Contact pressure and sliding velocity maps of the friction, wear and emission from a low-metallic/cast-iron disc brake contact pair

Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 µm (PM₁₀) from car disc brakes contribute up to 50% of the total non-exhaust emissions from road transport in the EU. These emissions come from the wear of the pad and rotor contact surfaces. Yet few studies have reported contact pressures and offered sliding speed maps of the friction, wear, and particle emission performance of disc brake materials at a material level. Such maps are crucial to understanding material behaviour at different loads and can be used as input data to numerical simulations. A low-metallic pad and grey cast-iron rotor contact pair commonly used today in passenger car disc brakes was studied using a pin-on-disc tribometer at twelve contact pressure and sliding speed combinations. Maps of the coefficient of friction, specific wear rate, particle number, and mass rate are presented and discussed.