surface texture with different widths and pitches were manufactured on the surfaces of compacted graphite iron samples (brake disc material) by electro-machining. The influence of grooved surface texture on friction noise and the difference between the groove-textured and original smooth surfaces in friction noise properties were studied in a ball-on-flat configuration, by using a new-developed friction noise experimental apparatus. A 10 mm diameter GCr15 ball was used as counterpart. The test results show that the width and pitch of the grooved surface texture had a significant influence on the friction noise properties, some groove-textured surfaces with specific width and pitch can reduce friction noise. In this work, the generation of friction noise can be mainly attributed to the irregularity of the contact surface, uneven distribution of the debris layer and plowing, which caused the high frequency components of the interface friction force. Friction noise can be generated when those high frequency components coupled with the natural frequency of system and caused strong self-excited vibration. In contrast, grooved surface texture with specific width and pitch helped to remove the wear debris from the contact surfaces and interrupt the continuous contact of the friction interfaces, which disrupted the self-excited vibration of the friction system and finally reduced the generation of friction noise.