REPORT on the TRUCK BRAKE LINING WORKSHOP and FLEET OPERATORS' SURVEY

摘要

The report summarizes what transpired during brake linings-related workshop held at the Fall 2003 meeting of the Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) in Charlotte, NC. The title of the workshop was ''Developing a Useful Friction Material Rating System''. It was organized by a team consisting of Peter Blau (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Jim Britell (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), and Jim Lawrence (Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association). The workshop was held under the auspices of TMC Task Force S6 (Chassis), chaired by Joseph Stianche (Sanderson Farms, Inc.). Six invited speakers during the morning session provided varied perspectives on testing and rating aftermarket automotive and truck brake linings. They were: James R. Clark, Chief Engineer, Foundation Brakes and Wheel Equipment, Dana Corporation, Spicer Heavy Axle and Brake Division; Charles W. Greening, Jr, President, Greening Test Labs; Tim Duncan, General Manager, Link Testing Services;Dennis J. McNichol, President, Dennis NationaLease; Jim Fajerski, Business Manager, OE Sales and Applications Engineering, Federal Mogul Corporation; and Peter J. Blau, Senior Materials Development Engineer, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The afternoon break-out sessions addressed nine questions concerning such issues as: ''Should the federal government regulate aftermarket lining quality?''; ''How many operators use RP 628, and if so, what's good or bad about it?''; and ''Would there be any value to you of a vocation-specific rating system?'' The opinions of each discussion group, consisting of 7-9 participants, were reported and consolidated in summary findings on each question. Some questions produced a greater degree of agreement than others. In general, the industry seems eager for more information that would allow those who are responsible for maintaining truck brakes to make better, more informed choices on aftermarket linings. A written fleet operator survey was also conducted during the TMC meeting. Twenty-one responses were received, spanning fleet sizes between 12 and 170,000 vehicles. Responses are summarized in a series of tables separated into responses from small (100 or fewer powered vehicles), medium (101-1000 vehicles), and large fleets (>1000 vehicles). The vast majority of fleets do their own brake maintenance, relying primarily on experience and lining manufactures to select aftermarket linings. At least half of the responders are familiar to some extent with TMC Recommended Practice 628 on brake linings, but most do not use this source of test data as the sole criterion to select linings. Significant shortfalls in the applicability of TMC RP 628 to certain types of brake systems were noted.