Sustainable Characterization of Silane Treated and Untreated Psidium Guajava Stem Natural Fibers Based Automobile Brake Pads

Abstract

The present study deals with the extraction and characterization of untreated and silane-treated natural fibers from stems of Psidium guajava (Guava plants) for automobile brake pad applications. The extraction of fibers was done from the Psidium guajava plant stems by the retting process followed by silane treatment. The untreated and silane-treated Psidium guajava fibers were analyzed for chemical, physical, and crystalline properties. These fibers were used in the brake pad composite developed using conventional industrial processes and analyzed for various performance characteristics as per industrial standards. The tribological performance of the developed brake pads was measured using the Chase test following IS 2742 Part-4 of 1994 or SAE J661:2012. It was found that silane-treated Psidium guajava fibers had acrystalline index of 42%, while it was 27% for untreated Psidium guajava fibers. The brake pads developed using silane-treated Psidium guajava fibers showed ahigher hardness of 99, while it was 90 for untreated Psidium guajava fibers proving better results upon the usage of silane-treated Psidium guajava fibers in brake pads. Scanning Electron Microscope studies of Chase tested brake pads that elucidated the plateau formations and back transfers.

Keywords

• psidium guajava fibers, 番石榴纤维
• natural fibers, 天然纤维
• silane treatment,, 硅烷处理
• brake pads, 制动片
• chase test, 追逐试验