Materials Science and Engineering A 425 (2006) 330–338

Effect of hexagonal boron nitride and calcined petroleum coke on friction

and wear behavior of phenolic resin-based friction composites
Gewen Yi a,b , Fengyuan Yan a,∗
a State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, People’s Republic of China
b Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, People’s Republic of China

Received 12 September 2005; received in revised form 21 March 2006; accepted 27 March 2006

Abstract
Calcined petroleum coke (CPC) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) were used as the friction modifiers to improve the friction and wear
properties of phenolic resin-based friction composites. Thus, the composites with different relative amounts of CPC and h-BN as the friction
modifiers were prepared by compression molding. The hardness and bending strength of the friction composites were measured. The friction and
wear behaviors of the composites sliding against cast iron at various temperatures were evaluated using a pin-on-disc test rig. The worn surfaces
and wear debris of the friction composites were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that the hybrid of the two friction modifiers was effective to significantly decrease the wear rate and
stabilize the friction coefficient of the friction composites at various temperatures by forming a uniform lubricating and/or transferred film on the
rubbing surfaces. The uniform and durable transfer films were also able to effectively diminish the direct contact between the friction composite
and the cast iron counterpart and hence prevent severe wear of the latter as well. The effectiveness of the hybrid of CPC and h-BN in improving the
friction and wear behavior of the phenolic resin-based friction modifiers could be attributed to the complementary action of the “low temperature”
lubricity of CPC and the “high temperature” lubricity of h-BN. The optimum ratio of the two friction modifiers CPC and h-BN in the friction
composites was suggested to be 1:1, and the corresponding friction composite showed the best friction-reducing and antiwear abilities.
© 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Calcined petroleum coke (CPC); Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN); Friction modifier; Friction and wear behavior; Transfer film

1. Introduction mining the friction characteristics [4–7]. Many investigations

Phenolic resin-based friction materials usually contain a large
number of reinforcing and filling constituents such as reinforc-
ing fibers, abrasives, binders, fillers, and friction modifiers (solid
lubricants) [1–3]. This accounts for the great dependence of their
properties on the interactions and synergetic effects among the
multiphase ingredients. In this sense, it is very important to cor-
rectly select and properly combine the different components
so as to satisfy a number of requirements for the properties
of the friction materials, such as good wear resistance, stable
friction coefficient, and reliable strength at a wide range of
stressing conditions. Among many ingredients currently used
in the composites, the inorganic particulates used as friction
modifiers (or solid lubricants) usually play crucial roles in deter-
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 931 4968185; fax: +86 931 8277088.
E-mail address: fyyan@lzb.ac.cn (F. Yan).
about the control of the friction characteristics by adding fric-
tion modifiers have been reported and it has been found that the
hybrid of two or more friction modifiers could be superior to
the individual friction modifier in terms of the ability to form
uniform and coherent friction films. For example, Jang and Kim
[8] said that the relative amounts of Sb2 S3 and ZrSiO4 in a
phenolic resin-based friction material played a crucial role in
determining the wear behavior of the friction material in ser-
vice. Luise et al. [9] said that the addition of various metal
sulfide solid lubricants led to a very large variation in the fric-
tion and wear behavior of resin-based automotive disc brakes.
Surprisingly, as one of the most widely used traditional solid
lubricants, though MoS2 has been found to considerably
improve the friction and wear behaviors of various bonded solid
lubricating coatings and composites, it has detrimental effect on
the wear resistance of composites, due to oxidation of MoS2
to MoO3 by air [6,10]. Enlightened by this observation, we
anticipate that many other inorganic particulates such as low

