Hrant Khatchadourian
MANE-6960
Friction and Wear of Materials
11-08-12
Research Project Proposal
An interesting topic everyone can relate to that involves friction and wear of materials is the
operation of a braking system on a modern day automobile. A typical disc brake system on a car uses a
brake rotor fixed to the axles of the car and a stationary brake pad that applies a clamping
pressure/force to the rotor in motion to gradually slow it down. This type of interaction involves friction
which is used to slow down the rotation of the brake rotor/wheels and also wear which is subjected to
the brake pad every time the brake pedal is applied. This research project will consist of analyzing the
friction forces and wear of the brake pads onto the rotor using some ideal driving conditions. Some
other things that could be analyzed are different types of rotor design and how it affects the friction and
wear of the brake pads. Also, different types of brake pad materials can also be analyzed, such as semimetallic to composite style pads.