Copper from vehicles disc brakes is one main contributor of the total copper found in the environment. Therefore, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the automotive industries started the Copper-Free Brake Initiative. The pad friction material is essentially composed of a binder, fillers, reinforcing fibres and frictional additives. Copper and brass fibres are the most commonly used

Brake-related airborne particulate matter contributes to urban emissions in the transport sector. Recent research demonstrated a clear dependence of the number of ultra-fine particles on the disc brake temperature. Above the so-called transition temperature, the number of ultra-fine particles increases dramatically (several magnitudes). As for exhaust emissions, part of the emissions released duri

Emissions from disc brake wear adversely affect the air quality in cities. Finite Element Analysis (FEA)approaches focussing on the macroscopic wear of pads and rotors can be found in the literature, but none of these take the wear and emission dependence of the local contact pressure and sliding speed into account. The aim of the present study is to further develop an FEA approach for simulation

Friction, wear, and emission performance strongly depend on the contact pressure and area at the interface of the pad and disc. The contact situation at the pad-to-disc interface can be explained by the formation and destruction of mesoscopic sized contact plateaus on the pad surface. Experimental studies report that the initial surface roughness of cermet-coated discs strongly affects friction, w

Most freight wagons in the EU use cast iron brake blocks. Cast iron brake blocks have a stable braking capability in different environmental conditions, but wear down the wheel tread quickly. Therefore, there is a need to understand the tribology of other brake block materials. A pin-on-disc tribometer placed in a temperature-controlled chamber is used to investigate the tribology of cast iron, si

In 2017 a new railway tunnel containing two stations opened in Stockholm, Sweden. A series of field measurements were carried out on the platforms in this tunnel before and after it was opened for normal traffic. These measurements were used to investigate the contribution of airborne particle emissions from wear processes to total train emissions. This field data was used to develop a two-part tr

The friction, wear and particle emission from an AlSiC MMC brake disc/non-asbestos organic brake pad system is studied using a pin-on-disc tribometer. The results show that this unconventional AlSiC MMC brake disc system presents friction performance as good as a conventional cast iron brake disc system. During braking, brake pad materials are transferred to the brake disc surface to form a protec

An important contributor to non-exhaust emissions in urban areas is airborne particulate matter originating from brake systems. A well-established way to test such systems in industry is to use inertia dynamometer benches; although they are quite expensive to run. Pin-on-disc tribometers, on the other hand, are relatively cheap to run, but simplify the real system. The literature indicates promisi

The influence of car brake system parameters on particulate matter emissions was investigated using a pin-on-disc tribometer. Samples from a low-steel friction material and a cast iron disc were tested for different sliding velocities, nominal contact pressures and frictional powers. Disc temperatures were also measured. Their impact on total concentration, size distribution, particle coefficient

Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 µm (PM10) from car disc brakes contribute up to 50% of the total non-exhaust emissions from road transport in the EU. These emissions come from the wear of the pad and rotor contact surfaces. Yet few studies have reported contact pressures and offered sliding speed maps of the friction, wear, and particle emission performance of disc bra

With regard to airborne particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 µm (PM10), in countries in the European Union, the mass of brake emissions equals approximately 8–27% of the total traffic-related emissions. Using a research methodology combining tests at different scale levels with contact mechanics simulations and PM10 chemical characterization, the REBRAKE EU-financed project had t

Running-in process of low metallic brake pads and cast iron discs are investigated using full scale inertia brake dynamometer designed for particle emission studies. The airborne particles are measured using ELPI+ and collected on filters. The pads and disc contact surfaces are studied using microscopy techniques. It is observed that the particle emissions from the new pads and discs are significa

In the EU, PM10 from the wear of disc brakes can contribute up to 50% of the total non-exhaust emissions from road transport. The wear originates from the contact surfaces of the friction material and the disc. One possible way to decrease PM10 emissions is to change the materials of the contact pair in terms of composition and coatings. The wear and particle emissions of three novel friction mate

Airborne particulate matter emitted from motor vehicle brakes is a contributor to urban air quality. Therefore, a method to rank brake pairs (pads and rotors) with respect to their particle emission factors in a reliable way is needed to develop a low-emission disc brake. A novel inertial disc brake dynamometer designed for brake particle emission studies, a modified SAE J 2707 cycle, an electrica

Airborne particulate emissions originating from the wear of pads and rotors of disc brakes contribute up to 50% of the total road emissions in Europe. The wear process that takes place on a mesoscopic length scale in the contact interfaces between the pads and rotors can be explained by the creation and destruction of contact plateaus. Due to this complex contact situation, it is hard to predict h

Brake-related particulate matter contributes considerably to the non-exhaust emissions of the transport sector in urban areas of the world. The airborne particle emissions from automotive brakes currently lack any proper regulations. Future regulations require test stands, test cycles and particle instruments to be suitable for measuring the brake emissions. This present work focuses on the design

Airborne wear particles originating from disc brakes are among the main contributors to non-exhaust emissions. The macroscopic wear behaviour of disc brakes can be explained by the growth and destruction of mesoscopic contact plateaus. The pad wear and temperature has earlier been simulated using a cellular automaton mesoscopic approach. The present paper seeks to refine the simulation approach to

Airborne particle emissions from automotive disc brakes, one of the main sources of urban particulate matter, adversely affect health. Field measurement of brake particles is complicated, as various particle sources (such as tailpipe emissions, resuspended road dust and tyre wear) can interfere. Brake particles are usually measured on dyno benches or in model-scale tests in controlled environments

Particle emissions originating from the sliding disc brake contact in disc brakes are a main contributor to PM10 in Europe. The macroscopic friction and wear behaviour can be explained, at the mesoscopic scale level, by the growth and destruction of contact plateaus. This paper further develops a cellular automaton that describes the mesoscopic contact situation by implementing friction, wear, and

Airborne wear particles originating from disc brakes are one important contributor to the concentration of airborne particles in urban environments. It is therefore of interest to improve the knowledge of these particles. The purpose of this article is to investigate the concentration and size distribution of the airborne wear particles generated from the contact between a low-metallic pad materia