Additively manufactured and cast high-temperature aluminum alloys for electric vehicle brake rotor application

Grejtak, Tomas; Shyam, Amit; Blau, Peter J.; Qu, Jun

doi:10.1016/j.wear.2025.205961

Additively manufactured and cast high-temperature aluminum alloys for electric vehicle brake rotor application

Journal Article · Wed Feb 19 00:00:00 EST 2025 · Wear

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2025.205961· OSTI ID:2573553

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Blau Tribology Consulting, Enka, NC (United States)

Electric vehicle brake rotors demand lightweight, high thermal conductivity materials with good resistance to wear, creep, salt corrosion, and thermal fade, all of which present challenges to the traditionally used cast iron. In this work, we investigated the braking performance of recently developed high-temperature aluminum alloys in both cast and 3D printed forms, that possess excellent microstructural and mechanical stability at elevated temperatures. Three aluminum alloys, Al-6Cu-Mn-Zr, Al-9Cu-Mn-Zr, and Al-Ce-Ni-Mn-Zr and a reference cast iron were tested on a sub-scale brake tester against a commercial brake pad material over a range of sliding speeds between 2 and 15 m/s. The performance of these alloys was evaluated for wear resistance, friction behavior, temperature elevation, and surface morphological change. Although all three candidate alloys had lower wear-resistance than cast iron, Al-Ce-Ni-Mn-Zr showed a significantly reduced wear rate in comparison to the Al-Cu-Mn-Zr alloys. Moreover, Al-Ce-Ni-Mn-Zr alloy had the most consistent friction behavior at all sliding speeds and good fade resistance, as the coefficient of friction did not dramatically decrease with temperature rise but stayed within a desirable range of 0.35–0.50 instead. The superior wear resistance and braking performance of the Al-Ce-Ni-Mn-Zr alloy were attributed to its higher hardness, and high temperature yield strength and creep resistance compared with the Al-Cu-Mn-Zr alloys. In conclusion, the results suggest that the braking performance of these aluminum alloys could be further enhanced by increasing the hardness and forming a more stable transfer layer on the sliding surface.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 2573553

Journal Information:: Wear, Journal Name: Wear Vol. 570; ISSN 0043-1648

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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