Characterisation and wear behaviour of rolled carbon steel in Dot 4 brake fluid

Abstract The wear behaviour of as-rolled carbon steel (ARCS) in DOT4 brake fluid is investigated and reported in this study. Sample was characterised using chemical analysis, hardness, impact and tensile strength tests. Arc-spectrometry and the Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDS) facilities were used to ascertain the chemical compositions. The microstructures and wear track patterns of samples were evaluated using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and High-resolution metallurgical microscope. The wear of as-rolled carbon steel (ARCS) samples subjected to reciprocating motion of loads at room temperature and constant wear time were compared in air, DOT4 fluid and water. The frictional behaviour and wear track patterns of the specimens subjected to varied normal loads (3, 5 and 10N) under reciprocating sliding wear were employed to assess the wear damage of samples in the three different environments. The coefficient of friction (CoF) obtained tends to be in the order of μ DOT4 brake fluid < μ water < μ air comparatively for the three test environments.