Tribological behavior of Al–Si–SiCp composites/automobile brake pad system under dry sliding conditions

Tribological behavior of stir-cast Al–Si/SiCp composites against automobile brake pad material was studied using Pin-on-Disc tribo-tester. The Al-metal matrix composite (Al-MMC) material was used as disc, whereas the brake pad material forms the pin. It has been found that both wear rate and friction coefficient vary with both applied normal load and sliding speed. With increase in the applied normal load, the wear rate was observed to increase whereas the friction coefficient decreases. However, both the wear rate and friction coefficients were observed to vary proportionally with the sliding speed. During the wear tests, formation of a tribo-layer was observed, presence of which can affect the wear behavior, apart from acting as a source of wear debris. Tribo-layer formed over the worn disc surfaces was found to be heterogeneous in nature. Morphology and topography of worn surfaces and debris were studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Chemical composition of different wear products was obtained using electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Possible wear mechanisms operative in Al-MMC—brake pad tribo-couple have been discussed.