摘要：Friction brake material is important component in the braking system of the vehicles. These materials are usually made of asbestos and non-asbestos materials. Some non-asbestos materials use natural fibers as reinforcement and phenolic resin as a binder. The post-curing process is carried out by heating a material with specific temperature and time. During post curing, ammonia gas as the reaction of the phenolic resin and HMTA diffuses out from the friction brake material. The heating rate in post curing was supposed affecting process of removal ammonia gas from composite and it will affect mechanical properties of the composite. Therefore, this paper is concerned with effect of post curing method on the composite flexural strength. Composite specimen were manufactured by mixing the ingredients, preforming, hot molding and followed by post curing. Bending tests performed to determine the effect of post curing the flexural strength. The results showed that heating rate in post curing affected flexural strength of composite. Flexural strength of composite decreased with increasing heating rate. Internal defect that were formed during post curing decreased composite flexural strength.
