Tribological performance of eco-friendly friction materials with rice husk

The present paper addresses the tribological behaviour of new eco-friendly brake friction materials with rice husk (RH). Three formulations with different RH content (0%, 6% and 12%) were developed and subjected to the SAE J2522 test procedure, plus an extra high-temperature section, through a laboratory-scaled braking tribometer. At 300 °C, RH acted holding wear debris and improving wear resistance due to the formation of large contact plateaus. At 550 °C, RH's organic compounds degraded, leading to a greater material fade. Formulation 6% RH outperformed the others, showing the lowest wear. In this case, the effect of the hard and temperature resistant silica outweighed the degradation of the organic compounds