CAR BRAKE DISK

BRAKE:
A mechanical device that brings the vehicle to stop upto a limited distance by
transforming the mechanical energy of moving vehicle to kinetic energy with the help
of frictional effects that lost (dissipates) into environment, is called Brake.

WORKING OF BRAKES:
The braking process in actual an energy conversion
process from motional (mechanical) to kinetic energy. As we know when two different
bodies come in contact with each other and slides against each other then there happens
some energy conversion between them due to friction caused between them due to
sliding. When two sliding bodies come into contact uniformly then pressure distributes
between them evenly.

A similar phenomenon occurs when brake pad comes in contact with

brake rotor and slides, then due to frictional effects , heat is generated there which
results into Thermo-elastic deformation owing to which pressure distribution between
brake pads and brake rotor disturbs or pressure distribution does not remain evenly
distributed. This process is named as TEI or Thermo-elastic instability. The speed of
sliding between brake rotor and brake pads is known as critical speed. If the sliding
speed between brake rotor and brake pads is below the critical speed then pressure
distribution remains uniform throughout the contact but if speed of sliding is above the
critical speed then Thermo-elastic instability process changes the uniform distribution
of pressure between sliding surfaces to non-uniform. The result of this non-uniform
pressure distribution is to increase the local temperature which results in increasing the
local stresses experienced by that part of sliding surfaces. Owing to these increased local
stresses, there might happen degradation of the material and final it can lead to failure.
BRAKE SYSTEM COMPONENTS:

In disk brakes, there is a reservoir for the fluid from which the fluid flows or
pushed it to the caliper where the fluid gets pressed opposite to the piston.

As the fluid gets pressed against the piston then next job is of piston to press the
two brake pads against the brake rotors .As the brake rotors are further
connected with the wheel so they causes the vehicle to come to rest by
transforming mechanical energy of moving vehicle to heat energy due to
 frictional effects with the loss of most of the energy to environment.

THERMAL STRESS ANALYSIS:

As we know, Braking system is an energy
conversion process. Although not all of the mechanical energy of the wheel gets
transformed to the heat energy due to frictional effects but still the power absorbed by
the brake disks or rotors is 4-5 times more than the engine's power.

The heat that is generated in sufficient high quantity at contact point leads
to the aggravation of the material qualities of which the brake rotors/disks are made of
and owing to this wearing of both the brake rotors/disks and that of brake pads is
enhanced. When local temperature increases to sufficient high amount then efficiency of
the brake disk's and brake pad's material reduces to significant amount. Excessive wear
and heat crazing can also occur due to local high temperature. It might also cause
cracking and can bring about the changes to the material's structure like hard spots and
also blue coloring. Noise and vibration are the result of all that factors that happen
because of high local temperatures. As the brake disk/rotor and brake pads are not
allowed to contract or expands or in other words they have external constrains when
there happens some variation of temperature so owing to this, the stresses are
developed in the disks and pads.

Where
 is the Linear thermal expansion coefficient of the disk brake material.

T=T-T

T=local disk temperature

T=Ambient temperature

E=youngs modulus

v=poission coefficient

MEANS OF HEAT TRANSFER:

As we know when there happens sliding
between brake disk/rotor and brake pads, there happens always generation of heat
there due to frictional effects between sliding bodies which lowers the materials
efficiency and increases their weariness and causes changes to their structures. This
most part of this heat is lost to the environment by Convection and Radiation and some
part causes to develop temperature stresses.

As the brakes keep in contact with the brakes pads, there are chances that these disks
may get high temperature which results in developing thermal stresses in them. As the
pressure was uniformly distributed between pads and disks and now uniformity of
pressure has been disturbed by this temperature change and thermal stresses developed
also increase duo to this temperature variation. If the poission ratio is considered to be
negligible then the above results become:

Total flux that the brake disk has to encounter can be

obtained as follows:

= _____________
SWEPT
BRAKEAREA OF
POWER
SHAFT

OR

Q (t) = kma (V1-at)/S1

Where

S1 is swept area of the disc brake by brake pads.

Where

Q (t) is the heat flux that is varying with time.

The stress that the Swept area S1 bears can also be obtained by :

Where

P = P (max)*r2/r

Where

P (max) is the maximum value of load distributed over the disks area.

P is disk brake radial pressure.

is friction co-efficient that varies with the temperature for multiple materials.
A portion of the heat flux represented by Q (t) is lost by radiation and convection is
given by;
Where

A is the area of the disks radiation heat.

is the Boltzmann constant.

The variation of stress with time can also be written as follows;

For two values of temperatures T1 and T2 of disk brake, got from two values of radial
speed 1 and 2, thermal stress ratio can alsobe written as below: