Chair of Materials and Surface Engineering
Materials and Surface Engineering

DFG transfer project launched


Since the beginning of the year, the WOT Chair has been conducting joint research with the Chair of Microfabrication Technology and Mercedes Benz AG on the „generation and preconditioning of friction surfaces on brake discs made of aluminium matrix composites“.

The focus is on the mechanisms acting in the tribological system of brake disc and brake pad. The focus is on the development and expansion of the so-called tribofilm, which is what makes it possible to use aluminium matrix composites (AMC) in automotive braking systems. However, its properties are strongly dependent on the actual load spectrum in the braking process, which is characterised not only by the materials used but also by the interface temperature, the relative speed of the friction partners and the surface pressure. In addition to the brake pad used, the initial surface condition of the AMC brake discs is of central importance for the build-up of the tribofilm under real environmental conditions. In addition to the AMC material properties, this includes in particular the surface finish resulting from the mostly metal-cutting finishing process. This requires the transdisciplinary research approach pursued, which combines questions of materials and process technology, in order to be able to successfully transfer such complex tribosystems into component applications.

The project is currently in the phase of the first test series. After a successful kick-off with all project partners in December 2020 and the completed start-up phase, in which the materials to be investigated, finishing processes and tribosystems were defined and coordinated with each other, the current work serves to identify and evaluate statistically relevant influencing factors on tribofilm build-up and removal, which will be systematically researched in the further course of the project. The project is scheduled to end in the third quarter of 2023.

Further information on the project content can be obtained from the chair: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/mb/WOT/professur/ansprechpartner.php .

The project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (project number 414236319).

 

Image:
Macro image of an artificially created tribofilm in the form of the visible glide path.

12.3.2021 – Projects of the professorship ( )

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