STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE SHAPE OF THE COPPER COMPONENT ON THE PROPERTIES OF THE FRICTION MATERIAL USED IN BRAKES. PART III : HEATING PROCESS DURING BRAKING

The ability to effectively stop the vehicle on a short distance is one of the most important features of today's automotive industry. To make this possible, various and extensive researches are carried out to ensure the correct selection of the friction material. The state of today's natural environment and the related to it new restrictive regulations require friction materials to be as ecologically friendly as possible during operation, as well as during production or recycling. This leads to the search for new solutions. One of such solutions is proposed in this paper. It consists of replacing one of the main components, the reinforcement, with one that is present in the pads anyway --copper. Instead of using it in the form of a powder, it was decided to use it in the form of fibers. Three different materials were proposed, in which, among others, fiber length was regulated. The samples produced allowed one to determine the necessary material data. On their basis, simulation tests were carried out which showed that copper in the form of fibers can successfully replace the previously used materials such as aramid or carbon fiber.