Material selection for Brake Caliper: -

The calculation and verification of braking force is a crucial step in the design
process of an automobile as the braking system directly factors as a good
control and safety feature in the product. While designing, the main objective is
to generate more braking force than ideally required to account for
inefficiencies in mechanical linkages and hydraulic systems and without
selection of adequate material it is not possible.
The selection of material for design of any component is important. The
material selected needs to be compatible with the working environment of the
product. The brake caliper currently in uses material Cast Iron. This material
has good corrosion resistance and weldability. It is necessary to compares the
different types of material for use in brake caliper in terms of cost, machining
process used, thermal coefficient of expansion, tensile strength and young’s
modulus.
Al 6061-T6 has a lower coefficient of thermal expansion, higher modulus of
elasticity, higher strength and good machinability as compared to Cast Iron. The
cost is more but it leads to reduction in overall weight of vehicle. Since at least
four caliper is used in a vehicle for braking. Reduction in weight of one caliper
ultimately leads to reduction in other three caliper and this leads to overall
decrease in weight of vehicle.
Decrease in weight of vehicle has its own importance-
1.There is increase in acceleration of vehicle
2.Less wear and tear of tyre
3.More stability during cornering
Based on the information and the comparison provided aluminium alloy 6061–
T6 will be used for design and analysis of the brake caliper. Al 6061 is readily
weldable and is useful for application in a temperature range of -400 to 600-
degree F. It also has high fracture toughness and T6 temper has high resistance
to stress corrosion cracking. The other material used prominently in the new
caliper is titanium. Titanium is difficult to machine or weld but they perform
well in high temperature application.

Brake Pad Material: -

Brake pads material is very important for safe and consistent working of a
vehicle braking system. Brake pad material is generally classified into two
categories asbestos and metallic. Asbestos dust is proved to be a cancer causing
agent therefore federal regulations prohibited their use in the 90s. Metallic brake
pad materials are classified as low metallic and semi-metallic. All pad material
begins to disintegrate at the friction surface due to high heat generation process
between the rotor and pad. Due to non-uniform pressure distribution between
the pad and rotor, pad surface temperature will be non-uniform and the areas of
higher temperature will have low friction level than that of the lower
temperatures. An exact analytical value of coefficient of friction between rotor
and brake pads is difficult to set. SAE J661 procedure is used to determine the
friction coefficient for hot and cold surfaces. Disc brake pads should have
certain amount of porosity to minimize the effect of water on coefficient of
friction. Important characteristics of brake pads are friction coefficient, wear
rate, thermal conductivity and strength and durability. These porous contents
should not store contaminating agents like salts and wear particles. Materials
like aluminium boron carbide are found to be best suited for automobile brake
pad application. It has high toughness and thermal conductivity relative to other
ceramics with better thermal shock absorbing capacity.
Some common materials used in organic brake pads include glass, fibre, rubber,
carbon and Kevlar.
Design Setup: -
The setup for validation of caliper working consists of following components: -
1. Metallic Frame
2. Caliper Assembly
3. Electric Motor
4. Chain & Sprocket Assembly
5. Brake Disc
6. Shaft on which brake disc is mounted
7. Master Cylinder
8. Brake line
9. Brake Fluid
10.Brake Pedal
11.Padestrial Bearing

1. Metallic Frame: -
The frame is made of up Mild steel Box section. All the major and minor
components are basically mounted on this frame except the electric motor
which is mounted separately, so needs to sufficiently stiff, rigid and strong to
sustain the loads applied on it without any failure.

Frame image
 2. Caliper Assembly: -
The Caliper assembly consists of various sub-parts which are as follows –
i) Caliper Casing
ii) Piston
iii) Brake Pads
iv) Piston Rings
v) Beed nut & benzo bolt
All the components except caliper casing is OEM (Original Equipment
Manufacturer ).