0921-5093/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.msea.2006.03.101
 G. Yi, F. Yan / Materials Science and Engineering A 425 (2006) 330–338 331

cost calcined petroleum coke (coded as CPC), which is mainly
composed of graphite particles and amorphous carbon, and heat-
resistant hexagonal boron nitride (coded as h-BN) would also
have complicated effects on the tribological properties of phe-
nolic resin-based friction composites. With this perspective in
mind, CPC and h-BN of laminar structures and with a rela-
tive amount similar to that of graphite and MoS2 [11,12] were
selected as the friction modifiers for the phenolic resin-based
friction composites. The target phenolic resin-based friction
composites were prepared by compression molding, using E-
glass fiber and Kevlar® aramid pulp as the reinforcements. The
effects of CPC and h-BN on the friction and wear characteristics
of the friction composites were investigated, with an emphasis
being placed on the friction film formation at the rubbing inter-
face.
2. Experimental
2.1. Sample formulation and preparation
The cashew-modified phenolic resin powder (Jinan
Shengquan Hepworth Chemical Co., Ltd., Shandong, China)
containing hexamethylenetetramine (HEXA, a curing agent)
was used as the matrix. The milled E-glass (Zhuzhou Longgang
Glass Fiber Co., Ltd., China) and Kevlar® pulp (E. I. Dupont
Co., USA) were used as the reinforcing fibers. The glass
fibers had an average filament diameter of 15.8 ␮m and a
density of 2.55 g/cm3 . The calcined petroleum coke (Qinghai
Aluminium Industry Co., Ltd., Qinghai, China) had a grit size
of 0.25–0.5 mm and a density of 2.04 g/cm3 . The hexagonal
boron nitride was purchased from Beijing Chemical Reagent
Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China). Chemically pure CaCO3 , BaSO4 ,
Ca(OH)2 and Al2 O3 were also used as the fillers and abrasives
in the friction composites, with a view to the engineering
application of the friction composites as braking materials. The
compositions (vol.%) of the composites are listed in Table 1.
The mixed raw materials were compression molded to give
five types of phenolic resin-based friction composites, which
were coded as CPC-1A, CPC-0.75A, CPC-0.5A, CPC-0.25A,
and CPC-0A, respectively, with respect to the ratio of the two
friction modifiers. At the same time, the phenolic resin-based
composites only containing CaCO3 and h-BN or CaCO3 and
CPC were also compression molded to give five types of
composites for the comparative study, which were coded as
CPC-1B, CPC-0.75B, CPC-0.5B, CPC-0.25B, and CPC-0B,
respectively, with respect to the ratio of the two friction
modifiers. The ingredients were mixed for 1–2 min by stirring
in a blender so as to improve the dispersion of the milled fibers
and various other components in the raw materials mixture. The
mixture was loaded into a 175 mm × 65 mm × 37 mm mold
and hot pressed at about 170 ◦ C and 25 MPa for 30 min. Then
the pressure was released and the samples were post-cured at
190 ◦ C in the oven for about 12 h. The test specimens (pin)
were cut from the molded composite plates and ground to a size
of φ3 mm × 20 mm.
2.2. Measurement and analysis
The mechanical properties of the phenolic resin-based fric-
tion composites at room temperature were determined on a
DY35 universal materials tester. The hardness was measured
using an HD8-187.5 Brihell Rockwell Vickers (B.R.V.) opti-
cal hardness tester, according to ISO178-1993. The friction and
wear behaviors of the phenolic resin-based friction composites
were evaluated using a pin-on-disc test rig. The schematic of
the pin-on-disc test rig is described in details elsewhere [13].
A cast iron disc (25 mm in diameter and 8 mm thick) was used
as the counterpart and driven to slide against the composite pin
by a motor. The friction and wear tests were performed at a
constant sliding velocity of 0.6 m/s, constant load of 10 N, and

Table 1
Compositions of the friction composites
Raw materials Composites (vol.%)

CPC-1A (CPC-1B) CPC-0.75A (CPC-0.75B) CPC-0.5A (CPC-0.5B) CPC-0.25A (CPC-0.25B) CPC-0A (CPC-0B)

