Production of Eco-Friendly Brake Pad Using Raw Materials Sourced Locally In Nsukka

In this study, high quality asbestos free bake pad was produced from locally sourced raw materials. The disc brake friction lining with geometrical specification of Mitshibushi L-300 was produced using palm kernel shell and coconut shell powder as base material, polyester resin as binder material, graphite as lubricant, metal chips and carbides as the abrasives. A commercially bought brake pad served as control. Three different samples were produced by varying mass compositions of palm kernel shell and coconut shell. Sample A has equal mass of palm kernel shell (PKS) and coconut shell (CNS). Sample B has higher mass of PKS (83.03%) and lower mass of CNS (12.68%) while Sample C has lower mass of PKS (14.79%) and higher mass of CNS (35.92%). A constant pressure of 16.75kN/m2 and particle size of 0.63um were used for all samples. The binder, lubricant and abrasive composition were kept constant. The test result showed that the coefficient of friction (static and dynamic) for samples A, B and C were (0.374, 0351), (0.383, 0354) and (0.362, 0.349) while the commercial pad was (0.388, 0.359). Percentage water absorption for samples A, B and C were 0.0522, 0.0399 and 0.0470 while the commercial pad was 0.0327. The hardness test results for sample A, B and C gave 3.3, 3.41 and 3.0 while the commercial pad was 2.53. The wear rate test gave 0.00366g/sec, 0.00456g/sec, 0.00334g/sec, 0.00312g/sec for samples A, B, C and commercial pad respectively. All the samples were tested under the same conditions . Sample C has a promising potential since it had a moderate water absorption, wear rate and hardness but had the least coefficient of friction. Keywords: Brake Pad, Palm Kermel Shell, Coconut Shell, Resin,