Friction materials are applicable for braking and transmission in various machines and equipment. Their composition keeps changing to keep pace with technological development and environmental/legal requirements. For more than 80 years asbestos has been used as a friction material because of its good physical and chemical properties. However, due to the health hazard associated with its handling, it has lost favour and several alternative materials are being increasingly used. Thus, in this work, a non - asbestos friction material was developed using an agro-waste material base - palm kernel shell (PKS)- along with other constituents. Among the agro-waste shells investigated the PKS exhibited more favourable properties. Taguchi optimization technique was used to achieve optimal friction material formulation and manufacturing parameters. The derived friction material was used to produce automobile disk brake pads. The laboratory brake pads were tested for wear and effectiveness on a car. When compared with a premium asbestos-based commercial brake pad they were found to have performed satisfactorily. However, more pad wear was observed on the PKS pad at high vehicular speeds beyond 80km/hour. The results suggest that palm kernel shell could be a possible replacement for asbestos in friction lining materials.
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