Mechanical and Dynamic Maps of Disc Brakes under Different Operating Conditions

The operating conditions during the braking process in an automobile affect the tribological contact between the pad and disc brake, thus, influencing the times and distances of braking and, in a more significant way, the safety of the braking process. This mathematical work aimed to provide a general visualization of the disc brake’s mechanical, dynamic, and thermal behavior under different operating conditions through 2D maps of the power dissipated, braking time, and braking distance of a disc brake with a ventilation blade N- 38 type. However, the dissipated energy on the disc brake in terms of temperature was analyzed considering Newton’s cooling law and mathematical calculations through classical theories of the dynamic and mechanical behavior of the disc brakes. For this purpose, the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Distance Weighted Least Squares (DWLS) fitting model considered different operating conditions of the disc brake. The results demonstrate that the disc brakes can be used effectively in severe operational requirements with a speed of 100 km/h and an ambient temperature of 27 °C, without affecting the occupant’s safety or the braking system and the pad. For the different conditions evaluated, the instantaneous temperature reaches values of 182.48 and 82.94 °C, where the high value was found for a total deceleration to 100 km/h to 0, which represent a total braking distance of around 44.20 to 114.96 m depending on the inclination angle (θ). Furthermore, the energy dissipation in the disc brakes depends strongly on the disc, blades and pad geometry, the type of material, parameters, and the vehicle operating conditions, as can be verified with mathematical calculation to validate the contribution of the effectiveness of the braking process during its real operation.