Abstract:
This research investigates the effects of mixing conditions i.e. rotating speed, mixing time and volume loading on physical, mechanical and tribological properties. Bulk density values of mixture were particularly focused, along with hardness, porosity, specific gravity, elastic modulus, compressibility, wear, and friction characteristics of automotive brake materials. In the experiment, mixing raw materials with three different conditions: impeller speed (3000, 4500, and 6000 rpm), mixing duration (2, 4, 6 and 8 min) and loading based on a mixer volume (35, 50 and 65 vol%) were determined using the formulated mixture composition. The results showed that the variation of mixing conditions on the bulk density values was fairly small. The most influential factor on bulk density was mixing duration. The variation in bulk density values of mixture on physical, mechanical and tribological properties of brake pads was not very significant. Mixing speed, mixing time and volume loading of the mixture of 4500 rpm, 4 minutes and 65 vol%, respectively, were the optimum mixing condition according to the experiment. The mixing speed of 4500 rpm gave the most stable friction coefficient meanwhile the latter two provided homogeneous mixing with the shortest time and largest volume, respectively.