Investigation on the physical, mechanical and tribological properties of areca sheath fibers for brake pad applications

The Identification of new alternative material for brake pad application which is non hazardous and eco friendly is very important. Keeping the view in this the Current study deals with the study of naturally available areca sheath fiber as a key ingredient in the manufacturing of brake pad composites. The friction composites were fabricated as of standard brake pads by varying the percentages of areca in two different weight percentages as 5 AF and 10 AF(Areca Fibers). The industrial standards were followed to develop the brake pad. The physical, mechanical and thermal properties of the developed brake pads were analyzed in this work. The chase test Rig was used to examine the various frictional performances of the brake pads. The results indicate that the brake pad composite with 5 wt% of Areca sheath fiber showed better Tribological performance than the 10 wt%. The Worn surface analysis of the brake pad composites was examined using scanning electron microscopy and it has been confirmed With the SEM image that the increasing the weight percentage of the areca sheath fiber leads to poor interfacial adhesion with the resin which leads to higher wear when compared to 5 wt% of areca fibers.