Braking Systems : Past, Present & Future

Akshat Sharma*,Amit Kumar Marwah** *Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT Ujjain(M.P.)

**Associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Ujjain (M.P.) Email: [email protected]

A major test of systems took place in 1902 on an Abstract:- Humans have always been fascinated by the unpaved road in New York City called Riverside Drive. idea of going faster than before . With advancements in the Ransom E. Olds had arranged to test a new brake system IC engine technologies and then Jet Propulsion Engine the against the tire brake of a four-horse coach and the internal highest speed that vehicles can reach has multiplied drum brake of a Victoria horseless carriage. His manifold. However as the speeds of vehicles go up the Oldsmobile sported a single flexible stainless-steel band, technology required to safely stop these vehicles must wrapped around a drum on the rear axle. When the brake evolve. Braking systems have had tremendous pedal was applied, the band contracted to grip the drum. A transformations from lever type on horse carriages vast improvement on brakes was born, one that would pave to multi layered carbon ceramic disc type brakes to air the way for the systems afterwards. The repercussions of brakes used on land speed record braking cars. While the which spread to every facet of the industry, even something technology used to power vehicles to higher than ever like being able to compare car insurance without the speeds is what catches popular imagination the same has advancements in brakes that have taken place. Olds had not been the case with evolution of braking systems. entered his car in the Blue Ribbon Contest, a 100-mile race This paper aims to sketch a history of braking systems scheduled for August and wanted to be sure his external brake over the years and make a study of the present and future was a match for the Victoria's expanding-shoe internal drum of the same design and the coach's tire brake -- a pad that was applied to the tire by a long lever. Keywords:- Braking systems, history of braking systems Although it ground down solid rubber tires pretty quickly, the I. INTRODUCTION tire brake was popular on carriages and many early autos. As vehicles have developed over the years the technology From a thunderous speed of 14 mph, the Oldsmobile stopped required to stop these vehicles has also undergone a massive in 21.5 ft., the Victoria in 37 ft. and the horses (which may not evolution. The first type of brakes were external type brakes have been going 14 mph, but had no engine braking to aid used on horse carriages which were actuated by means of a them) in 77.5 ft. The Oldsmobile went on to win two of nine lever which brought a rubber pads in contact to axle . These blue ribbons awarded in the race. The car's braking system were followed by internal brakes using drums or disks made such a big impression on other manufacturers that by attached to each wheel. This paper sketches a history of these 1903 most had adopted it. By 1904, practically all car makers braking systems. It also discusses about the present trends and were building cars with an external brake on each rear wheel. future prospects in the world of brakes. Almost at once, the external brake demonstrated some serious flaws in everyday use. On hills, for example, the brake

unwrapped and gave way after several seconds. A driver

II. HISTORY OF BRAKING SYSTEMS unlucky enough to stall on a grade soon found himself rolling backward. For this reason, chocks were an important piece of was interrupted. Meanwhile in Great Britain, a patent was on-board equipment. It was a common sight to see a passenger issued in 1902 to F. W. Lanchester for a nonelectric spot disc scurrying from inside the car with wood in his hands to block braking system that's similar in principle to what we have the wheels. There was another drawback to the external brake. today. The biggest problem that Lanchester encountered was It had no protection from dirt so its bands and drums quickly noise. Metal-to-metal contact between his copper linings and wore. A brake job every 200 to 300 miles was considered the metal disc caused an intense screech that sent chills normal. through anyone within earshot. The problem was solved in 1907 when Herbert Frood, another Englishman, came up with The problems associated with the external brake were the idea of lining pads with asbestos. The new material was overcome by the internal brake. As long as the brake shoes quickly adopted by car manufacturers on both drum and disc were under pressure, they stayed against the drums to keep the brakes. Asbestos linings also outlasted other friction materials car from rolling backward on hills. And, since brake parts by a wide margin. The 10,000-mile brake job had arrived. As were inside drums and protected from dirt, drivers could go roads improved and cars began to be driven at high speeds, over 1,000 miles between brake overhauls. The drum brake, as manufacturers recognized the need for even greater braking it is now known, became all-dominant in the United States. In power. Europe, particularly in Great Britain, it had to share the stage with disc brakes. Disc brakes became more or less standard on One solution to the problem became apparent during the Elgin European cars during the '50s, about 20 years before they were road Race of 1915. A Duesenberg took the flats at 80 mph, adopted by American manufacturers in 1973. This is ironic, then screeched to a virtual crawl to negotiate the hairpin because the spot-type disc brake is an American invention. In curves. Duesenberg's secret for such magnificent braking 1898, Elmer Ambrose Sperry of Cleveland designed an power was to simply use an internal brake on each front wheel electric car having front-wheel disc brakes. as well as each rear wheel. In 1918, a young inventor named Malcolm Lougheed (who later changed the spelling of his name to Lockheed) applied hydraulics to braking. He used cylinders and tubes to transmit fluid pressure against brake shoes, pushing the shoes against the drums. In 1921, the first passenger car to be equipped with four-wheel hydraulic brakes appeared -- the Model A Duesenberg. Carmakers as a group were not quick to adopt hydraulics. Ten years after the Model A Duesie, in 1931, only , Dodge, Desoto, Plymouth, Auburn, Franklin, Reo, and Graham had hydraulic brakes. All the others still had cable-operated mechanical brakes. In fact, it was not until 1939 that Ford finally gave in, becoming the last major manufacturer to switch to hydraulic brakes.

