Transition in wear regime during braking applications: An analysis of the debris and surfaces of the brake pad and disc

This article aims to describe the sequence of events (cause-effect) that lead to the transition in wear regime from moderate to severe for brake friction materials (BFM). Tribofilm, contact plateaus and wear debris are characterized in both regimes through different techniques. It was concluded that there is a critical tensile strength which leads to the destruction of the contact plateaus (the secondary type), resulting in a direct contact between the metallic fibers of the BFM and the tribofilm deposited on the disc's surface. Then, the tribofilm is gradually removed over the braking applications, increasing the wear rate of the tribopair.