TITLE:
Metallurgical Analysis of Brake Blocks
AUTHORS:
Mathioro Fall, Fadel Niang, Olivier Hubert, Mamadou Babacar Ndiaye
KEYWORDS:
Brakes Blocks, Wheel, Microstructure, Hardness, Wear
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Metal,
Vol.7 No.1,
March
29,
2017
ABSTRACT: This study focuses on the characterization of train brake blocks. The brake blocks are an essential organ of train speed control system to ensure comfort and safety to passengers and crew. However, poor quality soles can cause a premature wear of the wheels whose consequences are on the one hand, a damaged brake function, and also high repair costs. Samples were carried out on 3 different batches of brake blocks. Their metallurgical characterization consisted of a study of the hardness and microstructural analysis (microstructures and chemical analyzes) of the different samples. The results show that the hardness of some soles is greater than that of the wheel, mainly associated with a cementite microstructure. This can lead to a premature wear of the wheels at the expense of brake blocks.