PAMM Proc. Appl. Math. Mech. 2, 6667 (2003) / DOI 10.1002/pamm.

200310019

Jearsiripongkul T.; Chakraborty G.; Hagedorn P.

Stability Analysis of A Floating Caliper Disc Brake

In this paper, the onset of the dynamic instability in a oating caliper disc brake system is studied. The disc is
modelled as a exible rotating plate, the pad is taken as a small mass and a distributed stiness, and the motion of
the caliper is also taken into consideration. The linearized equations of motion about the equilibrium position are
derived assuming a constant braking force. The equations are subsequently discretized with the help of appropriate
shape functions. The eigenvalue problem is then solved to detect the onset of instability. The eects of damping on
the stability of motion are investigated as well.

Introduction

A mathematical model of the oating caliper disc brake system has been proposed (see gure 1).
l3
wc1
m

wp1

kp

dpa

dp
wd

1
kT a

l4

kp

dp

kc

dc

y1
kT

y2

ma
kpa

wc2

2
kT a

Ma
l1

M
l2

Figure 1: A oating caliper disc brake model (Disc and Caliper (left) and Yoke (right)).
The brake has two main structural parts, namely, the caliper and the yoke. The caliper is designed to supply
the normal force required for the braking action, while yoke is meant to restrain the braking force (along the
circumferential direction). Both parts are taken into account to derive the equations of motion. The pad is modelled
as a mass with small distributed stiness of the friction lining and with the assumption of the rigid connection
(wc1 = wp1 ). The friction coecient with relative speed between the rubbing surfaces is assumed to be constant.

Governing equations

For the system shown in gure 1, the equations of motion can be obtained by using Hamiltons principle, as follows;

t2

(L + W )dt = 0
(1)
t1

where L = T U , T is the kinetic energy, U is the potential energy, and W is the external work. The kinetic and
potential energy of the disc are obtained from the Kirchos plate theory. Subsequently, the equations of motion

Section 1: Linear and Nonlinear Oscillations

67

are discretized by using Galerkin method with appropriate shape functions as the following,
w(r, , t) =

Rm,n (r)[cos(m)Am,n (t) + sin(m)Bm,n (t)]

(2)

m=0 n=1

where Rm,n (r) represents the modeshape of the disc in terms of number of nodal diameters (m) and nodal circles
(n). Linearizing around the equilibrium point for a constant braking force, the discretized equations of motion can
be written in matrix form as
[M ]{
q} + [G]{q}
+ [D]{q}
+ [C]{q} = {0}

(3)

where {q} = [A3,1 , B3,1 , wc1 , wc2 , wp2 , y1 , y2 , 1 , 2 ]T , [M ]T = [M ], [D]T = [D], [G]T = [G], and [C] is asymmetric
due to friction force.

Numerical results

In modal analysis, mode (3,1) of the equivalent solid disc is found to be in the frequency range of the squeal (i.e.
1-3 kHz) where 3 is number of nodal diameters and 1 is number of nodal circles. The behavior of the frequencies in
considered mode is studied as a function of the friction coecient (). It is found that with gradual increase in ,
the asymmetry in stiness matrix [C] becomes strong and the real parts of frequencies become positive beyond the
critical value (cr ). The critical value of the friction coecient (cr ) denes the onset of utter-type instability. In
gure 2, it is shown that the critical value of the friction coecient tends to decrease when the braking pressure is
increased. The linear damping tends to stabilize the system, as exhibited in gure 2.
6

The rotating speed = 1 rps, kp = 5x10 N/m, and P = 20 bars

0.8
The Critical Value of The Friction Coefficient

The Critical Value of The Friction Coefficient

Rotating speed = 1 rps, kp = 5x106 N/m, and dp = 40 N.s/m

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0

10

20
30
40
50
The Braking Pressure (bars)

60

70

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0

10

20
30
40
50
Damping Coefficient of pad, dp (N.s/m)

60

70

Figure 2: Variation of braking pressure (left) and damping ratio (right) due to the critical value of the friction
coecient.
1. References
1 Bajaj, A. K., Chowdhary, H. V., Krousgrill, C. M.: An analytical approach to model disc brake system for squeal
prediction. In ASME 2001 Design Engineering Technical Conference and Computers and Information in Engineering
Conference, September 2001.
2 Den Hartog, J. P.: Mechanical Vibrations. McGraw-HILL, New York, fourth edition, (1956).
3 Iwan, W. D., Moeller, T. L.: The stability of a spinning elastic disk with transverse load system. Journal of Applied
Mechanics. 43(3) September (1976), 485490.

Prof. Dr. Peter Hagedorn, Dr. Goutam Chakraborty, and Thira Jearsiripongkul: Department of
Applied Mechanics II, Darmstadt University of Technology, Hochschulstr. 1, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany