A Review on Brake Pad Materials and Methods of Production

Abstract

Brake pads most especially in the automotive industry play a vital role in controlling the speed of a moving vehicle or machines in some instances. This can only be achieved through careful formulations of selected materials in the right proportions. However, not all brake pads materials are safe for use in automobile and other industrial applications, due to environmental pollution and other health related factors. Thus, the need to develop materials which are considerably suitable and at the same time energy efficient in nature becomes necessary in order to minimize and reduce further damage to an already damaged environment. Thus, environment friendly and non-toxic materials are gaining popularity, and hence, a priority among researchers and industries. The heralding introduction of environmentally friendly natural fibres to replace asbestos in a control composition with other additives in the production of brake pads proves to be a popularly embraced concept among recent researchers. This paper presents review on mechanical properties, tribological behavior, water absorption capacity, dynamic mechanical analysis, morphological and thermal properties of organic reinforced brake pad composites with respect to the materials used and methods of production employed. Findings of this study show that hybridization, modification, chemical treatment and composition control of constituent materials can improve mechanical, thermal and dynamic mechanical properties as well as reduce wear rate and water absorption property. It can be concluded that many researchers were able to improve the performance of braking systems by introducing environmental and user friendly composite materials that can withstand the test of time.