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Brakes PDF
Brakes PDF
Eric Klang
Faculty Advisor
Wolfpack Motorsports
College of Engineering
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7910
Final Checks:
Input maximum pedal force without lockup and Calculate Current Settings
Ensure all details look acceptable like pedal force, offset, and line pressure.
Heat Transfer:
Input necessary data for heat transfer calculations and calculate. Check to make sure
variables are within their acceptable limits. Braking power can be compared to previous
car and rotor setups to ensure rotors and pads will not be overheated.
ROuter
REffective
L1 L2
Pedal Force
Rotor Design
The design of the brake rotors for the Formula car is
based on a history of rotors that have worked and one
that failed. By analyzing previous systems it is possible
to tell approximately what mass of rotor is necessary to
ensure safe, repeatable braking. It also helps to
determine how much volume of rotor is necessary to
keep from overheating the pads.
Other
The car is plumbed with 3/16 stainless steel hardline as
much as possible to reduce weight. Flex lines (-3) are
used to connect hardlines to brake calipers to allow for
movement of the wheel. AN-3 fittings are used for all
connections. While aluminum fittings have been used in
the past, it is much safer to use steel fittings. The brake
line pressure has increased some the past few years
and a DNF due to a failed fitting is not worth the weight
savings of the aluminum fittings. Also because the lines
are stainless steel and the available flaring tools are
simple single flares are used for all the hardlines. If http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/The%20Physics%20
these are done carefully and matched with steel fittings of%20Braking%20Systems.pdf
they will perform without leaking. A pressure switch is Accessed March 31, 2008.*
plumbed into a rear line to operate the brake light. Also
note that for the past 4 carbon cars the chassis has *The original information used from this site was
been designed to split where the rear meets the front. accessed in 2004 and is no longer available. The link
This means that the brake and clutch lines must be able provided is an updated and much more in-depth version.
to split here as well so fittings for this are required. One
method that has worked well for determining plumbing
requirements is to draw a complete chart of the brakes
system to determine exactly what is needed and then
order a few spares. There should be a
compartmentalized box in the shop with extra fittings,
but its a good idea to make sure there will always be a
spare.
Conclusion
Brakes are an essential part of a racecar, but in general
large performance gains are not made here. It is
important to design a system that is well balanced, offers
tuning potential during testing, and is reliable. It would
be exciting to see further research look into the heat
capacity of rotors more and balance analytical work with
real world testing.
References
Stone, Richard. And Jeffrey K. Bell. Automotive
Engineering Fundamentals. Warrendale, Pa: Society of
Automotive Engineers, Inc. 2004.