No abstract

During braking, both the rotor and pads experience wear, generating particles that may become airborne. In field tests, it is difficult to distinguish these particles from others in the surrounding environment, so it is preferable to use laboratory test stands to study the amount of airborne wear particles generated. The purpose of this work is to investigate the possibility of separate, capture, and analyze airborne wear particles generated by a disc brake in a disc brake assembly test stand. This test stand used allows the cleanliness of the air surrounding the test specimens to be controlled and thus the airborne portion of the wear particles to be studied separately. One pair each of low-metallic (LM) and non-asbestos organic (NAO) brake pads was tested against grey cast iron rotors. Before testing, the elemental contents of the brake materials were analyzed using glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES). The concentration and size of airborne wear particles were measured online during testing. In addition, airborne wear particles were collected on filters during the tests and afterward analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The analyzed wear particles contained elements such as iron, titanium, zinc, barium, manganese, and copper. Both the low-metallic and nonasbestos organic type of brake pads tested display a bimodal size distribution with peaks at 280 and 350 nm.Most of the airborne particles generated have a diameter smaller than 2.5 lm.

The current study investigates the characteristics of particles generated from the wear of braking materials, and provides an applicable index for measuring and comparing wear particle emissions. A pin-on-disc tribometer equipped with particle measurement instruments was used. The number concentration, size, morphology, and mass concentration of generated particles were investigated and reported for particles 10 nm to 32 µm in diameter. The particles were also collected on filters and investigated using EDS and SEM. The effects of wear mechanisms on particle morphology and changes in particle concentration are discussed. A new index, the airborne wear particle emission rate (AWPER), is suggested that could be used in legislation to control non-exhaust emissions from transport modes, particularly rail transport.

Brake pads on wheel-mounted disc brakes are often used in rail transport due to their good thermal properties and robustness. During braking, both the disc and the pads are worn. This wear process generates particles that may become airborne and thus affect human health. The long term purpose of ‘Airborne particles in Rail transport’ project is to gain knowledge on the wear mechanisms in order to find means of controlling the number and size distribution of airborne particles. In this regard, a series of full-scale field tests and laboratory tests with a pin-on-disc machine have been conducted. The morphology and the matter of particles, along with their size distribution and concentration, have been studied. The validity of results from the pin-on-disc simulation has been verified by the field test results. Results show an ultra-fine peak for particles with a diameter size around 100 nm in diameter, a dominant fine peak for particles with a size of around 350 nm in diameter, and a coarse peak with a size of 3-7 μm in diameter. Materials such as iron, copper, aluminium, chromium, cobalt, antimony, and zinc have been detected in the nano-sized particles.

Selected papers from 14th Nordic Symposium on Tribology, NORDTRIB 2010. Updated from Submitted to Published.

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Wear. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in WEAR, VOL 273, ISSUE 1, (17 June 2011), DOI: 10.1016/j.wear.2011.04.013.

QC 20111221

This study examines the relationship between generated airborne particles and wear rate in the wheel–rail contact. The wheel–rail contact is experimentally simulated by using pin‐on‐disc testing to determine the difference in wear rate between selected contact conditions. Wear is discussed both in tribological terms and by using the wear categories prevalent in the railway industry, namely, mild, severe and catastrophic wear. The discussion is based on wear depth, the coefficient of friction, topographical measurements and measurements of airborne particles generated in the contact. The tests were performed under selected loading conditions representative of different contact conditions in a real wheel–rail contact. The results indicate that wear rates vary with the contact conditions arising from different types of triggered wear transitions. This is emphasised by the number and size of the airborne particles generated. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.