PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Brake pads are used in the braking systems of automobiles and other
vehicles and machines to control the speed by converting kinetic energy of the vehicles to the
heat which is dissipated to the atmosphere. Brake pads are steel backing plate with friction
material bound to the surface facing the brake disc. The demand on the brake pads are such
that they must possess high friction coefficient with the brake disc and not decompose or
breakdown in such a way that the friction coefficient with the brake disc is not compromised
at high temperatures; exhibit a stable and constant friction coefficient with the brake disc.
Efficiency of a brake structure in a automobile is mainly determined by
the tribological characteristics of a friction couple. Among the components in a brake
assembly, the material used for friction is taken into account as a pivotal part of the
performance of a vehicle. The modification of brake performance by changing the friction
material is relatively easier for the vehicle manufacturer rather modifying other specifications
of a brake system. Various materials have been used to produce brake friction materials,
expecting that each ingredient provides positive roles for brake performance under different
braking environments.
Fig 1.1. Brake pads
1.1. ASBESTOS AND ITS LIMITATIONS
Asbestos are group of six naturally occurring fibrous minerals composed of thin, needle
like fibers. Brake pads generally consist of asbestos embedded in polymeric matrix
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PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
along with several other ingredients, because it was seemed to make good sense of
friction control and withstanding high heats associated with stopping moving parts.
The use of asbestos material is being avoided to manufacture the brake pads as it is
harmful and toxic in nature. Further it leads to various health issues like asbestosis,
mesothelioma and lung cancers. Past exposure to asbestoses currently kills around 4000
people a year in Great Britain.
Fig 1.1.1. Asbestos fibers
So a non-asbestos friction material was established by wastage in agriculture- palm
kernel shells (PKS) along with other constituents, considered as a substitute in the
manufacture of a disc brake. The presence of PKS particles delivers a higher thermal
stability, increased abrasion and sliding wear resistance and delays the transition from mild to
severe wear. The purpose of the seminar is to develop an asbestos free brake pads using
natural materials like Palm kernel, Nile rose, Wheat.
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PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
The seminar report is mainly based on the journal “EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS
ON WEAR PROPERTIES OF PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR
BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS” published in the journal of the Defence Technology,
August-November 2018 by Satish pujari and S. Srikiran. It includes the research that
indicates that Pal m Kernel Shell could be a conceivable alternative for asbestos in friction
coating materials.
As a part of learning, some other journals were collected regarding this topic. A report on
Evaluation of palm kernel fibers for production of asbestos free automotive brake pads by
K.K Ikpambese, D.T Gundu, L.T Tuleun. This report describes the study of asbestos free
brake pads produced from palm kernel fibers with epoxy resin binder was evaluated. This
result indicated that palm kernel fibers can be effectively used as a replacement for asbestos
in brake pad applications.
Sliding Wear Properties of Jute Fabric Reinforced Polypropylene Composites- a journal by
Temesgen Berhanu Yallew, Pradeep kumar, Inderdeep singh also referred. The main aim of
this study is to examine the effect of natural fibers like jute fabric reinforcement on the
sliding wear and friction characteristics of the resulting composites.
Thus obtained lot of information about palm kernel reinforced natural composites and its
importance in used as a alternative for asbestos in brake pad applications.
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PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
CHAPTER 3
BRAKE PADS BASED ON NATURAL FIBERS
In the current days, various studies were experimented to examine the usage of examine the
usage of natural fibers as an alternative for the fibers that are artificial in fiber reinforced
composites. Low density, low cost, high flexural modulus, as well as impact strength, specific
strength, renewable, non-corrosive and easier to manufacture are the merits that are observed
with fibers that are naturally available. Natural fibers play an essential role in the
development of high performance biodegradable composites. Further, they are needful
material in addressing the existing perpetual environmental and 3R issues due to its easy to
degrade. These points make natural fibers as a replacement for synthetic fibers in composite
materials.
