Influence of surface topography on friction characteristics in wet clutch applications

In heavily loaded wet clutches, such as in limited slip differentials, sintered friction materials are sometimes used due to their resilience at high loads and high temperatures as well as their competitive cost in comparison to alternative friction materials.During the lifetime of the clutch, changes in the friction materials’ topography occur. These changes will influence the friction characteristics of the clutch, and therefore affect the anti-shudder performance of the transmission system. This paper investigates the influence of, and classifies, changes in the topography of the sintered friction material.The topography is measured by utilizing vertical scanning interferometry. Different parameters are investigated in order to find relevant parameters correlating to the wear of the material.Results show that changes in the topography of the friction material do indeed influence the friction characteristics of the clutch and that it is possible to calculate relevant topography parameters that describe the amount of wear the material has been subjected to.