Predicting and analyzing of tribo-performance of NAO friction composites using Taguchi Method

The present study is aimed to investigate the dry sliding behavior of phenolic friction brake pad materials for industrial applications. Low metallic phenolic friction composites with the addition of copper-graphite (Cu-C) particles produced by traditional powder metallurgy methods. The friction test is carried out by pin-on-disc configuration on a universal tribometer MMW-1 with hardened steel as a counterface material. The plan of experiments conducted by Taguchi's L27 orthogonal array on MINITAB 19.1.1 software using a 3-level design model. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed for predicting and analyzing the effect of design parameters like contact pressure (1.9, 5.75 and 9,6 MPa), sliding velocity (0.64, 1.57 and 2.5 m/s) and filler content (5, 10 and 15%) to tribological properties. Results of modeling and optimization of composites have shown that contact pressure has the greatest impact on the friction process following sliding distance and filler content. On the other hand, the most influential factor for the wear process was the sliding velocity, following contact pressure and finally filler content. It was determined that 5-10 Wt.% Cu-C filler content has an effective impact on tribological properties. The friction surface examination of the pin specimens using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed that Cu-C content has a significant effect on improving the heat resistance properties of composites.