CHAPTER- FIVE

Brake System
5.1 Types of Brakes
5.2 Hydraulic Braking System
5.3 Pneumatic Braking Systems
 Introduction
• Brakes are the most important
component of an Automobile.
• The vehicle is started, accelerated
and it runs on the road. But stopping
of the vehicle is as essential as its
staring
• Brakes are provided to stop the
vehicle with in the shortest possible
distance
• Braking achieved by converting K.E
in to heat energy
 Introduction

• The purpose of braking system is

– To reduce the speed of the vehicle or
– to keep the speed constant on the downhill gradient
– to bring it to a halt or to keep it stationary.

• Basic components of a brake system are

– Energy supply,
– Actuating (control)
– Transmission device
– The wheel brakes
 Basic Components of Brake System

• Energy Supply
– The source of energy supplies (the energy required for braking)
– The most important types of braking energy are
• Pneumatic
• Hydraulic
• Mechanical
• Muscles power of the driver
– Devices for regulating, conditioning and where necessary storing
the energy are also counted as a part of the energy supply
 Basic Components of Brake System

• Control (Actuators)
– Those parts of the brake system which initiate the action of the
brake system and control the braking action
– The control action can be triggered by the driver through
• Brake pedal
• Hand lever
• Transmission
– Includes all those parts of a brake system through which the energy
is transmitted to the brakes.
– It began at the brake pedal or brake lever and ends at the wheel
brake.
 Basic Components of Brake System

• Brake
– Is the part of the brake system which produces the
forces which oppose the motion of the vehicle or its
tendency to move
– This braking force convert the K.E of the vehicle in to
heat
– It can be
• Friction brakes
• Retarders
 Classification of Brakes
• Brake systems can be classified according to four features
– Purpose
– Type of energy used
– Type of transmission
– Number of connecting lines in vehicle combinations
• According to their purpose
– Service Brake system (Foot-Brake)
– Parking-Brake system (Hand-Brake)
– Engine Brake
 Classification of Brakes
• According to type of energy used
– Depending on whether a brake system is operated totally,
partially or not at all by muscle power a distinction is made
between
• Muscles-power brake system
• Power-assisted brake system power generated by
Compressed air
• Power-brake system Vacuum
Hydraulic fluid
 Classification of Brakes
• According to type of Transmission
– Single-circuit brake system
– Dual-circuit brake system
 Classification of Brakes
• According to the No. of connecting lines in vehicle
combinations
– In vehicle combinations (tractor vehicle with trailer or semi-
trailer)
– The tractor vehicles has an additional device for the energy
supply and control of the trailer braking equipment
– Transmission take place between tractor and trailer by means of
• Single line System
• Multi line System (two or more line)

Single line Brake Dual- line Brake

 Service Brakes
• Different types of service brake system are used in different
vehicles, depending on the application:
– Mechanical brakes
– Air brakes
– Hydraulic brakes
 Mechanical Brake System
• In this system there are only
– Levers,
– Cables and
– Cams for purpose of braking.
• When the brake pedal is pressed, the force is transmitted to the cams
by means of flexible cables that operate
• The cams, in turn, operate the brake shoes
 Hydraulic Brake system
• The hydraulic system is used to apply the
brakes.
• It is designed to do 3 basic things
– Transmit motion from brake pedal to the brake
shoes
– Transmit force along – with the motion
– Multiply force by varying amount to the different
wheel assemblies
 Operating principle
• Braking action is achieved by
– converting the K.E of the moving vehicle in to rotational
friction torque at the brake-shoes or brake pads.