Due to the harmful effects of asbestos, the asbestos based brake pads can be replaced by
natural fibers like palm kernel (0-50%), Nile rose (0-15%) and wheat (0-10%) with additives
like Aluminum oxide (5-20%) and Graphite powder (10-35%). Phenolic resin is used as a
binder. It produces good bonding nature to fiber. Particulate Nile roses are used to increase
the friction coefficient and wheat powder is used to reduce the wear rate. Aluminum oxide
and Graphite are abrasive in nature. This helps to make brake pads with high friction
coefficient and less wear rate with low noise pollution. The wear of proposed composites has
been investigated at different speeds. Various tests like wear on pin on disc apparatus,
hardness on the Rockwell hardness apparatus and Oil absorption test have been conducted.
The experiment is conducted to indicate that palm kernel shell could be a suitable alternative
for asbestos in friction coating materials.
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PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
Fig 3.1. palm kernel fibers, Nile rese fiber, Wheat fiber
CHAPTER 4
EXPERIMENTS
Palm kernel fiber, Wheat fiber and Nile rose fiber were collected and treated with sodium
hydroxide (caustic soda) and were ground inti powder of required size. In the work, Palm
kernel fiber of palm kernel that is particulate is mixed with aluminum oxide powder and
graphite powder in definite proportions is called as Type-1 composites and particulate palm
kernel fiber mixed with powders of Nile rose, Wheat, Aluminum and graphite in definite
proportions is called as Type-2 composites. Phenolic resin was used as a matrix. Three tests
are mainly conducted on the natural fibers. They are:
Wear Test
Hardness Test
Oil Absorption Test
4.1. ALKALI TREATMENT
The collected palm kernel, Wheat and Nile rose fibers were suspended in a solution of caustic
soda (NaOH) for one day to remove the remnant of red oil left after extraction. The fibers
then watered to remove the caustic soda and is exposed to sunlight for one week. The
dehydrated fibers were ground into fiber form of grain size of less than 100µm using a
hammer mill.
4.2. COMPOSITE PREPARATION
Palm kernel was base material, phenolic resin was binder material, aluminum oxide and
graphite were abrasive and friction materials. Palm kernel, Nile rose and wheat fibers were
collected from the waste palm oil fruit, rose stem and wheat plant respectively. These
collected fibers were undergone for alkali treatment and then ground as a powder. The
prepared powders of different fibers are mixed with particulate aluminum oxide and graphite
as Type-1 and Type-2 composites in different volume fractions and are named as sample
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PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
numbers like S1,S2,S3,S4 and S5 respectively. Type-1 and Type-2 composites with different
volume fractions of the fibers are exhibited on table 1 and table 2 respectively.
Sample No Palm Kernel % Al2O3 % Graphite % Phenolic resin%
S1 10 20 35 35
S2 20 15 30 35
S3 30 10 25 35
S4 40 5 20 35
S5 50 5 10 35
Table 4.2.1. Type-1 composites with different volume fractions of palm kernel powder
Sample Phenolic
Palm kernel Nile roses Wheat Al2O3 Graphite
No resin
S1 5 2 3 20 35 35
S2 10 5 5 15 20 35
S3 15 10 5 10 25 35
S4 20 10 10 5 20 35
S5 25 15 10 5 10 35
Table 4.2.2. Type-2 composites with different volume fractions of palm kernel powder
4.3. WEAR TEST
The wear characteristics of Type-1 and Type-2 composites as a function of volume fractions
of palm kernel, Nile rose and wheat fibers at various speeds of 350 rpm, 450 rpm and 550
rpm measured by using a pin on the Disc wear Testing machine. The sample is of cylindrical
in shape of size 8mm in diameter and 30mm length were prepared for all compositions of the
fibers. The tests were carried out at a load of 20KN at difference speed conditions.
The equation for calculate the wear rate is given by,
Ws = ∆ m/ (L×ρ×F)
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PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
Where Ws is specific wear rate in mm3/Nm, ∆ m is a weight difference in gm, L is sliding
distance of the specimen in m, F is applied load in Newton and ρ is the density of the fibers
in gm/mm3.
Fig 4.3.1.
