THE EFFECT OF CARBON NANOSPHERES ON THE PROPERTIES OF BIO-BASED HYBRID NANOCOMPOSITE BRAKE PAD MATERIALS

In the mechanical engineering field, carbon nanospheres (CNSs) or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have many applications. This is due to the outstanding mechanical, physical and triboligical properties of these nanomaterials that make them such exceptional materials. The use of CNSs in automobile brake friction materials is one of those desirable applications. Therefore, developing and testing procedures these nanomaterials should be done gently to determine their mechanical, tribological, and physical properties. The carbon nanospheres for this study were produced through chemical vapour deposition (CVD). In this paper, four different novel bio-based hybrid nanocomposite brake pad (BHN) materials were mixed and developed with different percentages of CNS content: base sample (BSAMP) 0%, BHN1 (1%), BHN2 (1.5%), and BHN3 (2%) respectively using the same production parameters of reinforcement in their composition. The physical, mechanical and tribological properties of the BSAMP and BHN brake pad samples were investigated. The test results showed that the addition of CNSs to the BHN brake pad materials improved their physical properties (density), mechanical properties (compressive strength, modulus and hardness), and tribological properties (wear rate and friction coefficient). The morphology of the worn surface showed that under normal working conditions, the presence of carbon nanospheres in the BHN brake pad material can help prevent BHN cracks or fins. A good mixture of mechanical and tribological properties was achieved at 2% carbon nanospheres. The increase in CNS content improved the density, hardness and compressive strength of the BHN brake pad sample