The Life Cycle Assessment Of Brake Friction Materials

Life Cycle Assessment is regarded as the most effective tool of environmental management in the21st century. It seeks the opportunities of reducing and eliminating these impacts on environment by evaluating them comprehensively and scientifically from cradle to grave, distinguishing the resource consumption and environment pollution and evaluating the environmental impacts of these consumption and pollution. Environmental analysis of brake friction materials based on the Life Cycle Assessment is brought by introducing and applying the assessment on the friction material area. Furthermore, top ten environmental problems of friction materials are summarized by discussing the current brake friction materials using environmental theory. This thesis takes the methodology qualatively and quantatively. Based on thew framework of Life Cycle Assessment, the life cycle of brake friction materials is researched sysmetically and the system is put forward. By comparing the environmental impacts of four general reinforcement fibers, steel fiber, glass fiber, natural fiber and nylon fiber, this thesis advocates to use the natural fibers reinforced environmental brake friction materials in order to decrease the resource consumption, environmental emission and impacts, benefit the environment and health of human beings. The Life Cycle Assessment of environmental brake friction materials has been made in the following part. By adopting Analysis Hierarchy Process to make the classification, characterization, standardization and weighting calculation, the thesis analyses and indentifies different environmental impacts in certain stages which include manufacture, use and dismantling in the boundary condition of brake friction materials.