Investigation of Physical, Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Blast Furnace Dust Reinforced Bronze Matrix Composite Brake Pads

Authors : Hüsamettin Kuş, İlker Sugözü, Adem Avcu

Pages : 827-848

Doi:10.29109/gujsc.1643160

View : 165 | Download : 191

Publication Date : 2025-09-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This research aims to investigate the usability of Blast Furnace Dust (BFD), an industrial waste material, as a reinforcing element in metal matrix composite brake pads and the effects of BFD reinforcement on the brake pad\\\'s tribological, physical, and mechanical properties. For this purpose, the initial step produced a bronze matrix composite brake pad sample, designated as the reference sample, using the hot pressing method. In the second stage, four different new bronze matrix brake pad samples were produced by reinforcing the reference bronze matrix brake pad sample with various BFD contents (2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% by weight.) Density, hardness, transverse rupture strength (TRS), average friction coefficient, friction coefficient stability, and specific wear rate values of produced samples were determined. Microstructure and wear surfaces of produced samples were characterized by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The obtained results demonstrated that the density of the produced samples decreased depending on the increase in the BFD reinforcement ratio by weight, whereas the hardness increased. An increased trend was observed in the average friction coefficient values of the samples up to 6% BFD reinforcement ratio, and the maximum average friction coefficient value was determined as 0.475 at this reinforcement ratio. In addition, it was determined that the brake pad sample with 8% BFD reinforcement showed a specific wear value approximately 53.31% lower than the reference sample. When the obtained data were evaluated, it was seen that the increasing BFD reinforcement ratio contributed positively to the wear resistance development of the brake pad samples. This study showed that BFD, which occurs as an industrial by-product, can be used as a low-cost alternative instead of synthetic materials in brake pad production without compromising the brake performance quality.
Keywords : Metal matrisli kompozit fren balatası, Endüstriyel atık, Yüksek fırın baca tozu, Fren performansı

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