Effect of silicon carbide content on thermal, mechanical, and tribological properties of resin‐based friction materials

Abstract To investigate the effect of silicon carbide content on the thermal, mechanical, and tribological properties of resin‐based friction materials, four kinds of friction materials reinforced with different silicon carbide content were prepared by hot pressing and sintering. The experimental results show that with the increase of silicon carbide content, the hardness, compressive strength, and compressive modulus of the friction material first increase and then decrease. When the mass fraction of silicon carbide is 5%, they reach the maximum values of 42.50 HRA, 332.323 MPa, and 1099 MPa, respectively. Thermal stability, average friction coefficient, and volume wear first decrease and then increase. The average friction coefficient of the friction material under different loads is between 0.403 and 0.604, and the friction stability coefficient is greater than 0.844; the volume wear rate ranges from 0.54 × 10 −15 to 9.58 × 10 −15 m 3 ·N −1 ·m −1 . With the increase in load, the friction coefficient of the material increases, and the wear increases. At the same time, furrows of different degrees begin to appear on the wear surface. When the mass fraction of silicon carbide is 5%, more silicon carbide and ferric oxide are observed in the friction film formed by the friction material under a load of 20 N. At this time, the wear resistance of the material is the best, and the wear mechanism is mainly adhesive wear. The average width and depth of the wear trace show a positive correlation with the changing trend of the volume wear rate of the material. Highlights The sample with 5 wt.% silicon carbide has the highest mechanical property. The specimen with 5 wt.% silicon carbide has the best wear resistance. Adhesive wear gradually increases with increased silicon carbide content and load. The presence of silicon carbide and iron oxide in the friction film reduces wear.