Effect of Moulding Pressure on Brake Lining Produced from Industrial Waste Material: Sawdust

In this study, asbestos-free brake lining was developed with sawdust. Sawdust was considered an alternative to asbestos, whose dust is carcinogenic. The sawdust from hard wood (mahogany and iroko trees) and other components such as abrasive, reinforcer, lubricant, were sieved into grade of 100 µm and used in production of brake linings. The percentages of sawdust for the samples are 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60. The percentages of abrasives (silicon carbides) were 27, 22, 17, 12 and 7, while binder (resins) lubricant (steel dust) and carbon black (reinforcer) were constant at 13%, 15% and 5% respectively on each sample. The molding pressure load was varied at 10 Mg, 20 Mg, 40 Mg, 60 Mg and 80 Mg during compression process. The brake lining properties examined are hardness, compressive strength and density. Also, the effects of molding pressure on these properties were evaluated. The results obtained show that the higher the molding pressure, the better the physical and mechanical properties. Furthermore, at high molding pressure, the properties reached a limiting point which they tend to be constant.  The brake linings based on sawdust were then compared with commercial (asbestos-based) brake lining and the results are in close agreement. Hence, sawdust can be effectively used as filler for replacement of asbestos in brake linings.