INVESTIGATIONS ON THE PHOSPHOROUS CAST IRONS DESTINED FOR BRAKE SHOES MANUFACTURING

The choice of friction material can have a direct influence on the wear life of the brake block or wheel, which is typically much more expensive to replace. The classical cast iron brake block is gradually replaced by organic composite or sintered composite brake blocks. Nowadays, attention is devoted to solving problems connected with using modern brake materials and their impact on thermal and mechanical loading of railway wheels. In this paper, the investigated subjects are the gray cast iron brake shoes, with lamellar graphite and with high content of phosphorus (0.8?1.1%), according to requirements for the brake shoes related materials.