Fig. 1. An Oldsmobile horse carriage using lever type The basic braking system we have today was pretty much in external brakes[1] place by 1921, including a refinement some regard as contemporary -- power assist. Power assist, technically, dates He made a large disc integral with the hub on each wheel. back to 1903 when a car called the Tincher used air brakes. Electromagnets were used to press smaller discs, lined with a But the first car to be equipped with a vacuum-operated power friction material, against spots on the rotating disc to bring the booster similar to those we have today was the 1928 Pierce- wheel to a stop. Springs retracted the spot discs when current Arrow. It used vacuum from the inlet manifold to reduce the two , they tend to wear more and have a high cost of physical effort needed to apply brakes. Vacuum boosters from maintenance . thus they have a lower economic as well as then to now have similar designs. The first widespread overall efficiency. Disc brakes on the other hand have become deviation from vacuum power assist came about in 1985. synonyms for exceptional braking power , vehicles with disc Some '85 GM cars use an electrically driven brake booster, brakes are considered high end since they are costlier and are which is smaller and lighter than the conventional vacuum much more effective than drum brakes the mechanism used booster, giving an all-hydraulic system. Some cars with for driving the disc or drum brakes is what mainly antilock brakes also use all-hydraulic systems. differentiates the vehicles today. Let us first discuss the drum and disc brakes in detail first :- The first car to have self-adjusting brakes was the 1925 Cole. The prototype for today's systems appeared on the 1946 1). Drum Brakes:- Studebaker. The mechanism by Wagner Electric Co., A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set consisted of an adjusting wedge under the influence of a of shoes or pads that press against a rotating drum-shaped part tension spring. As linings wore, a plug receded to move a pin called a brake drum. The term drum brake usually means a and lever against the spring. This forced the adjusting wedge brake in which shoes press on the inner surface of the drum. against brake shoes, which expanded to keep linings at a When shoes press on the outside of the drum, it is usually preset distance from the drums. As for the antilock (antiskid) called a clasp brake. Where the drum is pinched between two units now available in the U.S., they are hardly new. The first shoes, similar to a conventional disc brake, it is sometimes practical antiskid braking system, named Maxaret, was called a pinch drum brake, though such brakes are relatively developed in 1958 by the Road Research Laboratories in Great rare. A related type called a band brake uses a flexible belt or Britain and was first applied to the Jensen FF sports in "band" wrapping around the outside of a drum. 1966. Three years later, in 1969, the Lincoln Continental Mark III was equipped with an Auto-Linear antilock unit developed The modern automobile drum brake was invented in 1902 by by Kelsey-Hayes. Sensors on the rear wheels transmitted Louis Renault. He used woven asbestos lining for the drum signals to a transistorized "computer" behind the glove box. brakes lining, as no alternative dissipated heat like the The computer controlled a vacuum-operated valve on the rear asbestos lining, though Maybach has used a less brake line to modulate pressure to the rear brakes when the sophisticated drum brake. In the first drum brakes, levers and sensors told the computer that the brakes were locking. Cost rods or cables operated the shoes mechanically. From the mid- and some technical problems caused the shelving of this unit. 1930s, oil pressure in a small wheel cylinder and pistons (as in But now, updated versions that give four-wheel skid control the picture) operated the brakes, though some vehicles are offered on almost every car model, although initially they continued with purely mechanical systems for decades. Some were available only on high-end cars like Lincoln and designs have two wheel cylinders. The shoes in drum brakes Mercedes, and a few European cars. wear thinner, and brakes required regular adjustment until the introduction of self-adjusting drum brakes in the 1950s. In the

