Computational Methods and Experiments in Material Characterisation II 43

Characterization of brake pad

friction materials
G. S. Darius, M. N. Berhan, N. V. David, A. A. Shahrul
& M. B. Zaki
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM),
Selangor D.E., Malaysia

Abstract
Due to health-related problems as well as the requirements for better quality
products, many material formulations for high performance asbestos-free
materials are being introduced in Light Rail Transit (LRT) brake pads. This
paper reports four new formulations of brake friction materials, which are made
using the following ingredients: Resin, Iron oxide, Steel fiber, Ceramic fiber,
Organic fiber, Magnesium Oxide, Aluminium Oxide, Barium, Sulphur, Graphite,
Rubber, Novacite, Nipol and friction dust. Values of Hardness, Specific Gravity
and Transverse Rupture strengths of these formulations are reported. The
friction and wear test results of these formulations viz., A, B, C and D are
included. The effects of physical properties, mechanical properties and
morphology of the formulations on their friction and wear behavior are
discussed. Scanning Electron Micrographs (SEM) and EDAX analysis of a
formulation is included. It is found from the analysis that formulation B
possesses better friction and wear properties compared to the other three
formulations.
Keywords: characterization, friction materials, brake pad, wear rate, SEM,
EDAX, physical properties, Light Rail Transit.

1 Introduction
Light Rail Transit (LRT) is an emerging mode of public transportation in
Malaysia. Currently there are three commercial LRT Operators namely, STAR-
LRT, PUTRA-LRT and KL Monorail, which provide commuting service in and
around Kuala Lumpur. The braking systems of all these LRT trains incorporate

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44 Computational Methods and Experiments in Material Characterisation II

commercial brake pads that are imported. The life span of commercial brake
pads varies from one system to another depending on the materials constituent
besides braking procedure and maintenance requirements.
There are different types of friction materials on the market, which can be
classified into the following three categories: Semi Metallic (SM), Non Asbestos
Organic (NAO) and Sinter Metal. They are mainly composed of a relatively
large amount of iron powder and steel fibers, some graphite, rubber, organic
fibers, ceramic materials, abrasives, lubricant and filler. The mixture is bonded
together by a thermosetting phenolic resin. A wide variety of elements are
employed in the making of the brake pads to obtain the necessary performance
criteria for efficient braking criteria.

1.1 Railway brake pad

Figure 1 shows a brake pad used in the PUTRA-LRT trains running in Kuala
Lumpur. Two such brake pads are used in every hydraulic brake unit. There are
16 brake pads in every train. 35 trains operated by PUTRA-LRT in and around
KL are fitted with this type of brake pads. These brake pads are non-asbestos,
non-lead and semi-metallic.

Figure 1: A Railway brake pad (non-asbestos, non-lead and semi-metallic).

1.2 Brake lining requirements

The following are the requirements of brake linings for efficient braking
operations:
• The brake lining having a higher coefficient of friction contribute
to more efficient braking
• Lining materials should have less wear rate to increase the life
the brake lining and thus reducing the frequent changing of the
brake lining – saving the time and money.

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• Brake lining materials must have the capability to work at high

temperatures without much change in the coefficient of friction
and wear rate. High speed vehicles generate more heat during
braking
• The brake lining material should have a high thermal
conductivity to dissipate the heat produced.
• The brake lining material should not be hazardous and should be
free from asbestos. Asbestos dust can cause serious health
problems if inhaled. Breathing asbestos dust can cause upper and
lower respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases
1.3 Literature review
Yusli et al. [1] reported the details of the fabrication of brake pad friction
materials using powder metallurgy techniques. Morphology of samples was
observed by SEM. The microstructures of the samples show heterogeneous mix
due to complex formation of composite materials. Mohamed et al. [2] measured
the porosity, density and hardness of four new formulations of brake friction
materials and compared the values with that of a commercial specimen. Wan et
al. [3] reported the friction and wear results of four new formulations and
compared the values with that of a commercial specimen; even though all the
new formulations have higher coefficient of friction values, two formulations
have higher wear rate, one formulation has the same wear rate and the other
formulation has a lesser wear rate.
Morshed et al. [4] have investigated and compared the physical and chemical
characteristics of four commercial automotive brake shoe lining materials used in
heavy vehicles. The swell resistance of the locally produced friction material
compares favorably with that of the imported materials, but its bulk density was
the lowest and its water absorption the highest. Hee and Filip [5] claim that
despite the number of research studies completed on the mechanism of friction in
automotive brake lining materials, the phenomenon is still not fully understood.
Complex mechano-chemical processes occurring on the friction interface of a
composite friction material make it difficult to understand the correlation
between the formulation of brake lining and the frictional performance. Analysis
of their experimental results shows that the brake lining material containing
potassium titanate significantly improved the stability of the friction coefficient,
fade and wear resistance. Kazuhisa and Buckley [6] found that the coefficients
of friction of metals are related to the theoretical tensile, theoretical shear and
actual shear strengths of metals. The higher the strength of the metal, the lower
the coefficient of friction.
1.4 New formulations of brake friction materials
In this paper, four new formulations of brake friction materials are presented,
which are made using the following ingredients: Resin, Iron oxide, Steel fiber,
Ceramic fiber, Organic fiber, Magnesium Oxide, Aluminium Oxide, Barium,
Sulphur, Graphite, Rubber, Novacite, Nipol and friction dust. Values of

