Characterization of Carbon Brush from Coconut Shell for Railway Application

Abstract:

Carbon brush has been developed for several decades for electric machines in microelectronic era. It is the electromechanical that connect the circuit to generate an electric motor. Mineral graphite always used as a raw material in producing carbon brush beside the uses of charcoal. This study is propose to use a coconut shell (CS) as waste material that can be recycle and sustainable to produce a carbon pre-cursor. This research is conducted to minimize the percentage of graphite or charcoal as a raw material in producing a carbon brush by replaced a CS as a raw material and produce a carbon brush for railway application. Several process such as baking, crushing, sieving, mixing, compacting and sintering are used in this study to produce a carbon brush. The formation of the carbon (C) had been produced by reaction of combustion in nitrogen atmosphere with 800°C temperature to produce carbon pre-cursor. The carbon brush sample then been prepared by mixing a copper powder and epoxy resin with different ratio of mixture. The suitable percentage of epoxy resin that could form a solid cylindrical shape was 15 %. Sample of carbon brush had been baked at 800°C to form the highest carbon. In this study, copper powder can produce a better conductivity where the sample can permit current flow through it. By using 60 % copper powder, the sample produce less porosity which resulted for high density. Lesser the pores of carbon brush sample produce low resistivity and high conductivity.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volumes 773-774)
• Pages: 291-295
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.773-774.291
• Online since: July 2015
• Authors: Mohd Halim Irwan Ibrahim*, M.N. Said, Rosli Asmawi
• Keywords: Carbon Brush, Carbon Pre-Cursor, Coconut Shell

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