Influence of magnetic powders on the tribological performance of a novel magnetic brake material

By adding magnetic powders into matrix material, it has been proved to be a creative approach to improve tribological properties of brake materials. In this paper, a novel magnetic brake material with Nd–Fe–B and nano-Fe₃O₄ was developed, and the influential mechanism of these two magnetic powders and their content on the friction and wear performance was deeply discussed. Firstly, some experiments were carried out to investigate the tribological performance and influential mechanisms of four groups of brake pad samples with different magnetic powders. Furthermore, based on these results, further experiments for investigating the influence that Nd–Fe–B contents have on the tribological properties were conducted. According to the theoretical analysis about experiments, it was concluded that nano-Fe₃O₄ is beneficial to promote the formation of friction film and has certain lubricant effects. However, Nd–Fe–B has double effects on the formation of friction film. It will have positive effects when its content is less than a certain value. Otherwise, it will destroy the structure of friction film. Conclusively, it is believed that this study will be significantly valuable and meaningful for developing new brake materials and improving safety reliability of mechanical brakes.