The Effect of Adding Teak Wood Powder to Brake Pad Composites on Wear and Impact Toughness

Abstract

The growth of the automotive industry in Indonesia has increased the demand for vehicle components, particularly brake pads, which undergo frequent replacement and play a vital role in braking systems. Along with the expansion of the teak wood sawmilling industry, large quantities of teak wood sawdust waste are generated but have not yet been optimally utilized. This study aims to utilize teak wood sawdust waste as the primary reinforcing material in non-asbestos epoxy-matrix brake pad composites and to analyze the effect of composition variations on the mechanical properties of the composites. An experimental method was employed using variations in the composition of teak wood sawdust, brass powder, magnesium oxide, and epoxy resin, namely variation one 20%:20%:20%:40%, variation two 30%:15%:15%:40%, and variation three 40%:10%:10%:40%. The fabrication process included mechanical mixing, compaction under a pressure of 5 tons for 30 minutes, and sintering at a temperature of 150°C for 30 minutes. The testing consisted of an ogoshi wear test using commercial motorcycle brake pads as a comparison and a charpy impact test. The wear test results showed the highest wear value in variation one at 8.21 × 10⁻⁷ mm²/kg and the lowest in variation three at 4.59 × 10⁻⁷ mm²/kg, which is lower than that of the commercial brake pad at 6.748 × 10⁻⁷ mm²/kg. The charpy impact test results indicated that the impact toughness of the composites tended to increase with increasing teak wood sawdust fraction, with the highest value obtained in variation three at 0.082 J/mm² and an absorbed energy of 5.150 J. Therefore, variations in teak wood sawdust composition significantly affect the mechanical properties of non-asbestos brake pad composites.