K.E of Vehicle Heat Energy

Frictional Torque
Friction

• Friction
– The resistance to movement b/n two objects in contact with
each other
– It also convert energy of motion to heat
• The amount of friction is proportions to
– the pressure b/n the two objects
– composition of material and
– surface condition
• The grater the pressure applied to the objects the more
the friction and heat is produced
 Friction

• Brake Fade
– A condition where heat is generated at faster rate than they are
capable of dissipating heat.
– For example during a hard stop the temperature of drums or
rotors may increase more than 100 oF in just seconds.
– It may take 30 seconds to cool
– During repeated hard stop, overheating may occur and a loss of
brake effectiveness or even failure may result
 Brake Fade

• There are primary two types of brake fading caused by heat

– Mechanical fade
• Overheating of the brake drum and expand away from the
brake lining resulting in increased the brake pedal travel
– Lining fade
• Overheating of the friction material
to the point where the coefficient of
friction drops off, then friction
reduced
• It affects both drum and disc brake
 Friction material
• The type of materials being rubbed together has very
significant effect on the coefficient of friction.
• Characteristics
– Resist Fading with increased temp
– Resist fading when wet
– Recover quickly
– Wear gradually
– Quiet
 Operating principle
• For the foundation brakes to convert kinetic energy into heat
they must be applied with great force.
• The force required to stop a vehicle is so great so that
– Leverage (Mechanical advantage) and
– Hydraulic force multiplication are used to facilitate a
person to apply it
 Leverages (Mechanical Adv)
• The First Mechanical Advantage is Driver’s foot
• Length of Lever determines force applied depending the
fulcrum point
• Pedal Ratio
10
Pedal ratio  5
2
 Hydraulic principle

• The importance of Hydraulic system

– Transmit motion (by moving a volume of the liquid)
– Transmit Force (Multiply the force)
• Transmit ion of Motion (Movement)
– If you apply a downward force to one piston (the left one, in this drawing),
then the force is transmitted to the second piston through the
incompressible fluid in the pipe.

It is operating using Pascal’s principle

 Hydraulic principle
• Advantages
– Since oil is incompressible, the efficiency is very good -- almost all of the
applied force appears at the second piston.
– The pipe connecting the two cylinders can be any length and shape,
• allowing it to snake through all sorts of things separating the two pistons.
• The pipe can also fork(split), so that one master cylinder can drive more than one
slave cylinder if desired,
 Hydraulic principle
• Transmit force in the form of pressure.
– Pressure in a brake system is primarily
determined by 2 factors (Not including
the booster’s power assist):
• force on the brake pedal multiplied by the
mechanical advantage of the pedal ratio
• surface area of the master cylinder piston
– The differences in force are obtained by
using different sized pistons in the wheel
cylinders and/or calipers.
Hydraulic principle
 Braking Ratio
• Braking Ratio refers to the comparison of front wheel to rear wheel
braking effort.
• When a vehicle stops, its weight tends to transfer to the front wheels.
• The front tire are pressed against the road with greater stop.
• The rear tires lose some of their grip on the road.
• As a result , the front wheel do more of braking than the rear.
• Therefore, front wheel brakes handle 60 to 70 percent of the braking
power.
• Rear wheels handle 30 to 40 percent of the braking.
 Example
• Given Data
– Force applied on the foot-pedal (F=100N)
– Pedal leverage ratio=4
– Cross sectional area of master cylinder (Am=4 cm2)
– Cross-sectional area of front pistons (Af=20 cm2)
– Cross-sectional area of rear pistons (Ar=5 cm2)
– Distance moved by effort (Lm=1cm)
• Determine
– Total force on the front and rear brakes
– Front-to-rear brake ratio
– Total force ratio
– Wheel cylinder piston movement
– Cylinder movement ratio
Example
 solution
• Force on the master cylinder piston
Fm=100 N X 4 =400N
• Pressure in the brake pipelines (p)
F 400
p   100 N 2
Am 4 cm
• Force on each front cylinder piston (Ff)
F f  pA f
 100  20  2000 N
• Total Force on front brakes
– =2000 N X 4 = 8000 N
 solution
• Force on each rear cylinder piston (Fr)
Fr  pAr
 100  5  500 N

• Total force on rear brakes

– = 500 N X 4 = 2000 N
• Front-to-rear brake ratio
8000
  4 :1
2000
– Percentage of front braking=75%
– Percentage of rear braking=25%
• Total force ratio 
Out put force 10,000
  100 : 1
Input force 100
 solution
Volume forced in to  Volume displaced in 
 wheel cylinders    master cylinder 
   
