Design, construction and performance of a novel brake pad friction tester

Determination of the tribological behavior of brake pads under real environmental conditions is an important and critical task which can significantly impact the automotive industry. Most studies simulate or measure the variants by indirect methods and accept them as true results. The new computer-controlled, interactive brake pad friction tester presented in this study was developed for this purpose. The major components of the machine, which are operated simultaneously, include: a proportional pressure-controlled hydraulics power pack, a mechanical transmission system with electromagnetic clutch, and a brake and automation control with SCADA computer analysis interface. Compared to other friction testing machines, a very important innovation of the newly developed friction tester allows for the testing of the brake pad samples and measuring of the noise level both to be performed with high precision under real conditions. Moreover, this friction tester is capable of determining the friction coefficients; wear behavior, temperature, and life intervals of brake pad samples. This novel brake pad system is relatively cheaper and measures effective friction coefficients more accurately. The uncertainty in measurements for friction coefficient and wear rate was approximately calculated as ±0.0135 and ±0.170 in all of experiments, respectively. In this study, the machine performance was carried out to evaluate the friction behavior of non-asbestos brake pad samples reinforced with hazelnut shell powder according to the standard brake lining quality control testing procedure (SAE J661).