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Earlier publications have demonstrated that pad and disc properties change during storage and also during the SAE J2522 Brake Effectiveness Test Procedure. The current investigation was undertaken to find out how the properties change under milder braking conditions, using the SAE J2707 Wear Test Procedure. A copper-free formulation was selected for the investigation and tested on an inertia dynamometer using a front caliper designed for a passenger car. The pad dynamic modulus changed up or down throughout the test, depending on the test conditions. The pad dynamic modulus, the pad natural frequencies and the disc natural frequencies all decreased by the end of the test. Under high-speed, high-deceleration and high-temperature braking conditions, the pad surface region permanently expands, which results in reduced dynamic modulus and also leads to reduced pad thickness loss as compared with pad weight loss.

Automotive brakes operate under varying conditions of speed and deceleration. In other words, the friction material is subjected to a wide range of normal loads and sliding speeds. One widely accepted test procedure to evaluate, compare and screen friction materials is the SAE J2522 Brake Effectiveness test, which requires full-size production brakes to be tested on an inertia brake dynamometer. For the current investigation, disc pads of two types of 10 different formulations (5 high-copper and 5 copper-free formulations) were prepared for testing on a front disc brake suitable for a pickup truck of GVW 3,200 kg. Each pad had 2 vertical slots, and one chamfer on the leading edge and also on the trailing edge of the pad. One segment of the test procedure looks at the coefficient of friction (Mu) under different brake line pressures and different sliding speeds to determine its stability or variability.

One low-copper formulation and one copper-free formulation were made into disc pads, and both of them were cured under 4 different conditions. These pads had no backing layer and no scorched layer. Pad thickness, dynamic modulus and natural frequencies were continuously monitored over a period of 12 months. After 12 months at room temperature, pad thickness, dynamic modulus and natural frequencies all increased to higher values. The low-copper formulation increased relatively rapidly during the first 60 days and the copper-free formulation increased relatively rapidly for the first 90 days, and then slowly thereafter. Two competing processes are found to be taking place simultaneously; internal stress relief leading to pad expansion and cross-linking of the resin leading to pad shrinkage. As the pad properties are changing continuously, the timing of property measurement becomes an important issue for quality assurance.

The moisture sorption-desorption kinetics of copper-free brake pads was studied in detail. The sorption-desorption behavior is dependent on the environmental temperature and humidity. At 24 °C under 54% RH, the sorption increases rapidly for a week or so identified as the first stage of sorption, enters the second stage of negligible weight gain for a month and then the third stage of rapid sorption again. With increasing moisture sorption, the pad thickness increases through the 3 stages and the dynamic modulus also increases through the 3 stages. Friction materials lose moisture rapidly at 130°C and behave like desiccants. The sorption-desorption phenomenon significantly influences the friction coefficient -- a higher moisture content leading to lower friction coefficients. It is demonstrated that the rising friction coefficient for the half a dozen braking stops at the beginning of every brake testing in general is due to moisture desorption caused by rising pad temperatures.