 A f  Ar 4 L w   Am L m 
• Wheel-cylinder piston
movement (Lw)
Am Lm 4 cm 2  1 cm 4
Lw    cm  0.4 mm
4A f  Ar  4(20  5) cm 2
100
• Cylinder movement ratio
Lm 1cm 100
    25 : 1
Lw 4 100 4
• Total Movement ratio
 Cylinder ratio  Pedal leverage 
 25  4
 100 : 1
 Hydraulic Brake system
• The components of Hydraulic Brake system
– Brake pipes
• Continues fluid circuit b/n the master-cylinder and the wheel cylinders
– Master-cylinder
• Convert the foot-pedal force to hydraulic pressure
– Disk-brake
• Consisting of a disc bolted to the wheel hub and sandwiched between two
pistons and friction pads
– Drum-brake
• Consists of two brake –shoes and lining supported on a back plate bolted to the
axle-casing
– Wheel cylinders
• Convert the transmitted hydraulic line pressure in to braking effort as it acts on
the cross-sectional area
Hydraulic Brake system
Hydraulic Brake system
 Brake Fluid
• Brake fluid is specially blended hydraulic fluid that transfers pressure to the
wheel cylinders or calipers.
– Brake fluid must have the following characteristics
• Low freezing point ( not freeze during cold weather)
• Water tolerance ( absorb moisture that collects in the system)
• Lubricate( reduce wear of pistons)
• Noncorrosive ( not attack metal or rubber brake system components)
• Maintain correct viscosity ( free flowing at all temperature)
• High boiling point ( remains liquid at the highest system operating
temperature)
 Brake Fluids
• DOT Grades
– There are 3 grades of brake fluid which are determined by Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards (116)
– Fluid grades are rated by the minimum boiling point for both pure fluid (dry)
and water contaminated fluids (wet)
• DOT 3 –Polyglycol
– Mim boiling point-401 oF, dry, 2840F wet
– Blends with DOT 4
• DOT 4- Polyglycol
– Min boiling point 446 oF, dry, 311 oF wet
– Blends with DOT3
• DOT 5- Silicone
– Min boiling point-550oF dry, 356 oF wet
– Compatible by law with DOT 3 &4 but will not blend with them
 Master Cylinder
• purposes
– convert the motion of brake pedal in to hydraulic pressure (to
generate pipeline hydraulic pressure )
– This pressure is then converted to the force to actuate the wheel-
cylinder disc-pad or shoe expander

• Consists of
– Reservoir
– Piston
– Cylinder
 Master Cylinder

• Tandem master Cylinder

– The conventional type of master cylinder has only one piston
– But in tandem master cylinder there are two pistons and two
outlets for the two pistons
– Brake fluid goes to both the front wheels through one of the
outlets and through the outlet, the brake fluid is carried to both
the rear wheels
 Master Cylinder
• Piping of master cylinder to the wheel cylinder
– Conventional Piping (front-engine and rear-drive vehicles)
• Provides hydraulic pressure for the front brakes while the other
provides pressure for the rear
 Master Cylinder
• Diagonal Split piping
– On front-engine front-wheel drive vehicle
– Extra braking load is shifted to the front brakes due to
reduced weight in the rear.
– To compensate for hydraulic failure in the front brake
circuit with the light rear axle weight
Master Cylinder
 Drum Brake
• The drum brake has been more widely used than any other brake design
• Braking power is obtained when the brake shoes are pushed against the
surface of the drum which rotates together with the axle
• Drum brakes are
mainly for the rear wheel of passenger
cars and trucks
disc brakes are
used exclusively for front brakes b/s
of their greater directional stability
 Dram Brake Assembly
• The components
– Leading and trailing shoe
– Wheel cylinder( Shoe-expander)
– Anchor abutments
– Retraction springs
– Back plate
– Brake-shoes
– Brake lining
– Brake drums
 Wheel Cylinder
• Two pistons operate the shoes, One at each end of the wheel cylinder
• Consists of
– Cylinder
– Two piston
– Two rubber cups
– Springs
• When hydraulic pressure applied
– The pistons are pushed towards the shoes, forcing them against the drum
• When the brakes are not being applied
– The piston is return to its original position by the force of the brake shoe retun spring
 Brake Shoes
• Brake shoes are made of malleable iron, cast steel, drop-forged steel, pressed
steel, or cast aluminum
• Steel shoes expand at
approximately the same rate as the
Brake is applied.
Each brake assembly has two shoes
A primary shoe
secondary shoe
 Brake Drum
• Generally made of special type of cast iron
• It is positioned very close to the brake shoe without
actually touching it and rotates with the wheel and axle.
• The brake drum must be
– Accurately balanced
– Sufficiently rigid
– Resistant against wear
– Highly heat conductive
– Light weight
 Brake Adjustment Caliper

