FABRICATION AND PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF ECOFRIENDLY BRAKE PAD USING PALM KERNEL SHELL

The fabrication and performance assessment of eco-friendly brake pad using palm kernel shell (PKS) was
produced for engineering applications. The materials were ground and prepared for the production of brake pads. Some physical and mechanical properties were used to determine the capability of the produced pads in service conditions. The production and testing of motor vehicle brake pads using locally available raw material has been undertaken and accomplished. The disc brake friction lining with the geometrical specification of Mecedezbenz Model 200 was produced using palm kernel shell as base material, polyester resin as binder material, graphite as the Lubricant, metal chips and carbide as the abrasives. A commercial brake pad bought from spare parts market served as control. The binder was
varied at 5%, 10%, 15%. The sieve PKS was used in production of brake pad in ratio of 15% polyester constant, 2-8% Metal chip, 1-4% Carbide, 1-4% graphite, 81-69% PKS using compression moulding. The properties examined are, hardness, water absorption, and wear resistance. The results obtained showed that the best results obtained were from sample A1 –A3 and sample C1-C3 respectively. The results obtained in this research work were compared with that of commercial brake pad (asbestos based and optimum formulation laboratory brake pad Palm Kernel Shell based (PKS), the results are in close agreement. Hence, PKS can be used in production of asbestos-free brake pad.