Abstract
Over many years, asbestos has been used as reinforcement material in the production of brake pads production but it has lost favour due to its carcinogenic nature, as a result, there is need to investigate other possible substitute which can offer similar tribological properties as the carcinogenic material (asbestos). Several works has been carried out using different reinforcement material with the aim of finding a possible replacement for asbestos. In this work, Rule of mixture (ROM) was ustlised for sample formulation and the tribological properties of natural based material (coconut shell and seashell) were investigated using experimental design (response surface methodology) and multi-response optimisation technique (Grey relational analysis). The multi-response performance of the formulated brake pads samples was compared with a commercial brake pad sample. The research findings revealed that sample can be produced using 52% reinforcement, 35% binder, 8% abrasive and 5% friction modifier while the Grey relational analysis (GRA) showed that optimum multi-response performance of the developed coconut shell based sample can be achieved using MP, MT and CT and HTT of 12MPa, 100 oC, 6mins and 2hrs respectively while that of the developed seashell based brake pad can be achieved using MP, MT and CT and HTT of 10MPa, 160 oC, 12mins and 2hrs respectively. Also, the Analysis of variance (ANOVA) results show a percentage error of less than 5% indicating minima noise effect. In addition, the optimized coconut shell-based brake pads falls within the category of class H (µ >0.55) type of brake pads while seashell based sample falls within the class G (µ: 0.45-0.55) type of brake pads. It therefore concluded that the use of coconut shell can serve as a better substitute for asbestos-based brake pads.
Highlights
Friction materials are materials used for the development of automobile parts such as clutch and brake pads which are utilised in the transmission and braking of various machineries like cars, aircraft, motorcycles and other automobile systems
The results of sample formulation indicate that samples should be produced using 52% reinforcement material, 35% binder, 8% abrasive (Alumina) and 5% friction modifier
These values falls within the class F (0.35 – 0.45), G (0.45 – 0.55) and H ( 0.55) type of brake pads recommended for use in automobile by Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) and reported by Blau (2001) as well as Dagwa and Ibhadode
Summary
Friction materials are materials used for the development of automobile parts such as clutch and brake pads which are utilised in the transmission and braking of various machineries like cars, aircraft, motorcycles and other automobile systems. Mechanics working on automobile are in most cases exposed to asbestos dust in several ways. This include, grinding of friction brake or clutch, repair work on brakes and clutch, where accumulated dusts are always wiped off before the old ones are replaced using brush (Abutu et al, 2018). All these methods are capable of causing asbestos particles to become airborne which is very hazardous to the environment. Mutlu et al (2009) reported that tribological properties are very important properties in the performance of brake pads and a relatively high friction coefficient in the range of 0.3-0.7 and lower wear rate is normally desirable when using brake lining materials
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