Characterization of Areva javanica fiber – A possible replacement for synthetic acrylic fiber in the disc brake pad

Areva javanica (AJ), a natural cotton flowers fiber of Amaranthaceae family was taken up for the study of its possible utilization in a friction composite. The chemical composition of Areva javanica fiber (AJF) such as cellulose, lignin, ash, moisture, wax content, and density was evaluated. In addition to these, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) tests were performed. The surface roughness of AJ fiber was estimated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the statistical analysis using Weibull distribution was carried out to identify the diameter of AJ fiber. TGA studies revealed its moderate thermal resistance upto 219℃, and a density of 1.4005 g/cc was estimated of AJF. An attempt was made to make use of the AJF as a potential reinforcement material for acrylic fibers in an organic disc brake pad formulation. Upon fibrization, AJ fibrillates and forms a dense structure, a vital property required for the production of a brake pad. The role of AJ fiber in brake pad was studied by investigating the behavior of fibers from the mixing stage to the cured brake pad. Results revealed that the developed brake pad had a density of 2.01 g/cc, hardness HRS 91, Loss on ignition 21.68%, and cold and hot shear strengths of 44 and 27 kg/cm2, respectively. These values were very close to that of an Acrylic fiber based brake pad. The wear test using Friction Assessment and Screening test (FAST) gave the wear percentage of 0.0187 in3/Hp-h which was found to be 16% higher than AJF (0.0159 in3/Hp-hr) based brake pad.