A reciprocating pin-on-plate test-rig for studying friction materials for holding brakes

•Information about operational conditions relevant to holding brakes.•Pin-on-plate test-rig with novel friction force measuring concept.•Implementation details on wear displacement monitoring with Eddy-current sensors.•Comparison between in situ and classical a posteriori wear height measurements.•Presentation of representative wear rate results for PET and reinforced PA 66.

This paper refers to testing of friction materials for holding brakes. In contrast to the more typical case of high energy brakes, holding brakes operate usually in a reciprocating sense, at very low sliding speeds and allow significantly higher clamping pressures. The design of a reciprocating pin-on-plate test-rig for studying the evolution of wear by monitoring the pin height reduction using Eddy-current proximity sensors is presented. Moreover, a new mechanism for recording the friction force is suggested. Apart from the design of the test-rig, friction force and wear rate measurements for two different friction materials running against an unhardened steel surface are presented as a usage case.