Tribological and mechanical properties of banana peel hybrid composite for brake-pad application

The drawbacks of conventional materials over the years had brought health issues and new innovated materials that is environmentally friendly and non-toxic needs to be developed. The importance of braking system has come into limelight recently due to the continuous growth and dynamics of 21st century vehicles. Reliable wear and frictional properties, and stability are some of the qualities that brake pads materials should possess under varying conditions of velocity, load, high durability and temperature. This research is aimed of developing non-toxic and environmentally friendly banana peel composite with enhanced mechanical properties. The produced composites were mixed with carbon powders, epoxy and hardener in predetermined ratios. The results showed that the produced banana peel composite can compete favourably with the existing conventional materials in mechanical properties and extended applications. Composition 1 experienced minimal loss of weight. The same composition 1 gave us the highest strength of 2.1 MPa and 13.0 elongation. The influence of the strength on the weight differentials was well noted. Composition 1 has the minimum waste banana peel weight percent and highest carbon powder. Composition 1 with minimal loss of weight would be applicable for the brake pad application. It is equivalent to 60% weight differentials in composition 2 compared to composition 1. While 67.7% weight differentials were experienced in composition 3 compared to composition 1.