Friction and wear properties of scrap tire/potassium hexatitanate whisker composites

As a way of solving the environmental problem of waste tires, we developed a new type of friction material made of scrap tire composites with potassium hexatitanate in which rubber formed a continuous phase. The tribological behaviors of the scrap tire rubber composites were investigated by a friction and wear tester under dry conditions. According to the results, the optimum amounts of potassium hexatitanate were 5 phr in terms of the friction and wear properties up to 200 °C. The specimen containing other ingredients showed 0.72 of friction coefficient and 1.03 of wear rate which are highly compatible to those of the commercial ‘Sonata’ motor brake pad when it contains 5, 20, 10, 20, 10 phr of potassium hexatitanate, phenol, cashew, barium sulfate, and copper, respectively.