Disc Break Analysis

Brake rotor and drum thickness is also an element of friction fade. If the
drum or rotor is excessively thin, its ability to store heat will be reduced.
This also can cause the friction surfaces to get hotter than they would
under the same circumstances. Brakes with excessively thin drums and/or
rotors can easily heat up to the point of friction fade. Additionally,
insufficient drum thickness can cause heat expansion of the drum to be
excessive. These effects on brake fade are discussed in the following
section.
Mechanical Fade
Mechanical Fade is most commonly associated with drum brakes and
not disc brakes. In a drum brake, the application of the lining is outward
toward the rotating drum's friction surface. As the brake drum heats up, it
expands outward. This expansion will increase the drum's diameter,
moving it away from the lining application. The expansion of the brake
drum causes a need for increased lining travel and increased travel of the
application device. If expansion is great enough, it can cause the
application device to bottom out and the brakes to fail. A disc brake lining
application is at a right angle to the rotating disc and expansion of the
disc is outward toward the application rather than away from it. For this
reason disc brakes have better fade resistance.
Brake drum expansion is probably the most concerning aspect of brake
fade in S-cam braked heavy trucks. In an S-cam brake, the application
device is the brake chamber. A typical brake chamber has a maximum
pushrod stroke capability of about 2.5 inches. Cold pushrod stroke
measurements on a truck with Automatic Brake Adjusters (ABA's) are
commonly found to be around 1.75 inches. So, a typical brake chamber
will have a reserve stroke of around 0.75 inches. As a brake drum expands
away from the brake linings, the cold pushrod stroke will increase. A brake
drum temperature of 400 degrees can increase pushrod stroke by as
much as 0.5 inches. The force output of a brake chamber is not linear, and
a typical brake chamber reaches its knee point where force will begin to
drop at about 1.75 inches. If the brake drum becomes hot enough, the
brake chamber can bottom out and the brake chamber force output at
that point will be 0.
Drum brakes are also very susceptible to brake fade because they are selfenergizing. In a self-energizing brake, when the lining is applied to the
drum, the drum rotation tries to pull the lining and shoe along with it. This
self-energizing action increases the force applied to the lining friction
surface. When fade reduces friction at the friction surface in a selfenergizing brake, a compounded reduction in applied force at the friction
surface results in a compounded reduction in braking. The two common
types of self-energizing drum brakes used in automotive applications are
the Leading-Trailing drum brake and Duo-Servo drum brake. The Leading-

Trailing drum brake has a fixed anchor on one side of the shoes. The DuoServo drum brake has "floating" anchorage. In a Leading-Trailing brake,
only the leading shoe is self-energized. In a Duo-Servo brake, both shoes
are self-energized. Therefore, a Duo-Servo drum brake can have a greater
reduction in applied force at the friction surface than a Leading-Trailing
drum brake and is more susceptible to fade.

Fluid Fade
Cars and trucks from Class 1 to Class 6 commonly use a hydraulic brake
systems. A hydraulic brake system works by using a non compressible
fluid (brake fluid) to transmit the force of a driver pushing on the brake
pedal to the brake linings. Air and vaporized fluid are compressible and, if
allowed into a hydraulic brake system, the brake pedal will feel spongy
and the force transmitted to the lining will be reduced. Just like water,
brake fluid can boil and change to a vapor if it gets hot enough. Fluid
Fade is the overheating of brake fluid causing it to vaporize. The
vaporized fluid will have to be compressed before the system can transmit
pedal force to the lining. In most cases, there will be insufficient pedal
travel to do both.
The brake fluid used in cars and trucks typically has a boiling point of
around 401degrees at sea level. Brake fluid is also hygroscopic, a
characteristic which allows it to absorb moisture. Over time, brake fluid
will become contaminated with moisture. As this happens, the boiling
point of the brake fluid will be lowered, since the boiling point of water at
sea level is only 212 degrees. Wet brake fluid has only a 3.5% water
content and the wet boiling point of brake fluid drops to 284 degrees. I
have tested the boiling point of brake fluid many times and have tested
samples that boiled at temperatures as low as 260 degrees. For this
reason, brake fluid maintenance recommendations are that it should be
flushed about every 4 years.