Brakes

CHAPTER 10 BRAKES 10.1 PRINCIPLE It goes without saying that brakes are one of the most important control components of vehicle. They are required to stop the vehicle within the smallest possible distance and this is done by converting the kinetic energy of the vehicle into the heat energy which is dissipated into the atmosphere. 10.1 Functions of a braking system: The function of the brakes is to develop suitable retarding force to slow, stop, or hold and convert the kinetic energy of the vehicle into heat and dissipate this heat. 10.2 Requirements of a good braking system: a.) The brakes should develop maximum possible retarding force and deceleration under all conditions of operation. This must happen irrespective of the road being flat or uneven; dry or wet; up or down hill; straight or winding; the vehicle being heavily loaded or unloaded; and the speed being low or high. b.) The deceleration as produced should be preferably be uniform throughout its application. The pedal effort required should not vary with road condition or load, i.e. the pedal effort should always be same for the given deceleration. c.) The pedal effort required to perform an emergency stop on a fully laden vehicle must be within the comfortable capabilities of the driver but at the same time the pedal effort should increase regularly with the deceleration required and the pedal control should not be over-sensitive for lightly laden vehicle. d.) The response time of the braking system should be as short as possible.
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e.) The braking system should be very reliable to promote highest degree of safety on the road. It should not be affected by water, heat, road grit or dust, etc. f.) Brake performance should not be affected by the wear of this components g.) The braking system should require very little maintenance and adjustments. It should have a long and economical life. h.) The effect of braking operation on other vehicle systems should be minimum. It should not interfere with the operation of suspension and steering systems. i.) Braking system assembly should be as light as possible. This will minimize unsprung weight. j.) Due to braking, the vehicle should not drift to right or left. k.) The noise and vibrations generated by the braking system should be minimum. l.) There should be a provision for an independent secondary braking system which can be used if the main system fails. m.) A parking brake must also be provided. This can be combined with a secondary brake.

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10.3 Operation of drum brakes: A drum brake consists of a cast-iron drum containing a pair of semi-circular brake shoes. The drum is attached to a wheel and revolves with it, so that the drum is slowed and halted, the wheel slows and stops too. Friction to slow the drum is applied from inside by the shoes, which do not rotate but are mounted on a stationary metal back-plate. Each shoe consists of a curved length of steel or light alloy cast curving faced with a hard-wearing lining. In most drum brakes, the shoes are forced against the rotating drum by a pivoting arrangement; one end of each shoe hinges on a pivot point and the other end can be moved by a cam, or by hydraulic fluid forced into the wheel cylinder. In one hydraulic system, the wheel cylinder is rigidly fixed to the back-plate and contains two pistons which operate the shoes individually. An alternative plan is to use a single piston in a cylinder which can side on the back-plate. When the brakes are applied, fluid pressure acts equally on the piston and on the closed end of the cylinder, pushing them apart, so that the linings rub against the drum. Return springs, stretched between the shoes, ensure that when the brake pedal is released the shoes are retracted until the linings are clear of the drum. When two shoes are hinged on the same pivot point, the braking system has one leading shoe and one trailing shoe. An alternative arrangement is to hinge the shoes separately, at opposite points on the back-plate. Both then act as leading shoes when the car is running forwards.

A leading shoe tends to be forced into closer contact by the frictional drag of the rotating drum a self-applying action which increases the braking force on the wheel. A trailing shoe tends to be pushed away by the drum, and so does considerably less work than a leading shoe.

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10.4 Two leading shoe type brakes:

In this type the ends of the two brake shoes are hinged separately, at opposite points of the back plate. Two wheel cylinders are there at the other ends of the brake shoes. Each shoe is operated by the piston in a wheel cylinder, which is located at the end opposite the hinge point of that shoe. This arrangement gives rise to both shoes acting as leading shoes. As such during brake operation, both shoes exert equal force on the wheel. If the rotation of the drum is reversed, the brake becomes the two trailing brake shoe. A two leading arrangement gives an
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augmented response to pedal effort. This is because of the self applying action of the leading shoes. This braking system is usually used on the front wheels of a vehicle where extra weight is transferred during braking.

