Unveiling the wear mechanisms of Resin-Based composites through debris Diagnostics: The critical role of microstructure and friction film formation

• Wear debris diagnostics bridges microstructure and macroscopic performance, revealing how material composition dictates friction film formation and wear mechanisms. • Commercial benchmarking across market tiers enables rational material selection and design, providing direct guidance for product optimization. • Friction film formation dictates tribological behavior across product tiers, with continuous films ensuring stable friction while incomplete films cause severe wear. • Integrated simulation and experiment reveals thermal–mechanical coupling, confirming that friction coefficient dominates temperature rise despite thermal conductivity differences. The efficacy and reliability of commercial passenger vehicle brake linings are critical for driving safety. Most existing research, however, focuses on lab-formulated materials, creating a knowledge gap regarding commercial products. This study presents a systematic benchmarking of six commercial resin-based brake linings with distinctly different material compositions and performance characteristics. Our approach integrates component analysis, mechanical/thermal property assessment, and tribological testing, with wear debris analysis together with finite element simulation of frictional thermal effects serving as central tools to reveal the underlying wear mechanisms. The findings confirm that samples S1 and S2 exhibit superior performance due to dense structures, high thermal stability (extrapolated onset decomposition temperature 385–390°C), and the ability to form continuous friction films, resulting in stable friction and smooth worn surfaces (Sa: 5.0–6.9 μm). Conversely, samples S5 and S6 suffer from structural defects and poor thermal stability (extrapolated onset temperature 354–366°C), leading to incomplete friction films, rough surfaces (Sa: 14.1–19.2 μm), and coarse debris. This work directly links microscopic material behavior to macroscopic performance through wear debris diagnostics, providing crucial insights for product selection and the development of next-generation brake linings.