Caliper assembly image

3. Electric Motor: -
The electric motor is basically a epicyclic gear train with a reduction ratio of
_________
Motor is basically operated by Lithium Ion battery which can rotate the disc up
to ______rpm.
 Motor and battery image

4. Chain & Sprocket Assembly: -

Sprocket is a toothed wheel that fits onto a shaft. It is prevented from rotating
on the shaft by a key that fits into keyways in the sprocket and shaft.
A chain is used to connect two sprockets. One sprocket is the driver sprocket.
The other sprocket is the driven sprocket. Motion and force can be transmitted
via the chain from one sprocket to another, therefore from one shaft to another.
Chains that are used to transmit motion and force from one sprocket to another
Chain and sprocket assembly is basically used to transfer the rotational motion
of motor output shaft to main shaft on which brake disc is mounted.

Electric motor Sprocket moves Chain moves the

rotates the the chain other sprocket
sprocket at input which is mounted
end on main shaft

Chain and sprocket assembly image

 5. Brake Disc: -
Large amount of heat is produced in braking action as kinetic energy is directly
converted into heat energy. The large amount of heat can be seen in figure. This
large amount of heat needs to dissipate or absorbed efficiently to avoid over
heating of the brake system.
To avoid the melting of brake disc suitable material is to be selected.
Based on different parameters the brake disc material selected is _______

Heat disc
generation
Brake image during braking image

6. Master Cylinder: -
Master cylinder is a control device that converts force (commonly from a
driver's foot) into hydraulic pressure. This device controls slave
cylinders located at the other end of the hydraulic system.
As piston move along the bore of the master cylinder, this movement is
transferred through the hydraulic fluid, to result in a movement of
the slave cylinder. The hydraulic pressure created by moving a piston (inside
the bore of the master cylinder) toward the slave cylinder compresses the fluid
evenly, but by varying the comparative surface area of the master cylinder and
each slave cylinder, one can vary the amount of force and displacement applied
to each slave cylinder, relative to the amount of force and displacement applied
to the master cylinder.
A reservoir above each master cylinder supplies the master cylinder with
enough brake fluid to avoid air from entering the master cylinder 
 Master cylinder image

7. Brake Line: -
When the driver presses the brake pedal, hydraulic pressure is generated in the
master brake cylinder. So that a braking force can be produced from this, the
hydraulic pressure must be transmitted to the wheel.
When the driver presses the brake pedal, hydraulic pressure is generated in the
master brake cylinder. So that a braking force can be produced from this, the
hydraulic pressure must be transmitted to the wheel brakes with the assistance
of the brake fluid. In motor vehicles, this happens via the brake lines.
Brake hoses create a flexible connection between brake pipes and wheel brakes.
They transmit the hydraulic pressure to the wheel cylinders and brake callipers.
Brake hoses are usually made form a special inner and outer rubber with a
multi-layer fabric insert in between. There are also brake hoses that are sheathed
in steel braiding (braided stainless-steel brake hoses). 
Brake lines perform an important task in modern brake systems. To safeguard
the overall function of the brake system, they must transmit the pressure
generated by the driver or the brake regulating system to the wheel brakes
without delay and with no losses.
If the brake lines are porous or damaged, moisture can get into the brake system
from outside. This can lead to vapour locks forming in the brake fluid and
impair the braking effect or, in the worst-case scenario, cause the brake to fail
completely. Therefore, brake pipes and brake hoses must undergo regular
inspection.

BRAKE LINE IMAGE

8. Brake Fluid & Padel: -

Brake fluid is a type of hydraulic fluid used in hydraulic brake and hydraulic
clutch applications in automobiles, motorcycles, light trucks, and some bicycles.
It is used to transfer force into pressure, and to amplify braking force. It works
because liquids are not appreciably compressible.
Most brake fluids used today are glycol-ether based, but mineral oil
and silicone-based (DOT 5) fluids are also available.
The brake fluid which is used by us is DOT 3 (Department of Transportation).
Now coming to brake pedal. It is the metallic structure on which the driver
apply the force and this force is transmitted to brake pads with the help of
master cylinder, brakes line and piston.

Brake padel image

Flow Diagram: -

Force applied by This force creates the

driver on the Brake pressure gradient in
pedal master cylinder

This frictional force Since fluid is

tries to slow down the incompressible so it
rotation of disc and in transfers the pressure
his way, brake is from cylinder to
applied. caliper piston

Piston moves because

of pressure and clamp
the disc and frictional
force is applied on
rotating disc.