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10.5 One leading and one trailing shoe type brakes: A simple two-shoe brake shown in figure 2 consists of two shoes of which one is termed as leading and the other as trailing shoe. The upper shoe whose tip is dragged along with the drum with its direction of rotation is called leading shoe.

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During braking, the leading shoe offers more braking torque than the trailing shoe; therefore its efficiency is also higher. The lower side shoe is also dragging or trailing shoe offers lesser braking torque and so is less efficient. Such drum brakes have been used on the rear wheels of the Mitsubishi lancer car, Tata LPT 1612 truck, etc.

The two leading shoe system is not suitable for the rear wheels. This is because, when the vehicle runs backward, the leading shoes become trailing shoes and the braking effort on the wheels gets reduced. With this reduced braking effort, it may not be possible to hold the vehicle against running backwards on a slope, by applying the rear brakes. A leading trailing shoe brake is a cheaper and better alternative for the rear wheels since it is equally effective whether the vehicle is going forward or backward.

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Comparison of drum brakes One leading and one trailing shoe (1LS + 1TS) brake Medium Medium Non-uniform

Two leading Description shoe (2 LS) brake

Two trailing shoe (2 TS) brake

Braking force on wheels Rate of braking liming wear Nature of lining wear Behavior in reverse motion

Highest Maximum Almost uniform Changed, it 2TS

Lowest Minimum More uniform

since Changed, as it 2LS Low

since Unaffected as

behaves

behaves

Braking efficiency

High

Medium

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10.6 DISC BRAKES The disc or callipered brake has a metal disc instead of a drum and a pair of pads or flat shoes instead of the curved shoes used with the drum brakes.

1. Swinging caliper disc brake: In this type the two shoes are located on each side o the disc. When the driver depresses the brake pedal, the fluid under pressure is sent from the master cylinder through the connecting tube into the caliper unit behind the pistons as shown in figure a below. The shoes are now forced against the disc by the hydraulic pressure. The shoes in effect grip the disc. The friction between the pads and the revolving disc then provides the braking action. The following sketch shows a sectional view of the swinging caliper disc brake.

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2. Sliding Caliper Disc brake In case of sliding caliper type, figure b, the caliper adjusts itself automatically by sliding when the brakes are applied. On braking, the fluid flows under pressure and pushes the pistons A and B apart. The piston A presses the nearby friction pad against the disc, while piston B moves rightwards and causes sliding in the caliper in this way presses upon the other pad against the disc.

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10.7 Drum brakes versus Disc brakes: Description

1. Life of friction material. kms) 2.Visibility of wear from outside 3. Heat dissipation. 4.Replacement of friction material 5. Weight. 6. Cooling. Inferior. Troublesome and time consuming. Bulky. Very slow. Better. Easier and rapid Lighter (by 25%). Efficient due to exposure to atmosphere. 7. Wear and dirt collection. 8. Braking effect. 9. Temperature effect. 10. Self energizing action. 11.Brake pedal effort 12. Behavior of hydraulic system in released state. 13. Resistance to fade. 14.Force needed to apply brakes 15.Nature of wear 16.Shape of lining Non uniform. Curved Generally inconsistent. Drum expands, tends to separate out from linings. Exists. Higher Some pressure always exists. Fair Comparatively less. Absent. Proportional to retardation. No hydraulic pressure on piston Excellent More, since brakes are not self energizing. Uniform. Straight. Consistent Unaffected. Accumulates. Self cleaning. Not possible

Drum brakes
Reasonable (about 15,000

Disc brakes Reasonable (about 200000 kms) Can be seen at a glance.

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10.8 Hydraulically Operated Braking System: The system is so designed that even when the brakes are in the released position, a small pressure of about 50 kPa is maintained in the pipe lines to ensure that the cups of the wheel cylinder are kept expanded. This prevents the air from entering the wheel cylinders when the brakes are released. Besides this pressure also serves the following purposes : (I) It keeps the free travel of the pedal minimum by opposing the brake shoe retraction springs. (ii) During bleeding, it does not allow the fluid pumped into the line toreturn, thus quickly purging air from the system.

