Development of Cu-Free Brake Materials 2012-01-1787

The purpose of this research study was to develop Cu-free automotive brake materials. Model brake material samples were manufactured and subjected to full scale automotive brake dynamometer (Dyno) tests using SAE J2430 test procedure. The SAE recommended J2430 test procedure provided the necessary data for the Brake Effectiveness Evaluation Procedure (BEEP) by the Brake Manufacturers' Council. The Dyno results indicate that the friction level of the all four Cu-free samples was similar to the baseline material. All tested brakes have passed the Brake Effectiveness Evaluation Procedure (BEEP). The average effectiveness of Baseline (BL), GT1, GT2, T401 and T402 samples is 0.32, 0.31, 0.30, 0.31 and 0.31, respectively. The Dyno results show that the Cu-free samples had similar or better performance compared to the baseline material as the temperature of the brake increased in the fade section. However, the Cu-free samples exhibit slightly higher wear rate in Dyno tests.