• Adjusting the caliper of

the inside diameter of
the drum established the
correct shoe to drum
clearance
Disc and Pad Brakes
• Because a disc brake assembly can
absorb more heat than a drum brake
assembly, most cars use disc brakes for
their front brake systems.
• Consists of
– Cast iron Disk
– Wheel hub
– stationary caliper
– Friction pad
 Disk Rotor
• Generally, the disk rotor is made of gray cast
iron, and either
– Solid
• Found on the rear of 4 wheel disc brake
system and the front of earlier model
vehicle
– Ventilated
• Consists of a wider disc with cooling fins
cast through the middle to ensure good
cooling
– The third style rotor can be either the
ventilated or solid type which
incorporates a brake drum for an
integral parking brake assembly
Caliper (Cylinder Body)
• Houses 1-4 pistons
• Is mounted to the torque plate and steering
knuckle or wheel carrier
• It is found in
– Floating caliper
• Has piston located in one side of
caliper
– Fixed caliper
• Has pistons located
in both sides caliper
Brake Pad
• The requirements are
– Constant coefficient of friction over wide range of temperature
– Must not wear out rapidly nor should they wear the disc rotors
– Should resistance high temperature without fading
– No noise
• The brake pad material is bonded to stamped steel backing
plate with a high temperature
• Friction material should always be thicker than steel backing
plate
Pad wear indicator

• A pad has adopted on some

models that produces high
screeching noise when the
pad is worn down to a
predetermined thickness
• The purpose is to warn the
driver and prevent damage to
the rotor should the brake
pad wear further
 Disc and Pad Brake
• Advantages of disc-brake
– The lack of any self-servo action produced constant braking
– Good air ventilation of the disc and the friction pad provided a
low average disc temperature which reduces pad friction fade
– The flat friction contact action b/n the disc and pads produced
uniform pad wear
– Uniform hydraulic pressure on each side of provide equal grip
on the disc, so eliminating side-thrust from the disc to the hub
 Disc and Pad Brakes
• Advantages of disc-brake
– Pad-to-disc clearance is designed to be automatically taken up
simple in design, with very few parts to wear or to malfunction
– The friction pads of disc-brakes are easily removed and replaced
• Dis-advantage
– Unlike drum brakes, disc brake have limited self-energizing action
making it necessary to apply greater hydraulic pressure to obtain
sufficient braking force
 Brake Booster
• The brake booster is deigned to crate a grater braking force from
a minimum pedal effort.

• The common types of boosters are

– Vacuum-Booster
– Hydro-Booster
• The brake booster is located b/n the brake pedal and the master
cylinder
 Vacuum Booster
• When pressure is applied to the brake pedal, pressure is
exerted on the booster air valve
• With pressure created by the booster the master cylinder is
applied
• The brake booster consists of
– Body
– Booster piston
– Piston return spring
– Reaction mechanism
– Control valve mechanism
 Vacuum Booster
• Basic Booster operation
• When vacuum is applied to both
sides of the piston ,The piston is
pushed to the right by the spring
• When the atmospheric air is
allowed in to the chamber (A) the
piston starts to compresses the
spring due to the difference in
pressure
Booster Air valve
• When brakes not applied
– The vacuum valve is open
allowing on both sides of the
booster piston
• When brake applied
– The vacuum is closed, cutting
of the vacuum source to the
variable pressure chamber
 Tandem Brake Booster

• Tandem brake booster is a

compact and extremely
powerful unit having two
constant pressure chamber
and two variable pressure
chamber
• With two pistons the constant
and variable chambered are
separated
 Characteristics of Hydraulic Brake System

