Elemental Composition Study of Commercial Brake Pads for a Passenger Vehicle: A Case Study

摘要

As a part of composite materials, brake pads are made of different material combinations. Commonly, the brake pads constituents are in a form of frictional additives, filler, binder and reinforcing fiber. Each constituent plays an important roles in ensuring the brake pads are intact together and function properly. Consumers rely on the price and quality of the brake pads in order to purchase the parts. This paper study the price variation of aftermarket brake pads and the correlation with the microstructural characterization of the parts. The brake pads were categorized according to the price range and compared with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts. The brake pads studied contained Fe as the dominant metals but their ratio varied considerably. The microstructure of the composites were studied using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and optical microscope, while the elemental composition of selected areas were characterized using Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Based on this study there is no correlation between the brake pads price and elemental composition used in the parts.