Investigation of the Use of a New Binder Material in Automotive Brake Pad

Abstract

In this study, the usability of waste banana peel and banana tree bark with a fibrous structure as binders was investigated experimentally. Ac-cordingly, the amount of fiber, friction regulator, filler, abrasive and sol-id lubricant is fixed, and three different brake pad samples were pro-duced by adding 10% banana peel and 10% banana tree bark powders by reducing the amount of phenolic resin. Production was carried out by conventional dry mixing method and powder metallurgy method. For this, firstly a homogeneous mixture of all ingredients is provided. The mixture transferred to the mold was pressed at room temperature firstly. Samples obtained as the first form were subjected to hot pressing in the mold again. Thus, the ability of the resin to hold all the materials together has become active. Finally, the samples were cleaned and prepared for the tests. To examine the braking performance of the produced pads, a specially designed brake tester with brake disc was used. Friction, wear, density and hardness tests of the pads were made. SEM images of friction surfaces of pads were taken and microstructures were examined. The ef-fect of using banana waste as a binder in the brake pad on braking per-formance was evaluated. As a result, it was observed that banana wastes are alternative materials that can be used in brake pads.