Effect of brake pad design on friction and wear with hard particle present

Brake pad and disc design are important factors in ensuring excellent brake performance. But, particles from the environment can easily enter and interrupt the braking process and reduce braking performance. Friction depends on the design and surface properties of the pad and the disc. Wear happens in the brake system as the pad and disc try to withstand the braking force during the braking process. An experiment using brake dynamometer is done in order to determine the design effects on friction and wear when hard particle are present during the braking process. The test used three different brake pad designs under medium sliding load condition. It is found that Design 2 with a middle line groove provides better and stable brake torque and friction performance compared to Design 1 and Design 3. Design 2 also gave the smallest weight loss in the wear analysis of the pad