ATBU, Journal of Science, Technology & Education (JOSTE); Vol. 6 (2), June, 2018 ISSN: 2277-0011 Aminu, O. A. Abdullahi, U., Bamaiyi, U. A., Ebenezer, B. O., & Sani, Y. K. Copyright © 2018 JOSTE. All Rights Reserved (www.atbuftejoste.com) 121 Development of Asbestos Free-Brake Pad Using Solid Waste By Aminu Ohueyi Ahmed, Abdullahi Umar, Bamaiyi Usman Aliyu, Ebenezer Bamidele Omilabu and Sani Yakubu Khalifa Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna state, Nigeria. *Email: ohueyi23@gmail.com ABSTRACT The Development of asbestos free break-pad using solid waste is to replace asbestos due to its carcinogenic nature. Watermelon peels was used in this work together with pure water sachet which serves as the binder. The brake pad formulation was produced by varying the resin from 5-30wt%. The properties tested were; wear, thickness swelling in water and SEA oil, flame resistance, specific gravity, compressive strength, and hardness values. The results showed that proper bonding was achieved with the formulations using watermelon peels at 25wt% resin. The result obtained shows that 25wt% resin formulation compared favourably with the commercial brake pad. Hence, this grade can be used in production of asbestos free brake pad. Key words: watermelon peels; brake pad; specific gravity; compressive strength; wear properties. INTRODUCTION Brake pads are important parts of braking system for all types of vehicle that are equipped with disc brake. Brake pads are steel backing plates with friction material bound to the surface facing the brake disc. Different types of brake materials are used in different machines. The brake pads generally consist of asbestos fibres embedded in polymeric matrix along with several other ingredients. The use of asbestos fibre has faced criticism because of its carcinogenic nature. Hence the need to develop asbestos free friction material and brake pads. It is envisaged that future development in the trend of brake friction material will closely mimic the current trends in the automotive industry, where a shift towards environmentally friendly cars has already seen the release of hybrid cars such as Toyota prius, Honda Insight and Ford Escaped SUV (Dagwa and Ibhadole, 2006). A lot of research has been carried out in the areas of developing asbestos free brake pads. The use of coconut shell and palm kernel shell (Dagwa and Ibhadole, 2006), has been researched on. Researches all over the world today are focusing on ways of utilizing either industrial or agricultural wastes as a source of raw materials in the industry. These wastes utilization will not only be economical but may also provide foreign exchange earnings and above all reduce environmental pollution. It is in view of this that the idea of using water melon peels was conceived. In this project, a review of the materials and constituents currently used in automotive brake friction material after the phasing-out of asbestos is presented as asbestos has faced widespread criticism as being carcinogenic.