Relationship between wear of friction materials and dissipated power density

Specific tribometric tests showed both the effect and relevance of the power dissipated by friction upon the transition from mild wear to severe wear for friction materials. The dissipated power density could be viewed as an important variable either to identify the critical wear characteristics of friction materials or to make comparisons among different types of friction materials. The scanning electron microscopy analysis showed some correspondence between the sliding surface morphology after the friction tests and the wear rate obtained. Moreover, the phenomena observed are related to known mechanochemical wear mechanisms.