Wear testing specimens at different volume fractions of the fiber
4.4. HARDNESS TEST
The Hardness of the composites as a fraction of volume fraction of palm kernel, Nile rose and
Wheat fibers were measured by using a Rockwell hardness testing machine. The samples of
the size
25mm×25mm×6mm were prepared for different compositions of the fibers.
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Fig 4.4.1. Hardness testing specimens at different volume fractions of the fiber
4.5. OIL ABSORPTION TEST
Oil absorption tests conducted as a function of volume fractions of various used fibers, to find
the ability of composites to absorb different oils. The samples have a size of
7.6cm×2.54cm×0.5cm. The test was conducted for 5 days at a room temperature.
The equation used for the calculation of oil absorption coefficient is,
Oil absorption (%) = (Wf -Wi)/ Wf × 100
Where Wi and Wf are the weights of the samples before and after immersion of the specimen
in SAE 10 oil.
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PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
Fig 4.5.1. Oil absorption
testing specimens at
different volume
fractions of the fiber
CHAPTER 5
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PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
From the available sources, it is found that palm kernel fibers mainly contain semi-metals and
non-metals. These elements are equally found in asbestos. The elements like K, Ca, Ba, Cr,
Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb are equally found in both asbestos and palm kernel fibers.
The comparison of asbestos and palm kernel based brake lining formulations are collected
and it shows that palm kernel fibers can be used as fibers in the production of brake pads.
Formulation (asbestos Formulation (palm kernel
Property
based) based)
Compressive strength 110 103
Coefficient of friction 0.3-0.4 0.43
Relative density 1.89 1.65
Wear rate 0.00044 0.00038
Water absorption % 0.90 5.03
Oil absorption 0.30 0.44
Toxicity Toxic Non-toxic
Table 5.1. Comparison of palm kernel fibers brake lining formulation with asbestos
5.1. WEAR PROPERTIES
The specific wear rate of Type-1 composites at different volume fractions of particulate palm
kernel at different speeds is shown in the table 5.1.1. Similarly specific wear rate of Type-2
composites at different volume fractions of particulate palm kernel at different speeds is
shown in the table 5.1.2.
Sample No At 350 rpm At 450 rpm At 550 rpm
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PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
S1 0.000197 0.000230 0.000188
S2 0.000197 0.000169 0.001130
S3 0.000390 0.000460 0.000629
S4 0.000197 0.000230 0.000314
S5 0.000098 0.000380 0.000250
Table 5.1.1. Specific wear rate of Type-1 composites at various speeds
Sample No At 350 rpm At 450 rpm At 550 rpm
S1 0.000520 0.001640 0.000840
S2 0.001180 0.001130 0.000840
S3 0.000260 0.000710 0.000925
S4 0.001320 0.002050 0.002430
S5 0.002640 0.002050 0.001680
Table 5.1.2. Specific wear rate of Type-2 composites at various speeds
The wear results of Type-1 composites show that, the specific wear rate increases as fiber
content increases up to certain limit, then the specific wear rate decreases. It is because, due
to fiber matrix adhesion. In case of higher fiber contents, the tested composites may be
attributed to strong adhesion of fiber with resin.
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Fig 5.1.1. Effect of volume fraction of palm kernel on wear rate of type-1 composites
The wear results of Type-2 composites shows that the trend of graph sometimes decreasing
and sometimes increasing, which is shown in figure below. It depends upon adhesion
properties of particulate Nile rose and wheat with resin. At the strong adhesion of the natural
fibers with resin gives
good wear resistance of
composites.
Fig 5.1.2. Effect of volume fractions on wear rate of Type-2 composites
5.2. HARDNESS PROPERTIES
The hardness values of Type-1 and Type-2 composites at different volume fractions of the
fiber as shown in table.
Sample No Type-1 Type-2
S1 2.11 1.83
S2 2.75 2.05
S3 2.84 2.23
S4 2.92 2.39
S5 2.98 2.47
Table 5.2.1. Rockwell hardness number of Type-1 and Type-2 composites
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PALM KERNEL REINFORCED COMPOSITES FOR BRAKE PAD APPLICATIONS
It is observed that the hardness of the composites increases with the increase in the fiber
content. Usually, the fiber content increases the modulus of composites which increases the
hardness of fiber. This
is because hardness is
a function of relative
fiber volume. From the
figure it is concluded
that Type-1 composites
have more hardness
value than Type-2
composites at
maximum volume
fraction of the fiber
content.