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10.9 Master cylinder and wheel cylinder The hydraulic braking system consists of a brake pedal, brake master cylinder, braking mechanism, brake line, wheel cylinder and braking device.

10.10 Tandem master cylinder: Some large cars and commercial vehicles have split hydraulic system with two separate cylinders and reservoirs in the master cylinder. The tandem master cylinder was devised to avoid the possibility of all the brakes of a vehicle being put out of action by a fracture in the pipe line leading to one brake cylinder. The details of a tandem master cylinder can be seen in the figure. There are two pistons in the master cylinder, in line with each other. There are two compression springs, one between the two pistons and the other between a piston and master cylinder cover. These two springs keep the pistons apart as shown in the figure. There are two oil inlets and two oil outlets, one pair to each reservoir as shown in the figure.

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During operation if the line A fails, the piston A bottoms against the end of the cylinder while the piston B continues to develop pressure in the line B and thus applies brakes to one set of wheels. If the line B fails, the piston B comes up against the piston A by compressing the spring between them and thereby builds up pressure in the line A. piston B is connected through linkages to the brake

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pedal. The piston A is floating in the cylinder, being held in position by two springs. Tandem master cylinder: (figure type 2)

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10.11 Pneumatic Brake System: An air operated brake system or pneumatic brake system is employed predominantly in medium and heavy duty trucks because of the following advantages. 1. The pressure of the pre-compressed air allows practically any force required for braking to be developed with a very small effort applied by the driver to the brake pedal. 2. The compressed air can also be used to inflate the tires, drive the windshield wiper, actuate steering gear booster, open and close doors of busses etc. 3. An air operated brake is the most dependable and convenient device for braking full trailers and semi trailers. The simplest air brake system consists of an air compressor, a brake valve, series of brake chambers at the wheels, un-loader valve, a pressure gauge and a safety valve and air reservoir. These are all connected by tubes

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The figure above shows the layout of an air brake system for a bus or a truck. The operation is as follows: The air compressor operated by the engine forces air at a pressure of 9-10 kgf/cm2, through the water and oil separator to the air separator to the air reservoir. The air pressure in the reservoir is indicated by a pressure gauge. The reservoir contains enough compressed air for several braking operations. From the reservoir the air is supplied to the brake valve. As long as the brake pedal is not depressed, brake valves prevent the passage of air to brake chambers and there is no braking effect. When the brake pedal is released, the supply of compressed air is cut off from the brake chambers and they are connected to the atmosphere. The pressure in the chambers drops, the brake shoes are returned to their initial position and wheels run free. The brake valve is equipped with a servomechanism which ensures that the braking force on the shoes is proportional to the force applied to the pedal.
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In addition the valve imparts a relative reaction to the movement of the pedal so that the driver can sense the degree of brake application. A un-loader valve is mounted in the air pressure system between the compressor and reservoir to control the pressure of air in the reservoir. The un-loader valve relieves the compressor of its pumping load. Once the un-loader cut out pressure is obtained and seals the reservoir when the compressor is built up a pressure depending upon the setting of the adjusting screw. The un-loader then delivers the air delivered by the compressor to the atmosphere thus allowing the compressor to run light whilst the reservoir contains an adequate supply of air. Air filters are used in the air pressure system to prevent particles of foreign matter from entering the operating system airlines or equipment. These are mounted on the chassis and have a drain plug to allow the condensate to be easily removed. The function of the air reservoir is to store the compressed air so that there will always be an ample supply available for immediate use in brake operation. It provides storage of sufficient compressed air to permit several brake applications even after the engine has stopped and just restarted. It also provides a place where the air, heated during compression may cool, and oil ands water vapors condense.

