The importance of static friction characteristics of brake friction couple,and methods of testing

Detailed knowledge about static friction materials is required for the accurate calculation of the braking torque needed to hold a load at rest. This is particularly important for brakes in cranes, elevators, hoists and mining winding machines, which must meet specifications such as the definite value of the static safe braking factor. The study of static friction is also a useful supplement to the dynamic testing of brake friction materials. In such a study, precise control of the temperature on the surfaces is possible, as well as surface roughness, and existence of the third-body can be accurately identified. It is an important fact that the coefficient of static friction, μ_s, is not an invariant, and it cannot be adequately represented in many engineering applications as a single number. The study of static friction dependence upon factors such as stationary contact time, rate of tangential loading, and surface temperature, contributes to a better understanding of friction phenomena. In this paper, a test apparatus is presented, and a series of experiments is described. The experiments reveal the static friction characteristics of some brake friction materials.