Phenolic resin 30 (30) 30 (30) 30 (30) 30 (30) 30 (30)

E-glass fiber, 20 (0) 20 (0) 20 (0) 20 (0) 20 (0)
Kevlar® pulp
BaSO4 , Ca(OH)2 , 15 (0) 15 (0) 15 (0) 15 (0) 15 (0)
Al2 O3
CaCO3 20 (55) 20 (55) 20 (55) 20 (55) 20 (55)
h-BN 0 (0) 3.5 (3.5) 7.5 (7.5) 11.5 (11.5) 15 (15)
Calcined 15 (15) 11.5 (11.5) 7.5 (7.5) 3.5 (3.5) 0 (0)
petroleum coke
(CPC)
Ratio [CPC 1 0.75 0.5 0.25 0
(vol.%)/(CPC
(vol.%) + h-BN
(vol.%)]
Hardness (HB) 30.77 ± 1.71 30.22 ± 1.31 29.27 ± 1.19 28.67 ± 1.21 28.11 ± 1.37
Bending strength 77.21 ± 2.31 72.87 ± 2.71 68.78 ± 2.01 67.57 ± 2.50 65.37 ± 2.19
(MPa)

The numbers in parenthesis refer to the phenolic resin-based composites only containing CaCO3 and h-BN or CaCO3 and CPC.
332 G. Yi, F. Yan / Materials Science and Engineering A 425 (2006) 330–338
temperatures of 25 ◦ C, 125 ◦ C, 225 ◦ C, 325 ◦ C, and 425 ◦ C. The
friction and wear test for each composite specimen under a cer-
tain condition was performed at a constant sliding distance of
1000 m and was repeated for five runs. The friction coefficients
were automatically recorded, and the wear rate was calculated as
Ws = W/(ρPS), where W was the weight loss determined to
an accuracy of 0.1 mg using an analytical balance, ρ the compos-
ite density, P the applied load, and S the sliding distance. The
averaged friction coefficient and wear rate of the five replica
friction and wear tests are cited in this article.
After the friction and wear tests, some typical specimens
were ultrasonically cleaned with acetone and the worn surfaces
and corresponding wear debris analyzed using a JEOL-5600LV
scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy-
dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). The chemical states of
some typical elements on the worn surfaces of the friction com-
posites were determined on a PHI-5702 X-ray photoelectron
spectrometer (XPS) operating with Al K␣ X-ray source. The
binding energies were recorded to an accuracy of ±0.3 eV, using
the binding energy of contaminated carbon (C1s: 284.8 eV) as
the reference.
3. Results and discussion
The bending strength and hardness of the phenolic resin-
based friction composites (CPC-1A, CPC-0.75A, CPC-0.5A,
CPC-0.25A, and CPC-0A) are shown in Table 1. It is seen that
the incorporation of calcined petroleum coke (CPC) led to a
gradual increase in the hardness and in the bending strength
of the phenolic resin-based friction composites. It was supposed
that the calcined petroleum coke had a strong interfacial bonding
strength with the phenolic resin matrix during the compression
at elevated temperature and pressure.
3.1. Frictional stability and wear rate
Fig. 1 shows the typical friction coefficient values of the com-
posites CPC-1A, CPC-0.5A and CPC-0A rubbing at a speed of
0.6 m/s, a load of 10 N, and a temperature of 25 ◦ C. The friction
coefficient values of CPC-1A and CPC-0.75A are similar and
those of CPC-0A and CPC-0.25A are virtually the same. It is
seen that CPC-0A containing only h-BN recorded a high friction
coefficient with a large fluctuation. Besides, CPC-1A contain-
Fig. 2. Effect of temperature on the friction coefficient (a) and wear rate (b) of CPC-1A, CPC-0.75A, CPC-0.5A, CPC-0.25A, and CPC-0A at a sliding speed of
0.6 m/s and load of 10 N.
Fig. 1. Friction coefficient as a function of sliding distance for friction compos-
ites CPC-1A, CPC-0.5A and CPC-0A (temperature: 25 ◦ C, speed: 0.6 m/s, load:
10 N).
ing only CPC showed a relatively small friction coefficient value
with a gradual increasing tendency and slight fluctuation. Con-
trary to the above, the friction composite CPC-0.5A (filled with
7.5 vol.% CPC and 7.5 vol.% h-BN) showed a more stable fric-
tion coefficient during the whole sliding process. This indicates
that the hybrid CPC and h-BN could be superior to each individ-
ual ingredient as the solid lubricant of the friction composites in
increasing the friction stability of the friction composites.
The effect of temperature on the friction and wear behaviors
of CPC-1A, CPC-0.75A, CPC-0.5A, CPC-0.25A, and CPC-0A
is shown in Fig. 2 (sliding speed 0.6 m/s, load 10 N). It is seen
that CPC/h-BN of different ratios as the friction modifiers
had different effects on the friction and wear behavior of the
phenolic resin-based friction composites during a complicated
thermal history. Namely, the friction coefficients of CPC-1A and
CPC-0.75A significantly increased with increasing temperature
up to 325 ◦ C and decreased sharply at 425 ◦ C. That of CPC-0A
decreased smoothly with rising temperature up to 225 ◦ C, and
then decreased significantly. The CPC-0.25A showed a gradual
decrease in the friction coefficient with rising temperature up
to 425 ◦ C, though the friction coefficient for CPC-0.25A was
somewhat smaller. The CPC-0.5A showed a small change in
friction coefficient up to 450 ◦ C (Fig. 2a). Moreover, the wear