1960s and 1970s, disk brakes gradually replaced drum brakes

III. PRESENT TRENDS on the front wheels of cars. Now practically all cars use disc brakes on the front wheels, and many use disc brakes on all Talking about the present trends in braking systems there are wheels. two types of them that are predominantly being used on all However, drum brakes are still often used for handbrakes, as it vehicles, be it two, three or four wheeler vehicles. Disc brakes has proven very difficult to design a disc brake suitable for and drum brakes . While drum brakes are the cheaper of the holding a parked car. Moreover, it is very easy to fit a drum handbrake inside a disc brake so that one unit serves as both braking pedal or lever, this tends to give the driver better service brake and handbrake. Early brake shoes "feel" to avoid impending lockup. Drums are also prone to contained asbestos. When working on brake systems of older "bell mouthing", and trap worn lining material within the cars, care must be taken not to inhale any dust present in the assembly, both causes of various braking problems. brake assembly. The United States Federal Government began There are different mechanisms used to drive the discs or to regulate asbestos production, and brake manufacturers had drum brakes some of them are:- to switch to non-asbestos linings. Owners initially complained Air brakes:- of poor braking with the replacements; however, technology eventually advanced to compensate. A majority of daily- Air brakes or more formally a compressed air brake system is driven older vehicles have been fitted with asbestos-free a type of friction brake for vehicles in which compressed linings. Many other countries also limit the use of asbestos in airpressing on a piston is used to apply the pressure to brakes. the brake pad needed to stop the vehicle. Air brakes are used in large heavy vehicles, particularly those having multiple 2).Disc-brakes:- trailers which must be linked into the brake system, such The disc brake is a wheel brake which slows rotation of the as trucks, buses, trailers, andsemi-trailers in addition to their wheel by the friction caused by pushing brake pads against use in railroad trains. George Westinghouse first developed air a brake disc with a set of calipers. The brake disc (or rotor in brakes for use in railway service. He patented a safer air brake American English) is usually made of cast iron, but may in on March 5, 1872. Westinghouse made numerous alterations some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon– to improve his air pressured brake invention, which led to carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the various forms of the automatic brake. In the early 20th wheel and/or the axle. To stop the wheel, friction material in century, after its advantages were proven in railway use, it was the form of brake pads, mounted on a device called a brake adopted by manufacturers of trucks and heavy road vehicles. caliper, is forced mechanically, hydraulically, pneumatically Electromagnetic brake:- or electromagnetically against both sides of the disc. Electromagnetic brakes (also called electro-mechanical Friction causes the disc and attached wheel to slow or stop. brakes or EM brakes) slow or stop motion Brakes convert motion to heat, and if the brakes get too hot, using electromagnetic force to apply mechanical resistance they become less effective, a phenomenon known as brake (friction). Both electromagnetic brakes and eddy current fade. Disc-style brakes development and use began in England brakes use electromagnetic force but electromagnetic brakes in the 1890s. The first caliper-type automobile disc brake was ultimately depend on friction and eddy current brakes use patented by Frederick William Lanchester in his Birmingham, magnetic force directly. Recent design innovations have led to UK factory in 1902 and used successfully on Lanchester cars. the application of electromagnetic brakes to aircraft Compared to drum brakes, disc brakes offer better stopping applications. In this application, a combination performance, because the disc is more readily cooled. As a motor/generator is used first as a motor to spin the tires up to consequence discs are less prone to the "brake fade"; and disc speed prior to touchdown, thus reducing wear on the tires, and brakes recover more quickly from immersion (wet brakes are then as a generator to provide regenerative braking. less effective). Most drum brake designs have at least one leading shoe, which gives a servo-effect.

