ISSN: 2319-5967 ISO 9001:2008 Certified International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology (IJESIT) Volume 2, Issue 6, November 2013 66 Abstract— Brake lining materials generally are asbestos, metals and ceramics. Asbestos during application releases the hazardous gases, which causes damage to the health. By the application of natural resources the material is made harm less. The main element is used for brake lining from palm kernel shell. The powder metallurgy technique is used in the production of components. It consists of stages as powder making, powder blending, compacting, sintering followed by heat treatment process. The average disk temperature and average stopping time for pass is increased and it has poor dimensional stability. Hence it has lost favor and several alternative materials are being replaced these days. In this work a non-asbestos bio-friction material is enlighten which is developed using an Agro-waste material palm kernel shell (PKS) along with other Ingredients. Among the agro-waste shells investigated the PKS exhibited more favorable properties. Taguchi optimization technique is used to achieve optimal formulation of the friction material. The developed friction material is used to produce automobile disk brake pads. The developed brake pads were tested for functional performance on a specially designed experimental test rig. Physical properties of this new material along with wear properties have been determined and reported in this paper. When compared with premium asbestos based commercial brake pad PKS pads were found to have performed satisfactorily in terms of amount of wear and stopping time. This composite is used in the automobile industry for brake linings. Index Terms— Brake Pads, Friction Material, Taguchi, Design of Experiments I. INTRODUCTION The development of modern friction materials has a history spanning over the past 110 years. Herbert Frood is credited with inventing the first brake lining material in 1897. His invention led to the founding of the Ferodo Company, a firm that still supplies brake lining materials today. In 1901, Herbert patented a block made from layers of textile material impregnated with rubber, if the block was to be used against steel, or wax, if it were to be used against rubber. As the duty of the brakes increased, the cotton tended to char, so in 1908, Herbert replaced it with asbestos. The asbestos was woven into a loose fabric and impregnated with resins and varnishes of high melting point. By 1914, the use of Ferodo brake linings was widespread. In 1920s all friction materials were of the Ferodo type. In 1925, the British Belting and Asbestos (BBA) Limited became known as BBA Group that produced such famous friction material brand names as Mintex, Don, Textar. In the 1930s, Ferodo turned to thermosetting resins and later introduced molded instead of woven linings. The molded linings were made by mixing fiber and resin together and also, polymerizing the resin under pressure and temperature. Fillers such as mineral and metal particles, which modify the wear properties of the lining, could be introduced in these linings and polymers could be used which were impracticable with woven linings. From the foregoing, asbestos has been used as base material in the manufacture of brake lining materials for close to 100 years. It is still being used by some manufacturers who do not possess the necessary technology or will to change to other materials. Though asbestos has been referred to as a "God given" material for inclusion in friction linings due to its good physical and chemical properties that remain stable over the temperature range experienced by friction materials it has been reported that asbestos has serious health risks. Diseases associated with it include asbestosis, Mesothelioma, lung cancer and other cancers. Efforts have been geared to replace asbestos fibers in friction linings. This is exemplified by the work of Nakagawa in 1986, used metal fibers for inclusion in brake pads to overcome environmental pollution. They developed semi-metallic pad material using chatter–machined short metal fibers because it exhibited excellent properties in view of brake characteristics and resistance to wear. The brake pad contained about 60% by weight of steel fibers with 60μm in diameter and 3mm long. Blau (2001) reported the additive effects of various non-asbestos materials Fabrication and Performance Evaluation of a Composite Material for Wear Resistance Application K.Deepika 1 , C.Bhaskar Reddy 2 , D.Ramana Reddy 3 1,2 SKIT College of Engineering and technology, Srikalahasti, A.P, Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and technology, Hyderabad, A.P