• Pipe lines are relatively small-bore and occupy very little space
• Pipelines can be bent and shaped to follow the contour of the
under-side of the body structure with no mechanical difficulties
• No relative pipe-body movement when the brakes are being
operated
• Pipelines are convenient means of transferring movement from
the brake pedal to the brake-wheel cylinders
• Pipelines are a means of communicating movement from the
foot-pedal to the wheel disk or drum-brakes
 Characteristics of Hydraulic Brake System

• Pipeline fluid pressure is uniform throughout the hydraulic circuit

and remains consistent even when the axle and wheels are
moving between bumps & rebounds
• Braking force ratio in a hydraulic braking system is a direct
function of the ratio of the master-cylinder cross-sectional area to
the disc- cylinder cross-sectional area, so these may be chosen to
produce the braking effect desired
• The wheel cylinder cross-sectional areas of the front and rear disc
and drum-brakes respectively may be chosen to produce the best
front-to-rear braking ratio
 Characteristics of Hydraulic Brake System

• Master-cylinder piston movement is inversely proportional to the

force ratio, so the pedal movement will become large as the
braking effort increases
• Hydraulic fluid provides minimum response time in transforming
force from the pedal to the brake wheel-cylinders
• Relative movement b/n the sprung body and unsprung axle-and-
wheel assembly does not interfere with the transmission of fluid
pressure to the brake wheel-cylinders
 Characteristics of Hydraulic Brake System

• Hydraulic fluid is incompressible provided there is no

trapped air in the system, but if air is somewhere in the
braking circuit the foot-brake movement will be spongy
• Pipeline systems do not require lubricating, and the
cylinder-piston seals are lubricated by the brake fluid
• The only internal friction in a hydraulic system is b/n the
cylinder pistons and seals, caused by the fluid pressure
squeezing the seal lips against the cylinder walls as the
piston moves along its stroke
 Characteristics of Hydraulic Brake System

• The only components subjected to wear and which will

normally be replaced are flexible hoses and piston and
cylinder seals
• A hole or joint or seal leakage in the hydraulic circuit will
normally be quickly empty part or all of the system of fluid
and the brakes will become infective
• A hydraulic braking system us suitable only for intermittent
braking applications and a separate mechanical linkage must
be used for packing brakes
5.3 Pneumatic Braking Systems
• The purpose of pneumatic/Air braking system is

– To reduce the speed of the vehicle or

– to keep the speed constant on the downhill gradient
– to bring it to a halt or to keep it stationary.
•
 component groups of Air B.S.
• Every compressed air brake system is constructed in
modular form using component groups.
• This are
– Component Group A
• Compressed air supply (compressed-air production and
storage)
– Component Group B
• Service Brake system
– Component Group C
• parking Brake system
– Component Group D
• Trailer control
Connection Designation in Air Brake system
• There are two types of connection designations
With only one digit:
In this case the meaning of the numbers on the connection is
as follows
• 0 – intake port( from atmosphere)
• 1- Energy supply
• 2- Energy out let ( not out let to the atmosphere)
• 3- port ( out let) to the atmosphere.
• 4 – control port ( the input to the components)
• 5 & 6 Unassigned
• 7- antifreeze port
• 8 – Lubrication oil port
Air compressor
• 9- cooling water port
 With two digits:
• A second digit is provided if there are a number of ports of
the same type.
– Example.
» 21 – Energy outlet to the energy storage device( compressed-air
reservoir)
» 22 – energy outlet ( switching port)

