Natural Fiber Composites from Coconut Fiber, Wood Powder, and Shellfish Shell of Centrifugal Clutch Materials

Abstract

Natural fiber materials are the sustainable sources used for future automotive elements, where the centrifugal clutch utilizes the frictional force on the clutch pads to transfer kinetic energy from the rotating crankshaft to the transmission and the wheels. These pads are produced from several natural composites, such as coconut fiber, as well as wood and shellfish powder, whose characteristics are being investigated for hardness, microstructure, and wear properties. Based on this study, performance analysis was carried out on the samples of composite centrifugal clutch applied to automatic motorcycles. As a comparison, subsequent analysis was conducted on the genuine clutch pad materials, where the results showed differences in the characteristics of each mixture composition of the natural fiber composites. This indicated that the addition of wood powder composition to the clutch pad increased the hardness and special wear values by an average of approximately 12.9 and 1.16%, respectively. Furthermore, the composite content was observed in the microstructure, as the maximum power and torque on the natural fiber materials were 10.7 hp and 17.17 N.m, respectively. The value was found to be closely similar to the genuine parts with maximum power and torque of 10.8 hp and 16.02 N.m, respectively.

Characteristics of Natural Fiber Composites Materials Reinforced with Aluminum and Copper Powder for The Performance of Automatic Motorcycle Clutch Pad

“…Tests are carried out at different loads and speeds to simulate real-world driving conditions. As in previous studies [13], in this work, the materials used were coconut fiber, wood powder, copper powder, aluminum powder, epoxy resin, and hardener. This material is shown in Figure 1a-Figure 1b.…”

“…Then it is crushed and sorted from the rough waste through filtering to get fine wood powder. Whereas coconut coir waste obtained from coconut water drink sellers is naturally dried under the hot sun to dry, then grated and mashed into fine fibers [5], [13], [27], [28]. Copper powder and aluminum powder are obtained from crushed metal flakes as a result of cutting and turning.…”

“…Several studies state that natural fibers have the potential to be developed into composites, namely coconut fiber material which has good characteristics for composite applications, such as friction materials for brake pads and clutch pads [12], [13]. In previous studies, natural fiber materials from coconut fiber, wood powder, and clamshell have been developed as natural fiber composites for clutch pads, where the performance results show results that are close to the characteristics of genuine parts, it's just that the mixture of clamshell materials is still not optimal for the quality of the lining for quite a long time [13], [14]. The addition of aluminum and copper powder as reinforcement in coconut fiber and wood powder composites can improve mechanical properties and reduce wear [15].…”

“…The harsh nature of additives is used to increase the friction coefficient of friction pads, such as steel, cast iron, refractory oxides, silicates, or quartz. Increasing the friction coefficient is expected to increase the service life of the friction pads [13], [19]- [22]. Aluminum oxide and magnesium oxide have been used for the prototype of bamboo fibers composites brake pads and coconut fibers composites brake pads, the composite materials made have relatively the same coefficient of friction and wear as commercial brake pads [12].…”

Experimental Investigation on Performance Characteristics of Dry Centrifugal Clutch with Grooved Friction Liners

“…Present studies are well proven to predict and optimize the material selection for important components of the transmission system, i.e. centrifugal clutch [9]- [11]. Rigorous testing at the design level helps to predict the particular characteristics of any component.…”