With the increasing interest in topics related to the environmental pollution by the airborne particulate matter (PM), several strategies have been implemented to reduce the emission contribution from road transport. Due to the worldwide restrictions on the tailpipe emissions, in recent years, an increased concern on the non-exhaust emissions has been observed. The wear of the braking components, clutches and tires have been identified as the major sources of non-exhaust emissions from road transport. The present research focuses on the reduction of the emissions coming from the wear of the braking components and it shows a new approach that can be applied in parallel to the development of novel materials and advanced brake control strategies; this is based on the correlation between driving and braking behaviour of drivers; this correlation could be exploited to lower the non-exhaust brake emissions. To understand the influence of the driving behaviour on the emissions, the braking system of a C-segment passenger car was tested in a dynamometric bench. The test has been carried out following the informal brake protocol GRPE-81-12 published by the Particle Measurement Programme Informal Working Group (PMP-IWG). The cycle used as a reference for measuring emissions was the WLTP-brake cycle. A modified version of this cycle was generated to simulate a more conservative driving style. Some stops of the reference WLTP-brake cycle have been identified, according to different criteria and then modified leading to a cycle with a lower average vehicle speed and deceleration. These modifications led to a testing cycle roughly 17 minutes longer, with the same vehicle mileage and to lower disc temperatures with respect to the reference WLTP-brake. The modifications resulted in a significant decrease in both PM10, and PN10, decreased of the 48% and 53% respectively, with respect the value obtained with the reference WLTP-brake cycle.

Brembo S.p.A: Dr. Matteo Federici, Dr. Mara Leonardi, Dr. Andrea Bonfanti, Dr. Guido Perricone