Introduction
Brakes are in general a mechanical device which is used to slow down the vehicle by means of
converting the kinetic energy to thermal energy. This is done by having a fixed component which
clamps on the moving rotor, providing friction to it and hence slowing it down. This will be
covered in more detail ahead. In our car, we use a hydraulic braking system with disc as the
rotating element.
Some commonly used terms
Pedal: It is the component on which the driver steps on, when braking. It is usually pivoted
about an axis and have other connections for transmitting the driver force.
Bias Bar: It is the force transmitting component from the pedal to the master cylinders. We
use two master cylinders for two independent hydraulic circuits i.e. front and rear. Balance bar is
used to “bias” the force from the driver to the front and rear. It works on simple moment balance
principle about the central point i.e. the ratio of the distance between the two master cylinder
and the pedal directly governs the ratio of the force transmitted.
Master Cylinder: When the pedal is pressed the force gets transmitted into compressing the
master cylinder. This pushes the fluid ahead and causes fluid pressure to increase.
Brake Oil Reservoir: Stores and supplies brake oil to the system.
Bias bar Banjo Bolt Banjo Adapter
Banjo Bolt and Adapter: This is a mechanism used to have right angle bends, without
having the need to rotate the adapter (and hence brake lines) to tighten the screws. The bolt
has an annular region, with hole at the upper part which is connected to the inner hollow part.
This allows fluid to pass through even after tightening the bolt. The hole is aligned with the inlet
of the adapter.
Master Cylinder Brake Caliper
Brake disc: It is mechanically connected to the wheels and hence rotates with the same
angular speed as the wheel it all times.
Brake caliper: Brake lines end up connecting to the calipers. Caliper have two movable pads
which clamps the rotating disc when the fluid pressure is high. They retract back when the pedal
is released due to dropped pressure.
Brake lines: Connecting pipes braided with stainless steel to make it stiffer and hence
preventing spongy brake pedal travel. Stainless steel shielding also protects the pipe.
Brake Disc Pedal and single master cylinder assembly
DISC BRAKES AND DRUM BRAKES
Disc brakes utilize calipers, brake rotors and brake pads. Each disc brake has a brake pad on
both sides that push against the brake rotor when the driver applies pressure to the brake pedal.
Disc brakes offer the best stopping power as disc brakes are commonly used by high
performance cars.
Drum brakes are enclosed within the wheel cylinder and have brake shoes that press out
against the drum when the driver pushes the brake pedal. Drum brakes have springs that retract
brake shoes, causing less drag and improving fuel economy. Cheaper than disc brakes and
mostly used in rear wheels of common consumer cars.
LOAD TRANSFER UPON BRAKING
During braking the car decelerates causing a load transfer to the front. Thus, front wheels has
higher braking capacity. This is the reason why the braking system of front is kept powerful wrt
rear. To attain maximum deceleration, this point plays an important role and the ratio of braking
torques must be carefully calculated.
BRAKE DISC WARPING AND FADING
As most of the kinetic energy of the car gets converted to thermal energy of the discs. The
temperatures reached can be tremendous, which may sometimes be enough to make the pad
material soft enough that it starts to stick on the disc in an uneven manner causing vibrations
upon braking. Similar situations can happen the other way, where the disc excessively wears
unevenly (due to softening) causing the same problem. This is known as brake disc warping.
Another problem with brake discs at high temperature is disc fading. Here, a loss of braking
force is observed while the pedal still feels firm. This is due to gas layer formation between the
surfaces.
For further reading refer the following references:
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