Friction of Fabric Material and Bearing Metals

This thesis discusses the results obtained by experiments carried out on the friction of 'Fabric' material. It presents a general analysis of the suitability of cotton, asbestos, and metals as friction materials, and the combination of these materials in bonded form as brake and clutch linings. The tests to be described were carried out in order to determine the coefficient of friction, wear properties, and general behaviour of a few of the many fabric materials under varying conditions of load, rubbing speed, and temperature. Special study has been given to the variation of frictional resistance at speeds varying from 0.5 to 50 feet per minute. It has been shown, that with a cotton bonded fabric the frictional resistance is very high at crawl speeds, and gradually diminishes as the speed increases. The effect of temperature on the wear of fabric material and on the destruction of the binder used has also been studied. Throughout the experiments it has been noted that a thin film of iron oxide changes the value of the coefficient of friction almost as much as a film of oil