• If one port can perform several functions. It must be

designated using two( initial ) digits. These are to be
separated from one another by means of a dash,
e.g. 1-2 operationally the energy supply or the energy outlet.
Component Group A “Compressed Air supply”
Purpose :- To produce and store compressed air.
Air compressor:
• It is the source of energy of a compressed air
Brake system.
• The required compressed air is Produced here.
Construction
- It is an upright piston pump.
- The crankshaft of this pump Is driven by the vehicle engine by means of a V-
belt or a toothed gear.
-The intake line of the compressor is connected either to
the engine filter or to a separate air filter. In order to
Use only filtered air.
- The air compressor must be cooled by either the engine
Fan or other means .
- The lubrication system is connected to the engine lubrication system.
Operation: The air compressor runs as long as the vehicle engine
is running.
Once the compressed air brake system has been filled, the air
compressor feeds the air in almost pressure less state.
Pressure Regulator
• Purpose:- Conducts the compressed air supplied by the air compressor to
the air reservoirs or into open.
• It regulates the supply pressure of the compressed air brake system which
remains within the operating range.
– i.e. between the cut – in pressure and cut -off pressure of the pressure regulator.
• The tire inflation port installed in the pressure regulator is used for
inflating vehicle tires and for filling the compressed air brake system from
an external source.
• Construction
• The pressure regulator is a combination of a
– pressure regulator , - Check valve
– Air filter - tire inflation device.
– Safety valve
Operating principle
Filling position ( the air compressor feeds compressed air into the air reservoirs)

• The compressed air entering at port 1 is forced through air filter7, passes
through the channels 12 & 13 upstream of the check valve15, opens this
valve and continues to flow via port 21 through the pressure line to the air
reservoir until the cut – off pressure has been reached.
Idle position ( the air compressor supplies compressed air into the open/ atmosp.).
• The cut-off pressure is grater than the force of the helical compression
spring 1, and thus forces the diaphragm 2 upward.
• The cup seal of the control valve 5 is lifted away from the valve seat of the
control valve by means of the hollow pin 3.
• The check valve 15 remains closed. This prevents air from flowing back out
of the air reservoirs.
• Operating range :- the pressure deference between the cut-in pressure
and cut-off pressure.
Construction and Operating principle of pressure regulator
Four Circuit protection valve
• Purpose:
– It is used to supplying compressed air and safe grading
The system.
Air Reservoir
• Purpose
– Is used for storing the air compressed by the air compressor in the compressed air
brake systems of vehicles.
Construction
The cylindrical reservoir is made of welded steel sheet and has three or two fittings for
connecting compressed air as well as one fitted for draining condensate.
- This last fitting must face downward and be easily accessible.
Component group B Service Brake
Purpose:
The dual circuit service brake valve controls two independent
pneumatic brake circuits in a tractor vehicle and
by way of the trailer control valve the service brake system of
the trailer.

Construction
- The component consists of two separate brake valves which
are arranged one behind the other and which are actuated by
A common control, usually a brake pedal.
- Equal pressure are achieved in both service brake circuits
Operating principle
 Diaphragm Actuator
Purpose:
The diaphragm actuator operates the
wheel brakes of Motor vehicle and
trailers by converting pneumatic
Force Into mechanical force.
Combi-brake cylinder
Purpose:
It is a component of the service brake system and of the parking brake system of a motor
vehicle and actuates the wheel brakes for both systems.
Construction:
-The diaphragm actuator and the spring brake cylinder are located one behind the other in
the cylinder housing .
- Both act on a common push rod with fork head.
Construction and Operating principle
Component Group C Parking brake system.
Parking Brake valve:
• Purpose:
– Controls the parking brake system
• When the brake are not applied, the spring brake
Cylinder is pressurized and
• Depressurized when the brakes are applied
Construction and Operating principle
Relay Valve
Purpose:
The relay valve is used to pressurize and depressurize the
Brake cylinders at a faster rate.
In this manner, it accelerates the brake response of the service brake
and/or parking brake system.
Construction
The relay valve contains a double seat valve which is actuated by a
control line via a piston.
Construction and Operating principle
Component Group D Trailer control
Purpose: To control the brake system of the trailer and supply it with compressed air.

Trailer Control Valve:

• Purpose : It controls the brake system of the trailer.
Graphic symbols of Air brake system
components
Brake chamber
Diaphragm type
Air compressor

Pressure Combi- Brake

Regulator chamber
• Four circuit
protection
valve Hand Brake Valve

Air Reservoir
Trailer Control
Valve
Service Brake
Valve

Relay Valve
Load sensing
Valve
schematic Diagram of compressed Air brake system
CHAPTER FIVE

The End