Types of Brakes

What are Different Types of Brakes?

In this article, you'll learn what are different types of brake? used in vehicles, how do they
work? explained with brake parts, construction, diagram, and pictures.

Brakes
Your vehicle was started, accelerated, and was running crazy on the road. And now it needs to
be stopped, stopping the vehicle is as necessary as it's starting. Once your vehicle is started, it
must be stopped somewhere.

To stop the vehicle brakes are provided to wheels. By pressing the brake you can stop the
vehicle easily, it's as simple as that. Brakes are applying on the wheels to stop the vehicle.

But do you know how brake works?

Before applying the brakes, the acceleration is released to stop the fuel supply thus the engine
develops on more power to drive the vehicle, and then the brakes are applied which caused to
stop rotating the wheels, and hence the vehicle is stopped.

Clutch is also disengaged which disconnects the engine from the transmission system. Thus,
when the vehicle is standing, the engine is still running at idling.

So in this article, you'll how to brake work in the vehicle and what are the different types of
brake you can use.

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 Types of Brakes

So let's get started with function.

Functions of the Brakes

There are two distinct functions of the brakes:

1. To stop or slow down the vehicle in the shorter possible distance in emergencies.
2. Control the vehicle to be maintained when descending a hill.

The first functions call for the brakes which can apply large braking torques to the brake drums,
while the second calls for brakes that can dissipate large quantities of the heat without large
temperature rises.

Types of Brakes
Following are the types of brakes used in automotive vehicles:

1. Foot brake and Handbrake

2. Internal expanding brakes
3. External contracting brakes
4. Mechanical brakes
5. Power brakes
6. Vacuum brakes
7. Air brakes
8. Hydraulic brakes
9. Electric brakes
10. Self-energizing brakes
11. Power-assisted brakes

#1 Foot Brake and Hand Brake

Foot brake and hand brake is also known as parking and emergency brake.

In most passenger cars, the mechanical brake is operating by hand or foot is using for parking
and emergency brakes. These brakes either act on the rear wheels or are attached to the
transmission or on the propeller shaft.

The brake lever is mounting under the instrument panel to the left of the driver. When the
brake is applied, the lever is locking in place by a ratchet.

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 Types of Brakes

For releasing the brakes, different methods are used. Some hand brakes are releasing by
squeezing the level and control finger together, others are releasing by turning the lever and
pushing it down.

The foot-pedal is released by special release levers. In rear-wheel type parking brakes, a cable
or pull rod connects the parking or emergency lever to an idol lever that is mounting on the
cross member of the frame.

The idler lever pulls forward against the action of the pullback spring. Two cables that engage
the rear wheel brake are also pulled when applying the brakes.

Transmission or propeller shaft parking brake are of three types,

1. External containing type.

2. Internal containing type.
3. Disc type.

All these types of brakes operate to lock the transmission main shaft or the propeller shaft
when the mechanical brake is applied. As the rear wheels are connected to the propeller shaft
through the axle shaft, differential and universal joint, the rear wheel are preventing from
turning when the propeller shaft s locked.

#2 Internal Expanding Brakes

This type of brake consists of two shoes that are S1 and S2. The outer surface of the shoes is
lined with some frictional material. Each shoe is pivoted about a fixed fulcrum O1 at one end
and at the other end they are made to contact a cam. The shoes are held in off position by a
spring. The drum contains the entire mechanism to keep out dust and moisture.

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 Types of Brakes

When the cam rotates, S1 and S2 shoes are pushed outward against the rim of the drum.
Friction between the shoe and the drum produces braking torque and therefore reduces drum
speed. Such brakes are generally used in motor cars and light trucks.

#3 External Contracting brake

External contract brakes are sometimes used on motor vehicles for parking brakes, for cranes,
and to control the speed of the auxiliary drive shaft.

In working, the brake band (or shoes) of the external lever is tightened around the drum being
rotated by moving the brake lever. The brake band is made of comparatively thin, flexible steel,
shaped to fit the drum, with an abrasive line to the inner surface.

This flexible band cannot withstand the high pressure required to produce the friction required
to stop a vehicle with high load or speed, but it works well as a parking brake or hold brake.

#4 Mechanical brakes

In a motor vehicle, the wheel is attached to an auxiliary wheel calls drum, and brake shoes are
made to contact this drum. In most designs, two shoes are using with each drum to form a
complete brake mechanism at each wheel. The brake shoes have brake linings on their outer
surface.

Each brake shoe is connected at one end by the anchor pin, the other end is operated by some
means so that the brake shoe expands and comes in contact with the brake lining drum.