rates of the five friction composites gradually increased with
increasing temperature in a complicated manner. For example,
the wear rates of the friction composites decreased with
 G. Yi, F. Yan / Materials Science and Engineering A 425 (2006) 330–338
increasing content of CPC in “low” temperature range (about
25–125 ◦ C) and increased with increasing content of CPC in
high temperature range (above 125 ◦ C). However, the friction
composite CPC-0.5A showed a small change in the wear rate
with increasing temperature up to 325 ◦ C and it recorded the
smallest wear rate at high temperature (above 125 ◦ C) (Fig. 2b).
It is therefore supposed that CPC might have good wear resis-
tance and lubricity at low temperature and h-BN might have good
lubricity at high temperature, which can effectively improve the
friction stability and wear resistance of the phenolic resin-based
friction composites at various temperatures. It is especially so
when the volume percentages of the mixed fillers CPC and h-BN
in the friction composite was 7.5% and 7.5%, respectively. In
other words, the incorporation of CPC and h-BN at a volume
percentage of 7.5% could contribute to weaken the effect of the
varying temperature on the friction and wear behavior of the
phenolic resin-based friction composites.
In the present work, since a part of petroleum coke parti-
cles were graphitized in the calcining process, CPC should be
mainly composed of graphite particles (with good self-lubricity)
and amorphous carbon (with low oxidation temperature). The
self-lubricity and low oxidation temperature of CPC could be
responsible for the low friction coefficient at room temperature
and large wear rate of the friction composite containing only
CPC (CPC-1) at elevated temperature. But, the incorporation of
h-BN with good solid lubricity at elevated temperature could
help to improve the heat resistance and lubricity of the compos-
ites at high temperature. In addition, the low friction coefficient
and high wear rate of the composites at high temperature (in the
thermal fade cycle) could be attributed to the local degradation
of the phenolic resin matrix, which enhanced the delamination
of the filler particles from the organic binder [14].
In order to verify the effect of the incorporation of CPC
and h-BN on improving the friction stability and wear resis-
tance of the phenolic resin-based friction composites at various
temperatures, the phenolic resin-based composites (CPC-1B,
CPC-0.75B, CPC-0.5B, CPC-0.25B and CPC-0B) only contain-
ing CaCO3 and h-BN or CaCO3 and CPC were tested at the same
conditions for a comparative study. Fig. 3 shows the typical fric-
tion values for the composites CPC-1B, CPC-0.5B, and CPC-0B
(speed: 0.6 m/s, load: 10 N, temperature: 25 ◦ C (a) or 325 ◦ C
(b)). Fig. 4 shows the effect of temperature on the wear rates of
CPC-1B, CPC-0.75B, CPC-0.5B, CPC-0.25B, and CPC-0B at
Fig. 3. Friction coefficient as a function of sliding distance for friction composites CPC-1B, CPC-0.5B and CPC-0B: (a) temperature: 25 ◦ C, (b) temperature: 325 ◦ C
(speed: 0.6 m/s, load: 10 N).
333
Fig. 4. Effect of temperature on the wear rates of CPC-1B, CPC-0.75B, CPC-
0.5B, CPC-0.25B, and CPC-0B at a sliding speed of 0.6 m/s and load of 10 N.
a sliding speed of 0.6 m s−1 and load of 10 N. It is seen that this
group of friction composites showed similar friction behavior
as group A (CPC-1A, CPC-0.75A, CPC-0.5A, CPC-0.25A, and
CPC-0A, see Fig. 3). Namely, though the friction composites of
group B had higher wear rates than those of group A, CPC-0.5B
still had the smallest wear rate at 325 ◦ C, which was similar to
the wear rate at 25 ◦ C (Fig. 4). It was therefore concluded that the
hybrid of CPC and h-BN could help to considerably improve the
friction stability and wear resistance of the composites at ele-
vated temperature by the complementary effect between CPC
and h-BN in the friction composites.
3.2. Analysis of worn surface and wear debris
SEM-EDS mapping and XPS were performed to characterize
the brown worn surfaces and black wear debris morphologies
and chemical states of the friction composites. Since the SEM-
EDS and XPS analytical results of CPC-1A and CPC-0.75A
were similar and so were those of CPC-0A and CPC-0.25A,
Fig. 5 shows only the results of CPC-1A, CPC-0.5A, and CPC-
0A. Interestingly, Fe was detected on the worn surfaces but not
the unworn surfaces of the composites by XPS (Fig. 5), and
it was identified as Fe2 O3 . This indicates that the counterpart
material (cast iron) gradually transferred onto the worn surface
of the friction composites in the sliding process, which could be
due to the friction thermal-induced oxidation effect. Moreover,
the intensity of the Fe2p peak around 710.9 eV on the worn
334 G. Yi, F. Yan / Materials Science and Engineering A 425 (2006) 330–338

