Inhibiting the fading behaviour of Fe-Si-Cu modified C/C-SiC brake pads via a method of de-densification

To inhibit the fading behaviour of C/C-SiC brake pads, de-densification for the pad material was achieved by heat treatment in this study. After heat treatment, the open porosity of the material increased from 3.5 vol.% to 9.9 vol.%. Combined with the analysis of phase composition and microstructure, it reveals that a certain amount of pores has been formed during the heat treatment process. Examining the braking behaviours of the de-densified brake pads, it was found that the minimum friction coefficient (COF) during the fading section was 0.33, which was higher than that of the dense brake pads, whose COF was 0.27. The friction and wear behaviours were then discussed according to the analysis of friction surface morphologies.