Retracting spring keeps the brakes shoes into position when the brakes are not applied. And
also the drum has the entire mechanism to keep out dust and moisture.

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 Types of Brakes

#5 Power brake
The driver does not require any braking effect to apply the power-operated brake. Only a valve
is to be controlled. The Clayton Dewantre power operated the system is one of the systems
using in power-operated brakes.

In this system, the brakes are controlled by the brake valve, which is controlled by means of an
integral treatable or linkage from a conventional brake pedal. The air pressure in the brake
chamber of the vehicle is regulated by the movement of an inlet or exhaust valve assembly.

The movement of the assembly is controlled by the movement of the treadle. The relative
reaction to the movement of the treadle is imparted by the valve. The driver controls the
degree of brake application.

#6 Vacuum brake

In this system, the partial vacuum existing in the inlet manifold, when the engine is running,
provided the power to operate the brakes. The effort provided by the servosystem is
proportional to the applied power, and it is usually in the ration 4:1. A vacuum valve is used to
make a vacuum connection from the engine to the vacuum cylinder.

The atmospheric valve remains open and the vacuum valve remains closed when the brakes are
not applied. When the brake pedal is depressed, the atmospheric valve opens, the vacuum
valve also piston opens and the engine exhausts air inside the servo cylinder.

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 Types of Brakes

#7 Air brake

Air brakes are commonly using in heavy vehicles like buses and trucks which require a heavier
braking effort that can be applied by the driver's foot. Working against flexible diaphragms in
the brake chamber, air brakes are applied by compressed air pressure rather than foot
pressure.

The diaphragms are connected to the brake rod which connects to the brake operating cams on
the wheel brakes. These diaphragms are controlled through a hand or foot-operated valve.

The brake valve controls brake operation by directing the flow of air from a reservoir against
diaphragms in the brake chambers when the brakes are applied, and from brake chambers to
the atmosphere when the brakes are released.

#8 Hydraulic brake
The hydraulic brakes are applied by the liquid pressure. The pedal force is transmitting to the
brake shoe by means of a confined liquid through force transmission. The force applying to the
pedal is multiplied and transmitted to all the brake shoes by a force transmission system.

This system is based upon Pascal's principle, which states that "the confined liquid transmits
pressure without loss equally in all direction." It essentially consists of two main components -
the master cylinder and wheel cylinder. The master cylinder is connected by tubing to the
wheel cylinders at each of the four wheels.

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 Types of Brakes

The system is filling with the liquid under light pressure when the brakes are not in operation.
The liquid is known as brake fluid and is usually a mixture of glycerine and alcohol or castor oil,
denatured alcohol and some additives.

#9 Electric brake
Electric brakes are also using for some motor vehicles, although these are not very popular.
Warner electric brake is one of the examples of such brakes. These types of brakes consist of an
electromagnet within the brake drum.

The brake is worked when the current from the battery is used to energize the electromagnet,
Which activates the mechanism to extend the brake shoe against the brake drum, and thus
brake applied. The severity of braking is controlled through a rheostat, which is driven by the
driver through the foot-pedal.

Electric brakes are very simple in construction, they don't require any complicated operating
linkages. It is necessary to take only the current from the battery to the electromagnet. In
addition, these are much faster than other types of brakes.

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#10 Self Energizing Brakes

The below figure shows the self-energizing brake diagram. Drum-type hydraulic wheel brakes
are provided with self-activated or servo features, In which the force of the rotating drum is
used to increase the brake pressure. When the vehicle is traveling forward, the drum starts
rotating in an anticlockwise direction.

When the brakes are applied primary shoe tends to move in the direction of the drum's
rotation, due to the friction of the rotating drum. Because the primary shoe is attached to the
secondary shoe at the bottom position, the secondary shoe is forced against the anchor pin
that is located at the top. This action causes both shoes to be in severe contact with the drum
and the braking pressure is applied more evenly.

#11 Power Assisted Brakes

A great braking force is to be needed to apply the brakes in case of motor vehicles fitted with
disc brakes, as well as for heavy commercial vehicles. Power assisted brakes are using to equate
the limited strength of the driver with the great braking force.

Generally, the entire intake manifold vacuum is used by the power-assisted system. Therefore,
they are also known as vacuum brakes. In this system, when the brake pedal is depressed, fluid
is forced from the master cylinder to the primary chamber of the wheel cylinder. Now the
intermediate piston provided at the end of the master cylinder also closes the diaphragm valve
in the reaction chamber.

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 Types of Brakes

This results in isolating the vacuum from the air side of the boost system. The sir control spool
is opened to admit air at atmospheric pressure with the movement of the intermediate piston
further along its bore.

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