Effects of AL2O3 Nano particles on friction behavior of conventional railway brake pads

Effects of AL2O3 Nano particles on friction behavior of conventional railway brake pads

Abstract-In this article, the producing process of frictional materials including strengthening Aluminium oxide (Al2O3) particles and their wear behavior in railway brake pads was researched. For this purpose, some pads were manufactured thorough powder metallurgy and supplementary baking process. Various amounts of 1 to 4 volume percentage of Nano Al2O3 particles were added to the mixture. The resulting mixture was cold pressed and baked in the right temperature which was recognized by thermal analysis. Afterwards, the product was tested by introduced tests in authentic standards related to manufacturing and performance of railway brake pads such as X-ray energy diffraction spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and pin on disk wear test. Results showed that increasing Nano Al2O3 particles up to 4 percent to main formula of brake pads makes improvements in their wear behaviour. Also it was observed that 4 percent of Nano Al2O3 particles in ingredients makes the best results in abovementioned tests. Thorough tests some tested objects turned out to have cavities and also abrasive wear was observed after tests.