Fiber-Surface Quality Enhancement to Improve the Performance Properties of Friction Materials

Abstract

Very smooth surface topography of CFs (CFs) and its chemical inertness have been a concern while selecting them for reinforcement in polymer composites. Such fibers do not show adequate fiber–matrix adhesion and hence do not contribute to enhance the property to the extent possible. Chemical treatment or sizing of fibers using proper coupling agents appears to be the only choice to deal with this problem. In the case of friction materials (FMs), hardly anything is reported on exploring the potential of few surface treatments of CFs, though CF is used as very efficient ingredient of FM. In this paper, two methods (one most primitive, i.e., nitric acid and second, most recent, i.e., nano-YbF3 particles) were selected to treat short CF and to develop FMs based on treated and untreated fibers for comparison. The studies revealed that the nanoparticles treatment proved most effective and enhanced almost all the performance properties of FMs.