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46 Computational Methods and Experiments in Material Characterisation II

Hardness, Specific Gravity and Transverse Rupture strengths of these

formulations are compared with that of a commercial brake pad and the
formulation which has its properties comparable with the commercial pad is
identified.

2 Elements present in new formulations

The type and exact composition of the formulations are kept confidential as
Intellectual Property. The samples of the formulations were analyzed by
Scanning Electron Microscope. Yusli et al [1] and Mohamad et al. [2] have
carried out the EDAX analysis to find the elements available in the commercial
brake pad and in the formulations. Table 1 gives the amount of elements
presenting the Commercial brake pad and in the formulations A, B, C & D.

Table 1: Amount of elements present in each formulation (% weight) [1,2].

Element Commercial A B C D
Carbon 60.9 55.12 54.63 56.86 53.44
Oxygen 8.2 18.89 13.14 20.6 12.84
Magnesium 0.9 1.2 - 0.21 0.87
Aluminium 0.4 2.36 0.83 1.69 1.32
Sulfur 0.6 1.99 - - 2.5
Iron 25.6 20.44 27.43 16.06 20.45
Bariuim 2.9 - 3.97 - 2.91
Copper - - - - 5.97
Calcium - - - 2.16 -
Zinc - - - 2.42 -

3 Physical and mechanical properties of formulations

3.1 Shore hardness

Hardness values of a commercial sample and four formulations viz., A,B,C and
D are tested using a Shore Hardness tester. Figure 2 shows the mean and
standard deviations of shore hardness values of the commercial sample and of
the formulations.
We can compare the hardness values to find those formulations that are better
than the commercial sample. It can be seen that formulation A and C have
higher hardness values as compared to the commercial sample. Specimen B has
the lowest standard deviation even though the mean hardness value is less than
that of the commercial sample.

3.2 Transverse rupture strength of commercial sample and formulations

Transverse Rupture Strength of the commercial sample and of the formulations

are found and shown in Figure 3. Since the brake pad may rupture only in the

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horizontal configuration, only the results of the tests conducted on the horizontal
specimen configuration are reported. It is seen from figure 3 that, no formulation
is better than the commercial specimen, when we compare the transverse rupture
strengths of formulations with that of the commercial specimen. However
formulation A has a higher transverse strength compared to other formulations.

Hardness values of commercial and formulations

84

82
Shore hardness values

80
C
78
A
76 Commercial
B
74 D

72

70
Commercial and formulations

Figure 2: Shore hardness values of commercial and formulations. Data

points show the mean of 15 measurements and the error bars
indicate standard deviations.

Transverse Rupture Strength of Commercial

and Formulations
60
strength, MPa
Transverse

50
Rupture

40
30
20
10
0
Comml. A B C D

Commercial and Formulations

Figure 3: Transverse rupture strength of commercial and formulations.

3.3 Specific gravity of commercial and formulations
The specific gravity of the commercial and the formulations are shown in Figure
4. It is seen from Figure 4 that, no formulation is better than the commercial

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48 Computational Methods and Experiments in Material Characterisation II

specimen, when we compare the specific gravity of formulations with that of the
commercial specimen.

Specific Gravity of Commercial and

3.5
Formulations
Specific Gravity

3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Comml. A B C D

Commercial and Formulations

Figure 4: Specific gravity of commercial and formulations.