Fig 5.2.1. Effect of volume fraction of the fiber on hardness of various composites
5.3. OIL ABSORPTION PROPERTIES
The effect of the parameters such as volume fraction and oil absorption content for 5 days of
Type-1 and Type-2 composites are studied. The oil absorption values for Type-1 andType-2
composites for different volume fractions of the fiber as shown in table.
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Volume fraction/
Day-1 Day-2 Day-3 Day-4 Day-5
%
10 18.36 18.98 14.23 7.98 4.53
20 25.26 17.71 12.29 8.17 5.34
30 29.42 22.77 9.42 6.37 5.25
40 31.31 25.82 13.63 3.19 4.31
50 34.76 24.37 11.04 8.51 1.85
Table 5.3.1. Oil absorption values of Type-1 composites
Volume fraction/ % Day -1 Day-2 Day-3 Day-4 Day-5
10 23.43 19.53 18.56 17.56 3.14
20 28.36 9.99 20.9 14.99 7.34
30 30.16 16.69 23.83 12.28 6.87
40 42.62 13.84 21.77 3.97 8.27
50 44.9 22.20 12.68 2.76 9.36
Table 5.3.2. Oil absorption values of Type-2 composites
The results show that, when the volume fraction of the fiber increases the oil absorption
content of the composite increases. The oil absorption values of Type-1 and Type-2
composites for different volume fractions of the fiber are shown in the figures.
The trend of graph indicate that, Type-1 composites have less oil absorption capacity
compared to Type-2 composites. It is because in Type-1 composites, Palm kernel absorbs
more resin and this resin absorbs less oil where as in Type-2 composites, the wheat and Nile
rose attracts more oil which leads to more oil absorption.
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Fig 5.3.1. Oil absorption for different volume fractions of fiber for Type-1 composites
Fig 5.3.2. Oil
absorption for
different volume
fractions of fiber for
Type-2
composites
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CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS
Better wear properties occurred by adding of 5% wheat in 30% volume fraction of fiber of
Type-2 composite. But in Type-1 composites for achieving better wear properties, the volume
fraction of the palm kernel should be 50%. From the results, it shows that the strong adhesion
of fiber with resin gives good wear resistance to the composites. It gives wear rate of 0.00038
which is less compared to the wear rate of asbestos whose value is 0.00044.
The maximum value of hardness occurred in Type-2 composites at 10% wheat and 15% Nile
rose added to 25% palm kernel, which is nearer to the value of 50% of palm kernel in Type-1
composites. The palm kernel reinforced composites have good hardness properties as
compared to asbestos materials.
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The least oil absorption content occurred for 50% of palm kernel for Type-1 composites after
immersion of specimen in oil for 5 days where as for Type-2 composites, the addition of 2%
Nile rose, 3% of wheat for 5% palm kernel, the oil absorption value is less. The oil absorption
% of palm kernel fiber is 0.44 which is higher than the oil absorption % of asbestos which is
0.30.
Based on the observations, it can be concluded that the tested natural fibers can replace
asbestos in reinforcing the friction composites.
REFERENCE
1. Satish pujari, S. Srikiran. Experimental investigation on wear properties of palm
kernel reinforced composites for brake pad applications. Defence Technology Volume
15, Issue 3, June 2019, pages 295-299.
2. Ikpambese K.K, Gundu DT, Tuleun L.T. Evaluation of palm kernel fibers (PKFs) for
production of asbestos-free automotive brake pads. Journal of king saud university
engineering science 2016;28:110e8.
3. Yallew TB, Pradeep kumar p, Singh I. Sliding wear properties of jutr fabric reinforced
polypropylene composites. Procedia Engineering 2014;97;402e11.
4. Jacko MG, Lee SK. Brake linings and clutch facings. In: Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia
of Chemical Technology,4; 1992. P. 523-36.
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