Tribological Performance of a Non Asbestos Organic Brake Pad Using Various Organic and Mineral Fibers

Abstract

Non-Asbestos organic composite friction materials are increasingly used in automotive brake disc pad applications. The present paper deals with the role of various organic fibers Kevlar, Acrylic fibers and the Rock fiber namely the Lapinus fiber on the fade and recovery behavior of friction composites. Three different friction composites were developed with same formulation varying only the percentage of Kevlar, Acrylic and lapinus fibers within the formulation. The formulations containing 13.5% of these fibers were developed as brake pads and designated as NA01, NA02 and NA03 respectively. The chemical and Mechanical properties are tested as per Indian Industrial standards.. The composites are then tested for the tribo-performance using Chase Testing Machine following SAE J661a standards. The fade µ, recovery µ and wear are significantly influenced by the amount and type of fiber combinations. Also the TGA reveals the degradation temperature of these fibers. Composite NA 03 containing Kevlar and lapinus combination is found to have good tribo performance. Worn surface analysis by SEM has proved to be useful in understanding the wear behavior of the composites.