However formulation B has a higher Specific Gravity compared to other
formulations. Wan et al. [3] have studied the friction and wear properties of
these formulations and reported the following results: Table 2 shows the co-
efficient of friction and wear values for the commercial as well as the
formulations.
Table 2: Friction coefficient and wear rate of the commercial and
formulations.
Formulation Friction coefficient Wear Rate
(g/MJ)
Commercial 0.332 0.038
A 0.374 0.043
B 0.383 0.035
C 0.484 0.106
D 0.347 0.038

4 Discussions
When we compare the friction coefficient and wear rate values of the
formulations with that of the commercial sample, we find that the co efficient of
friction values of all the formulations are more than that of the commercial
sample; The wear rate of formulation B is lower than the commercial specimen
and the wear rate of formulation D is equal to that of the commercial specimen.
We can choose formulation B in the first place and formulation D as the next
choice. In Table 1 we see that the iron content in formulation B is higher than
the commercial specimen; also it is higher when we compare formulation B with
other formulations. The amount of oxide present in formulation B is the least as

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 Computational Methods and Experiments in Material Characterisation II 49

compared to formulations A & C. The amount of aluminium present in

formulation B is lower compared to other formulations. We notice that Barium
is present in formulations B and D whose amount is approximately equal to that
present in the commercial specimen and this may contribute to the same or better
wear properties.
From Figure 2 we see that the formulations B and D have average shore
hardness values less than that of the commercial values. Uniform hardness
values are observed in formulation B (the standard deviation is the lowest),
which is an indication of good bonding between the constituents of the elements
of the brake pad materials; this can be observed from the Scanning Electron
Microscope shown in figure 5.
Even though the transverse rupture strength (TRS) of all the formulations are
lower than that of the commercial specimen, the TRS of formulation B is higher
than that of the formulation D. The specific gravity values of all the
formulations are lesser compared to that of the commercial value. But the
specific gravity of formulation B is higher than that of formulation D.

Figure 5: Scanning Electron Microscopy of formulation B (100X).

Good bonding between the elements is seen in the Scanning Electron
Micrograph as shown in figure 5. Pores are not evident and uniform morphology
is observed.

5 Conclusion
Four formulations A, B, C and D are compared with a commercial sample of a
Brake friction Pad used in a Light Rail Transit (LRT). It is found that

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50 Computational Methods and Experiments in Material Characterisation II

formulation B has higher friction coefficient and lower wear rate compared to the
commercial specimen. Higher amounts of iron and Barium present in
formulation B give superior friction and wear properties to the formulation B.

Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation, Malaysia through IRPA grant [03-02-01-0055-PR0066/04-03].
We thank Prof. Dr. Azni Zain Ahmad, Assistant Vice-Chancellor, IRDC,
UiTM Shah Alam, Prof. Madya Dr. Mansur Ahmad, Research Head, IRDC,
UiTM, Shah Alam for their encouragement and support. We thank Prof. Madya
Ir. Dr. Hj. Abdul Rahman Omar, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical
Engineering, UiTM Shah Alam for his support. The authors are thankful to Dr.
Mohmad Soib Selamat (AMREC, Kulim, Kedah), Dr. Talib Ria Jaafar
(AMREC, Kulim, Kedah) for providing us with experimental facilities. We also
thank Dr. Mustafar Sudin, (Universiti Teknologi Petronas), Malaysia for his
support.

References
[1] Yusli, M.J., Mohamad, I.I., Mazli, M., Mohd, A.S., Bakar, M. and Mohd,
S.S., Fabrication and Morphology Study on Disc/Rotor Brake Pad, 2nd
Malaysian Brake Friction Materials Colloquium 2004, Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam,
Selangor D.E., Malaysia, 3-4 December 2004.
[2] Mohamad, I.I., Yusli, M.J., Mazli, M., Mohd. A.S., Bakar, M., Mohd,
S.S., Evaluation of Light Rail Transit Brake Pad Formulations, 2nd
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[3] Wan, M.A., Mohd, S. and Talib, R.J., Friction Analysis of Light Rail
Transit (LRT) Brake Pad Through CHASE Dynamometer Test, 2nd
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Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam,
Selangor D.E., Malaysia, 3-4 December 2004.
[4] Morshed, M.M. & Haseeb, A.S.M.A., Physical and chemical
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[5] Hee, K.W. & Filip, P., Performance of ceramic enhanced phenolic matrix
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[6] Kazuhisa, M. and Buckley, D.H., Correlation of Tensile and Shear
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27(1), pp.15-23, 1984.

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