By contrast, a disc brake has no self-servo effect and its Vacuum brake:- braking force is always proportional to the pressure placed on The vacuum brake is a braking system employed on trains and the brake pad by the braking system via any brake servo, introduced in the mid-1860s. A variant, the automatic vacuum brake system, became almost universal in British train equipment and in countries influenced by British practice. Vacuum brakes also enjoyed a brief period of adoption in the USA, primarily on narrow gauge railroads. Its limitations caused it to be progressively superseded by compressed air systems starting in the United Kingdom from the 1970s onward. The vacuum brake system is now obsolete; it is not in large-scale usage anywhere in the world, other than in South

Africa, largely supplanted by air brakes.

Regenerative braking:-

IV. FUTURE PROSPECTS A regenerative brake is an energy recovery mechanism which The future of braking systems focuses on making the process slows a vehicle or object down by converting its kinetic of braking more energy efficient . here we discuss three energy into another form, which can be either used methods , Aerodynamic braking , regenerative braking and immediately or stored until needed. This contrasts with brake-by-wire. While aerodynamic braking is aircraft conventional braking systems, where the excess kinetic energy technology which is now being used in some supercars , while is converted to heat by friction in the brake linings and regenerative braking is the method of recovering the heat that therefore wasted. The most common form of regenerative is lost from brake pads. Brake-by-wire is the technology that brake involves using an electric motor as an electric generator. aims to replace direct use of pneumatic , mechanical, or In electric railways the generated electricity is fed back into hydraulic systems by electronics, it is a part of a larger drive the supply system, whereas inbattery electric and hybrid by wire technology revolution. Let us discuss them in detail.:- electric vehicles, the energy is stored chemically in a battery, electrically in a bank of capacitors, or mechanically in a Aerodynamic Braking:- rotating flywheel. Hydraulic hybrid vehicles use hydraulic Aerodynamic braking is a spaceflight maneuver that reduces motors and store energy in form of compressed air. the high point of an elliptical orbit (apoapsis) by flying the Brake-by-wire:- vehicle through theatmosphere at the low point of the orbit (periapsis). The resulting drag slows the spacecraft. Brake-by-wire technology in automotive industry represents Aerodynamic braking is used when a spacecraft requires a the replacement of traditional components such as the pumps, low orbit after arriving at a body with an atmosphere, and it hoses, fluids, belts and vacuum servos and master cylinders requires less fuel than does the direct use of a rocket engine. with electronic sensors and actuators. Drive-by- wire technology in automotive industry replaces the traditional A derivative method from this technology is used in some mechanical and hydraulic control systems with electronic high performance cars along with the conventional disc control systems usingelectromechanical actuators and human- brakes used. In The Bugatti Veyron , designed and developed machine interfaces such as pedal and feel emulators. by the Volkswagen Group and manufactured in Molsheim, Some x-by-wire technologies have been already installed on France by Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. ,at speeds above commercial vehicles such as steer-by-wire, and throttle-by- 200 km/h (120 mph), the rear wing also acts as an airbrake, wire. Brake-by-wire technology is still under development by snapping to a 55° angle in 0.4 seconds once brakes are some automobile and automotive parts manufacturers industry applied, providing an additional 0.68 g (6.66 m/s2) of worldwide and has not been widely commercialized yet. This deceleration[11] is mainly due to the safety-critical nature of brake products. So far, Mercedes-Benz (Sensotronic) and Toyota (Electronically Controlled Brake) already use almost fully brake-by-wire systems, on the Mercedes-Benz E-class and SL models and on Toyota's Estima.[3]

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[12] Michael D. SmithJohn C. Pearl Barney J. Conrath Philip R. Christensen,Article first published online: 19 DEC