Development of Automobile Brake Pads Using Three Biological Materials

This research centers on the development of an automobile brake pad using three biological materials namely; palm kernel shell, coconut shell and periwinkle shell with a view to replace the use of asbestos whose dust is carcinogenic and harmful to the health. The brake pad was developed using three biological materials which were; palm kernel shell powder, coconut shell powder and periwinkle shell powder as base materials, epoxy resin as binder material, copper and zinc as abrasives and rubber dust from shoe as filler materials. The grounded base materials were sieved into different sieve grades in the ratio of 30% palm kernel shell, 30% coconut shell, 30% periwinkle shell, 10% epoxy resin, 10% rubber dust, 10% silicon, 6.0% copper and 4.0% zinc using compression moulding. The properties of scratch hardness, tensile strength, swell test and wear rate were examined and the results obtained were compared with those of the commercial brake pad (asbestos-based). The results obtained for the developed brake pads gave 2.50x10-6g/m (Wear rate), 0.909% (Swell test), 78MPa (Brinell Hardness test) and 6.52 MPa (Tensile strength) and compared favourably with 3.80x10-6g/m (Wear rate), 0.9% (Swell test), 101MPa (Brinell hardness test) and 7.00 MPa (Tensile strength) for conventional brake pads. This is an indication that the three biological materials studied can be used in the production of asbestos free brake pads, and also serves as a replacement for some of the base components in the production of conventional brake pads, which have both health and environmental implications.