surface of CPC-0.5A was the lowest, indicating that the friction

Fig. 5. XPS spectra of Fe2p on worn and unworn surfaces of various fric-
tion composites (after friction and wear test at temperature of 425 ◦ C, speed
of 0.6 m/s, and load of 10 N).
thermal-induced oxidation and transfer for the counterpart cast
iron rubbing against the CPC-0.5A composite could be slight
(see Fig. 7(f)).
Figs. 6–8 show the SEM micrographs and elemental distri-
bution maps of the worn surfaces of CPC-1A, CPC-0.5A, and
CPC-0A. The worn surface of CPC-1A was much rough and
characterized by detachment and pullout of the reinforcing fibers
(Fig. 6a), which corresponded to the non-uniform distributions
of Ca (Fig. 6b), C (Fig. 6c), Si (Fig. 6d), Al (Fig. 6e), and Fe
(Fig. 6f). For the worn surface of CPC-0A, scuffing and filler
detachment were significantly abated (Fig. 8a). Also the dis-
tributions of Ca (Fig. 8b), C (Fig. 8c), and B (Fig. 8e) were
relatively uniform, while the distributions of Si (Fig. 8d) and

Fig. 6. SEM micrograph and elemental distribution maps of worn surface of friction composite CPC-1A (temperature: 425 ◦ C, speed: 0.6 m/s, load: 10 N).
 G. Yi, F. Yan / Materials Science and Engineering A 425 (2006) 330–338 335

Fig. 7. SEM micrograph and elemental distribution maps of worn surface of friction composite CPC-0.5A (temperature: 425 ◦ C, speed: 0.6 m/s, load: 10 N).