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10.12 Vacuum Brakes

In this system, the operation of brakes utilizes the power of partial vacuum existing in the inlet manifold of a running engine. This vacuum, via the vacuum reservoir, is applied on one side of a large piston whose other side is exposed to the atmospheric pressure. Since atmospheric pressure is 1.0332 kgf/cm2 (100 kPa) and the partial vacuum is less than this pressure, therefore difference in the
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pressure on two sides of the piston causes it to move within a cylinder. This movement of the piston through a suitable mechanism can be used to apply the brakes. An air breather port is provided in the cylinder through which the atmospheric air escapes out when the air brakes are released. It is not much popular as an independent unit i.e. as a purely vacuum unit. It is there fore being used in the combination of other types of brakes. The vacuum unit can be used with a mechanical and with a hydraulic braking system by interposing suitably between the brake pedal and the linkage. Now a days, the vacuum units are almost universally adopted on power brakes.

10.13 Combined Vacuum and Hydraulic power brake When a moving vehicle is to be braked, the driver applies a touching brake effort on the pedal. It actuates the push rod which opens the air valve through an arrangement. The atmospheric air rushes through the air valve and exerts pressure on the lower piston. Consequently, the power piston moves towards the vacuum chamber. The push rod also moves with the power piston and compresses on the piston return spring. .

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Since it is connected to the master cylinder piston, therefore the brake piston, therefore the brake oil is pumped to the brake lines in usual manner. The oil now acts on wheel cylinders in a conventional way. When vacuum brakes fail: The check valve prevents loss of vacuum in the brakes in case of failure of engine vacuum. However, if at all the vacuum fails the brake system will not fail instantaneously. In that case, the power brakes can be utilized till the vacuum retained inside the vacuum reservoir lasts Brake fade: When the brake drum and linings heat due to braking, friction between them becomes less. Also the brake drum expands away from the shoes. This causes brake fade, deterioration of brake drum after a quick succession of stops or slow downs. Temporary loss of effectiveness of the brake during prolonged braking such as during a long descent is called brake fade. Normally the brake regains its efficiency when it cools again. Difficulty in effectively cooling the shoes and the linings may cause distortion of the brake drum due to heat. Differential thermal expansion impairs good contact between the drum and the linings. These may result in local high pressures and temperatures and may cause temporary loss of friction in the linings i. e. brake fade. If one brake goes harder than others it may fade sooner. This may cause uneven braking and lead to a skid.

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10.14 Anti-lock or Anti-skid device: The vehicle will stop more quickly if the brakes are applied just hard enough to get maximum static friction between the tires and the road. If the brakes are applied harder than this then the wheels will lock, the tires will skid or slide on the road and the lesser kinetic friction will result. Then braking the vehicle is much less effective. To prevent skidding and thus provide maximum effective braking several devices have been proposed. Mostly skid control of the rear wheels only is provided. Some others provide control at all the four wheels. As long as the wheels are rotating the, anti-skid device permits normal application of the brakes. But if the brakes are applied so hard that the wheels tend to stop turning and thus a skid starts to develop the device comes into operation and partly releases the brakes so that the wheels continue to rotate. However intermittent braking continues. But it is held to just below the point where a skid would start. The result is maximum braking effect.

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10.1Problems on BRAKES

W f g

Sin0

c.g.
WC os0

RR

RR

l
RF RF

Figure above shows the vehicle moving down a gradient inclined at an angle to the horizontal. Retardation takes place when brakes are applied. To bring the whole system in equilibrium the inertia force which is also known as reverse effective force, is included with the system of forces actually existing. Let W = weight of the vehicle

RF and RR = total normal reaction between the ground and the front and rear wheels respectively.

=
surface

coefficient of adhesion between the tyre and the road

b = wheelbase h = height of C. G. From the road surface

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l = perpendicular distance of C. G. from rear axle f = retardation produced by the breaking force W f = reverse effective force, i.e. inertia force. g Brakes may be applied (a) to the rear wheels only, (b) to the front wheels, (c) to all the four wheels. All the three cases are treated separately. (a) Brakes applied to the rear wheels. Referring to the figure, FR is RR. The whole system is in equilibrium under the influence of coplanar forces. Therefore, RF + RR = W cos FR = RR = W Sin + W f g

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