14. Friction

Friction materials such as disk pads, brake linings, and clutch facings are widely used for automotive applications. Friction materials function during braking due to frictional resistance that transforms kinetic energy into thermal energy. There has been a rudimentary evolution, from materials like leather or wood to asbestos fabric or asbestos fabric saturated with various resins such as asphalt or resin combined with pitch. These efforts were further developed by the use of woven asbestos material saturated by either rubber solution or liquid resin binder and functioned as an internal expanding brake, similar to brake lining system. The role of asbestos continued through the use of chopped asbestos saturated by rubber, but none was entirely successful due to the poor rubber heat resistance required for increased speeds and heavy gearing demands of the automobile industry. The use of phenolic resins as binder for asbestos friction materials provided the necessary thermal resistance and performance characteristics. Thus, the utility of asbestos as the main friction component, for over 100 years, has been significantly reduced in friction materials due to asbestos identity as a carcinogen. Steel and other fibrous components have displaced asbestos in disk pads. Currently, non-asbestos organics are the predominate friction material. Phenolic resins continue to be the preferred binder, and increased amounts are necessary to meet the requirements of highly functional asbestos-free disk pads for the automotive industry. With annual automobile production exceeding 70 million vehicles and additional automobile production occurring in developing countries worldwide and increasing yearly, the amount of phenolic resin for friction material is also increasing (Fig. 14.1).

In recent years, increased fuel efficiency of passenger car is required due to the CO₂ emission issue. One of the solutions to improve fuel efficiency is to lower the car body weight. It means that the weight of car components must be decreased. In the case of reduced weight for friction parts, the load applied to the friction parts would be higher (more heat also) and trend would lead to phenolic resins with improved heat resistance.