STRENGTHENING STUDY OF ALUMINUM MATRIX COMPOSITES WITH SILICA ALLOY AND AGRICULTURAL WASTE (SIO2/BA/RHA) FOR MOTORCYCLE BRAKE LININGS BY POWDER METALLURGY METHOD

Abstract

Brake linings commonly used in vehicles are mixed composites of asbestos-based materials that harm human health. Therefore, new alternatives are needed to meet the needs of materials to replace asbestos, such as aluminum matrix composites. However, silica alloy powder, rice husk ash, and bagasse ash contain some chemical components that can affect the mechanical properties of the composite, such as optimal density and hardness. This research aims to see the effect of the percentage of materials and sintering temperature on the density and hardness values of the resulting composite. The method used in this research is a full factorial design. In this study, the density testing process used the ASTM B962-17 standard reference and ASTM E110-14 as a standard reference for hardness testing with variations in the material composition of matrix is 94%, 91% and 88%, while the details of the strengthening percentage are SiO₂: RHA:BA = 1:1:1. The sintering temperature variations for all three are 540 °C, 560 °C, and 580 °C with a holding time of 7 minutes. The study showed that the highest density and hardness values produced were 2.415 g/cm³ and 75HB when the 12% reinforcement percentage composite was sintered at 580°C. In contrast, the reinforcement percentage and sintering temperature for aluminum matrix composites did not affect the density and hardness results