ABSTRACT
The high-speed, lightweight, and fuel-efficient modern era vehicles are contributing to an increased demand for a healthy, reliable, and efficient braking system. This purely depends on the closely supervised design and production of its various components for successful braking efficiency. The friction pad composite materials are promising in stopping or slowing moving or spinning vehicle wheels/rotors. Here, the kinetic energy of rotation is converted into thermal energy by sliding and friction at the interface. This review chapter briefly provides a deeper understanding of friction composite systems, braking tribology, and performance metrics (like friction coefficient, fading/recovery tendency, friction stability, and so on with respect to operating conditions like applied load/pressure, sliding velocity, etc.) for the evaluation of braking performance, along with decision-making tools aiding in the design/development of such a complex composite system. The organic (non-asbestos) friction composite materials often used in passenger car automotive receive primary attention. It has been observed that in order to have the desired blend of performance characteristics as per norms; the brake lining materials must be a multi-ingredient composite system having an appropriate proportion of binders, fibers, fillers, and friction modifiers/additives. There is ample scope of research to develop versatile friction composites for braking applications.
