Development and optimization of friction material used in wind turbines and heavy-duty industrial brake systems

该项目旨在为利用粉末冶金(PM)工艺制造摩擦材料复合材料提供科学见解和先进的技术解决方案。该项目针对与风力发电站清洁能源发电相关的不同类型的摩擦材料。该项目将侧重于适当的原材料选择、适当配方的开发和粉末冶金制造程序的优化，以降低中小型生产运行的制造成本。提出了可能的冶金和工程解决方案，并将进行测试和优化，以应对目前的挑战，以满足此类应用所需的物理、机械和摩擦学性能。更具体地说，该提案分为三个子项目。第一个将涉及偏航刹车的金属刹车片的开发，以取代目前使用的有机材料(高维护性)。这种应用要求材料具有0.08-0.2的静摩擦系数，高抗压强度以承受所施加的载荷，高剪切强度以防止在载荷下运动时的分层和剪切，以及高耐磨性。第二个子项目将寻求将烧结和铜焊作业重组为一个单一的作业。风力发电厂转子刹车专用的刹车片需要对铜基圆柱体进行烧结，然后将其焊接在钢背板上。这个子项目的目的是在一次操作中将圆柱体烧结并将它们钎焊在烘烤盘上，从而提高生产率并降低能源消耗。第三个子项目将专注于开发预测刹车片材料摩擦性能的模型。这样的模型将有助于最大限度地减少优化新型材料摩擦性能所需的开发步骤。这些模型在开发除发电风车以外的其他应用的摩擦材料方面将特别有用(例如：重型工业应用，如起重机、采矿设备、火车等)。

This project aims at generating scientific insights and advanced technical solutions for manufacturing of friction material composites utilizing the Powder Metallurgy (PM) process. The project is targeted at different types of friction materials related to clean energy generation in wind power stations. The project will be focused on the proper choice of raw materials, development of appropriate formulations and optimization of PM fabrication procedures for reducing manufacturing costs for small and medium size production runs. Possible metallurgical and engineering solutions are proposed and will be tested and optimized to address the present challenges to fulfil the physical, mechanical and tribological performances required for such applications. More specifically, the proposal is subdivided in three sub-projects. The first one will deal with the development of metallic brake pads for yaw brakes to replace the organic materials that are currently used (high maintenance). This application requires a material with a static friction coefficient of 0.08-0.2, high compressive strength to withstand the applied load, high shear strength to prevent delamination and shearing during movement under load and high wear resistance. The second sub-projects will seek to regroup the sintering and brazing operations into a single one. Brake pads dedicated to rotor brakes in power generating wind mills require that Cu-based cylinders be sintered and than brazed on steel back plates. The intent in this sub-project is to sinter the cylinders and braze them on the bake plates in a single operation, thus increasing productivity and decreasing energy consumption. The third sub-projects will focus on developing models to predict the friction performances of brake pad materials. Such models will serve to minimize development steps required to optimize the friction performances of novel materials. These models will be particularly useful of developing friction materials for other applications than power generating windmills (Ex: heavy-duty industrial applications such as cranes, mining equipment, trains, etc.)