Overview

 Parts of disc brake and system

 Where disc brakes are used

 Materials and performance

 Analysis
 Uniform Pressure
 Uniform Wear
Parts of Braking System
 Brake Pedal—force input to system from driver
○ Design gives a Mechanical Advantage

 Master Cylinder—converts force to pressure

○ Pressure is used to move brake pads into place

 Brake Pads—provide friction force when in contact with

rotor
○ Works to slow or stop vehicle

 Caliper—holds pads and squeezes them against rotor

 Rotor—spins with wheel
○ When used in conjunction with brake pads, slows vehicle

 Vents—help provide cooling to brake

Mockup
 A) Master cylinder
B

C
 B) Pedal

 C) Vents

A
Mockup continued

 D) Brake pads
E

 E) Caliper

 F) Rotor
D
Uses of Disc Brakes
 Disc brakes are often on the front (and
sometimes on the rear) wheels of cars

 Do the real work of braking

 Unlike drum brakes, do not self-energize

Materials
 Different materials have different
coefficients of friction

 Pad material can be chosen for

performance or to create a balance
between performance and durability
Materials Continued

► Asbestos brakes were used for years because of their extremely high friction
coefficient, but advances in science has shown that it is a cancer causing
substance.

► Performance pads often include small pieces of metal in the pads to aid in the
pads stopping power. The metal needs to be softer than the rotor, to ensure
that the rotor is not damaged over long periods of use.

► The friction coefficients in the table are representative of dry conditions. If the
rotor and pad are moist, the systems stopping power is greatly reduced until
the moisture can be burned off.
Caliper Operation
Caliper

Brake
Fluid

1 Pads 2 3

Rotor

 Step 1: Force is applied to by driver to the master cylinder

 Step 2: Pressure from the master cylinder causes one brake pad to
contact rotor
 Step 3: The caliper then self-centers, causing second pad to contact
rotor
Master Cylinder

Secondary Primary

Fapplied

 Force is applied to brake pedal by driver

 Primary piston moves, which in turn pressurizes fluid in front of the first piston. The
secondary piston and primary piston are connected through a spring. As the primary piston
moves, it causes the secondary piston to move and pressurize fluid in front of it.
 The pressurized fluid in the brake lines then causes the brake pads to move into contact with
the rotor.
 The secondary and primary pistons are used to give the car essentially two braking systems.
Each controls two wheels. If one of the systems were the fail, the other can still stop the car.
Animation
Analysis
 Brakes analyzed similarly to clutches

 Uniform pressure
 Valid for new brakes
 Actuating force is product of pressure and
area

 Uniform wear
 Valid after initial wear occurs
Geometry of Contact Area

F = Force on pads
θ1, θ2, r1, r0 = Dimensions
of brake pad
Force and Torque Equations
 2 ro ro

F   pr dr d   2  1  pr dr Equation 1
1 ri ri

 2 ro ro

T   fpr 2 dr d   2  1  f  pr 2 dr Equation 2
1 ri ri

 p = pressure
 ri,o = inner, outer radius F=Force on pads
T=Torque generated by pads
 θ1,2 = initial, final contact angle
 f = friction coefficient
Uniform Pressure
 When brakes are new, p = pa = allowable pressure.

 The equations thus look like this:

 
ro

F   2  1  pa  r dr   2  1  pa ro2  ri 2
1
ri
2

 
ro

T   2  1  fpa  r dr   2  1  fpa ro3  ri3

2 1
ri
3
Uniform Wear
 With older brake pads, axial wear can be assumed
constant. The pressure is expressed as the maximum
allowable pressure pa, which occurs at ri.

 Thus, p = pari/r

F   2  1  pa ri ro  ri 

 
ro

T   2  1  f  pr dr   2  1  fpa ri ro2  ri 2
2 1
ri
2
Questions?
References
 Mechanical Engineering Design by Joseph Shigley
 http://www.howstuffworks.com