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In the present investigation, optical microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), microindentation and image segmentation were employed to investigate the different structures existing on the worn surface of a non asbestos organic (NAO) and a low metallic (LM) brake pad. The following structures were identified on the surfaces of the studied pads: (i) deformable and non-deformable primary plateaus, (ii) secondary contact plateaus formed with and without the support from the structural components of the pad (the primary plateaus), and (iii) the “elastic highlands”. This last structure stays in a high position on the pad's surface topography and responded very flexible to applied loads. Finally, correlation between friction and the structures found on the pads’ surfaces is discussed throughout this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper provides a statistical analysis of the error obtained in the measurement of density ( Dcp ), size ( Scp ) and area fraction ( Acp ) of the contact plateaus existing on the surface of brake friction materials (BFM). Two different analysis were performed: (1) random: micrographs were taken in random locations of the BFMs' surfaces; (2) deterministic: micrographs were taken in 3 arrangements, that are border (B), center (C) and distributed (D). Results of the random analysis revealed that a micrograph area of 43.6 mm 2 (12 images) provides an error lower than 5% for all the 3 morphological parameters studied. Deterministic analysis showed that arrangement D provides the lowest error in Acp , while B and C are prone to generate biased errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]