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 along

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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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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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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.

Fig 3.1. palm kernel fibers, Nile rese fiber, Wheat fiber

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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 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.

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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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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.

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.

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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.

Fig 4.5.1. Oil absorption testing specimens at different volume fractions of the fiber

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CHAPTER 5

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.

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Sample No At 350 rpm At 450 rpm At 550 rpm

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.

Fig 5.1.1. Effect of volume fraction of palm kernel on wear rate of type-1 composites

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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

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

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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.

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

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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.

Fig 5.3.1. Oil absorption for different volume fractions of fiber for Type-1 composites

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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.

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.

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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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