Fe (Fig. 8f) were non-uniform. Contrary to the above, the worn faces, which corresponded to their larger wear rates and unstable
surface of CPC-0.5A was covered with a smooth and compact friction coefficients than that of the CPC-0.5A.
frictional film (Fig. 7a), and the distributions of Ca, C, Si, B, and Fig. 9 shows the SEM micrographs of the wear debris of
Fe were very uniform (Fig. 7b–f). The result indicates that the friction composites CPC-1A, CPC-0.5A, and CPC-0A, while
friction thermal-induced oxidation occurring on the counterpart Table 2 lists the EDS analytical results of the wear debris. The
cast iron surface rubbing against the CPC-0.5A composite was
retarded in the presence of a well-developed transfer film of the
Table 2
composite. Differing from the case of CPC-0.5A, a significant Elemental composition of the wear debris of various friction composites deter-
amount of Fe element transferred from the cast iron was piled up mined by EDS (temperature: 425 ◦ C, speed: 0.6 m/s, load: 10 N)
around the calcined coke particles (black patch) or hard debris
Composites Atomic fraction of element (%)
on the worn surfaces of CPC-1A and CPC-0A (Figs. 6f and 8f).
The Fe element on the worn surfaces of the composites was C O Mg Al Si Ca Ba Fe
identified as Fe2 O3 by XPS (see Fig. 5). Although Fe2 O3 was CPC-0A 59.87 6.26 1.36 2.80 3.75 5.44 1.01 19.51
reported to be a kind of lubricative material [15], the irregular CPC-0.25A 63.14 6.29 0.66 2.45 3.30 4.43 0.95 18.78
piling up of Fe2 O3 and the non-uniform distributions of other CPC-0.5A 75.96 4.62 1.05 2.69 3.29 3.64 0.65 8.1
CPC-0.75A 66.45 5.01 0.71 2.60 3.19 3.46 0.27 18.31
elements suggested that CPC-1A and CPC-0A were unable to
CPC-1A 68.13 5.52 1.25 2.45 3.22 3.80 0.55 15.08
form uniform and tenacious transfer films on the counterpart sur-
336 G. Yi, F. Yan / Materials Science and Engineering A 425 (2006) 330–338

Fig. 8. SEM micrograph and elemental maps of worn surface of friction composite CPC-0A (temperature: 425 ◦ C, speed: 0.6 m/s, load: 10 N).

wear debris of the CPC-1A was relatively smaller in size (see
Fig. 9a), corresponding to the medium wear rate of this friction
composite. The wear debris of the CPC-0A had the largest size
and showed some scattered fibers (see Fig. 9c), corresponding to
the large wear rate of this friction composite. Differing from that
of CPC-1A and CPC-0A, the size of the wear debris of the CPC-
0.5A lay in-between, corresponding to the smallest wear rate of
this friction composite. Furthermore, as shown in Table 2, the
contents of Fe element in the wear debris of the CPC-1A, CPC-
0.75A, CPC-0.25A, and CPC-0A were all very high, while the
content of Fe element in the wear debris of the CPC-0.5A was the
lowest. In other words, CPC-0.5A as the friction composite led
to the smallest wear of the counterpart cast iron disc as compared
to the CPC-1A, CPC-0.75A, CPC-0.25A, and CPC-0A.
The friction and wear behaviors of various composites are
closely related to the formation of their transfer films on the
counterpart rubbing surface. When stable friction films are read-
ily formed for a given frictional couple, a stable friction level and
low wear rate can be maintained at various temperatures, as long
as the friction film is not destroyed [16]. On one hand, though
the degradation of the phenolic resin matrix enlarged inevitably
with increasing continuously temperature, the hybrid of CPC
and h-BN as the friction modifiers at proper volume fractions
could reduce the degradation of the phenolic resin matrix, and
functioned to the formation of a lubricating and/or transferred
film on the rubbing surfaces. But the adhesive ability of the
phenolic resin would be weakened greatly as the disc temper-
ature rose to 425 ◦ C, which enhanced the delamination of the
filler particles from the organic binder, hence the mechanical
strength and wear resistance of the friction composites signifi-
cantly decreased at 425 ◦ C. On the other hand, for the friction
composite CPC-0.5A, the uniform friction film layer was firmly
 G. Yi, F. Yan / Materials Science and Engineering A 425 (2006) 330–338
Fig. 9. SEM micrographs of wear debris of friction composites: (a) CPC-1A, (b) CPC-0.5A, and (c) CPC-0A (temperature: 425 ◦ C, speed: 0.6 m/s, load: 10 N).
adhered to the rubbing surface, and so the sliding of the com-
posite against cast iron was transformed to that of the composite
against its transfer film on the cast iron at various temperatures.
As a result, the wear of the composite CPC-0.5A and the corre-
sponding cast iron disc was significantly reduced and the friction
stability was greatly increased, as compared to the friction com-
posites CPC-1A, CPC-0.75A, CPC-0.25A, and CPC-0A.
To sum up, as the friction modifiers in phenolic resin-based
friction composites, hexagonal born nitride (h-BN) and cal-
cined petroleum coke (CPC) could effectively reduce wear and
increase friction stability, which could be attributed to the com-
plementary action of the “low temperature” lubricity of CPC
and the “high temperature” lubricity of h-BN. Such a comple-
mentary action of the CPC/h-BN was maximized in the friction
composite CPC-0.5A, thus CPC-0.5A had better friction stabil-
ity and wear-resistance than CPC-1A, CPC-0.75A, CPC-0.25A,
and CPC-0A.
4. Conclusions
Phenolic resin-based friction composites incorporated with
friction modifiers (CPC and h-BN) of different relative amounts
were prepared by compression molding. The friction and wear
behavior of the composites was systematically investigated. The
results showed that the hybrid of the two friction modifiers was
effective in decreasing wear rate and stabilizing the friction
coefficient. The effectiveness could be attributed to the comple-
mentary action of the “low temperature” lubricity of CPC and
the “high temperature” lubricity of h-BN. Namely, the hybrid of
337
CPC and h-BN helped to facilitate the formation of a uniform
and tenacious transfer film of the friction composite on the coun-
terpart rubbing surface and hence helped to maintain a relatively
stable friction level and low wear rate at various temperatures. At
the same time, some Fe was transferred from the rubbing coun-
terpart cast iron surface onto the worn composite surface, due
to friction thermal-induced oxidation effect. The friction com-
posites of different compositions (filler content) differed from
each other in terms of the ability to form uniform and tenacious
transfer film on the counterpart cast iron rubbing surface and
their corresponding wear debris morphologies as well, which
corresponded to their different friction and wear behaviors. The
friction composite CPC-0.5A capable of forming uniform and
tenacious transfer film and generating wear debris of a medium
size led to a minimized wear of itself and the counterpart cast
iron, and therefore could find promising application as a novel
friction composite.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to National Natural Science Founda-
tion of China for providing financial support to the present work
(contract grant number 50432020). Professor Jiazheng Zhao is
highly appreciated for constructive discussing on SEM analy-
sis. Thanks are due to Professor Laigui Yu for his assistance
in English writing. We appreciate the careful revision of an
anonymous reviewer who greatly aided in improving the original
manuscript.
338 G. Yi, F. Yan / Materials Science and Engineering A 425 (2006) 330–338
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