Advances in Structural Health Monitoring - Sensing and Processing - Research Article

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

2019, Vol. 11(4) 1–16
Ó The Author(s) 2019
A novel mechanical design of disc DOI: 10.1177/1687814019842494
journals.sagepub.com/home/ade
brakes for fault diagnosis and
monitoring positive braking pressure in
mine hoist

Guiyun Xu, Di Song, Di Zhang , Xiaoguang Zhang and Shikang Sha

Abstract
As the final executor of the braking system of coal mine hoists, the disc brake directly affects the safety and reliability of
mine hoists. Aimed to the problem of failure of hoist disc brake, according to its structural characteristics and functional
requirements, this article proposes a disc brake that monitors positive brake pressure in real time and has a certain
brake fault diagnosis function and develops a prototype. Based on SolidWorks, its virtual prototype model is established,
and its finite element model is established by ANSYS Workbench. The static and dynamic simulations are performed on
the entire disc brake and key components to obtain overall vibration characteristics and mechanical characteristics.
Prototypes of disc brake and sensors are machined to perform test experiments to measure the performance, and
experimental data are analyzed in conjunction with theories. The experimental results show that the disc brake can real-
ize real-time effective monitoring of the positive brake pressure. It has the function of fault diagnosis, and its strength
and stiffness meet the requirements with lower cost. The correctness and effectiveness of the proposed structure
scheme are verified.

Keywords
Coal mine hoist, disc brake, diagnosis fault, monitoring positive brake pressure, brake pressure sensor

Date received: 7 May 2018; accepted: 14 March 2019

Handling Editor: James Baldwin

Introduction has always been an important issue in the development

The disc brake of mine hoist is the ultimate executor of
safe parking of mine hoist. Its safe and reliable work
can ensure the safe operation of mine hoist. But the
failure of brake will cause accidents such as overwind-
ing, rope breaking, tank falling into the bottom of the
well, or rushing to the skyscraper, which will cause
great losses.1–3 Therefore, it is necessary to study the
application of disc brake with innovative structure and
abundant functions in the field of mine hoist. With the
rapid development and increasingly fierce competition
in the world, the development of disc brake of mine
hoist tends to be more reliable, safer, and more intelli-
gent.4,5 The way to improve the reliability of disc brake
process. Many works focus on improving the reliability
of disc brake.
In order to improve the reliability of disc brake of
mine hoist, some scholars have studied the structure
design of disc brake as a breakthrough point. SR Ge
et al.6 designed an adaptive boosting and compensating
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, China University of
Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China
Corresponding author:
Di Song, School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, China
University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China.
Email: sd532261601@163.com

Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
(http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without
further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/
open-access-at-sage).
2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
brake for mine hoist, to avoid insufficient positive
brake pressure when mine hoist brakes. On the basis of
the original disc brake, the positive pressure of the
brake on the brake disc is increased by opening an oil
inlet hole on the back cover of the oil distribution to
supply pressure oil to the compensating pressure cham-
ber. The constant backlash between friction pads and
brake discs is an important factor affecting brake
safety. LP Li et al.7 designed a constant-opening
hydraulic disc brake with automatic compensation and
wear display, which can ensure that the backlash
between friction pads and brake discs remains
unchanged. M Feng8 put forward the solution of cylin-
der rear disc brake to overcome the defects of cylinder
front disc brake and carried out a comprehensive test
on the performance of the brake, which increased the
reliability of brake. In order to ensure the effective
work of disc brake, J Chen9 and XQ Gao10 trans-
formed the internal structure of disc brake into a sensor
to monitor the disc spring force. When braking, the
disc spring force is equal to the positive braking pres-
sure, which can indirectly monitor the positive braking
pressure and greatly reduce the risk of brake failure.
In addition, some scholars studied the monitoring
methods of disc brake failure of mine hoist and pre-
vented major accidents and improved the reliability of
brake. DK Zhang et al.11 studied and designed a disc
brake for hoist, which can diagnose the performance
failure caused by brake shoe wear, disc spring fatigue
fracture, and piston jamming in time. In order to
ensure the braking performance of disc brake, K Xiao
and S Fu12 designed a monitoring system for brake fail-
ure of mine hoist brake, which monitored oil pressure,
brake shoe clearance, and brake shoe temperature in
real time by sensors. Previous studies9–12 aims at moni-
toring the key parameters of disc brake. If the para-
meters are abnormal, the alarm can be given, and the
staff can check and troubleshoot in time to ensure that
the disc brake of mine hoist works reliably. In order to
further improve the brake performance and reliability
of disc brake, some scholars put forward fault analysis
method. For example, YX Hao13 proposed using fault
tree analysis (FTA) method to analyze the fault causes
of disc brake system of mine hoist. MJ Jin14 introduced
the fuzzy set theory into the FTA of disc brake of hoist
and established the fuzzy fault tree. Q Wang and XM
Xiao15 analyzed the typical failure mechanism of the
brake system by establishing the brake performance
analysis model. JS Bao16 uses artificial neural network
technology to build an intelligent prediction model.
In recent years, the research of many scholars has
improved the reliability of mine hoist, among which the
research of literature9,10 has made a great contribution
to improving the reliability of disc brake of mine hoist.
The health of brake can be evaluated by indirect mea-
surement of positive brake pressure. However, it has
certain defects. If the brake is jammed when the brake
disc is 0.01 mm away from the brake shoe during the
braking process, the brake disc is not tightly attached to
the brake disc at this time. The actual positive brake
pressure is zero, and the disc spring force exists and is
normal. By disc spring force sensor, the brake is healthy.
In fact, the brake is unhealthy. The failure of the block-
age cylinder cannot be safely immobilized, and the fail-
ure condition cannot be evaluated by the disc spring
force sensor. Under the condition that the disc spring
force is normal, there is still a lack of brake force which
results in frequent occurrence of brake accidents.17,18
The existing brake technology and product level cannot
meet the requirement in terms of structure principle and
performance index.19–21 In view of the present situation,
this article presents a disc brake with diagnosis of brake
failure and real-time monitoring of positive brake pres-
sure. By monitoring the brake clearance, disc spring
force, and positive brake pressure parameters, the posi-
tive brake pressure can be realized. Effective and accu-
rate monitoring of positive brake pressure and fault
prediction is of great significance to improve the safety
and reliability of large mining equipment.
Design and analysis of mechanical
structure
Application background and design requirements
The mine hoisting system is used for mining coal, iron
ore, and so on. It mainly includes hydraulic station,
brake, depth indicator, roller, reducer, and motor, as
shown in Figure 1. The motor drives the drum through
the reducer, and the drum is driven by the wire rope to
lift the container up and down in the mine to complete
the transportation task. The brake system is composed
of hydraulic station and disc brake, which is the final
part of the braking system to complete the braking task.
The common disc brake mainly includes shell com-
ponents and hydraulic components, and its structure is
shown in Figure 2. The working principle is to realize
the releasing brake and contracting brake by the
hydraulic pressure affecting the spring force of the disc
spring. In order to make the brake disc to not produce
additional deformation and the spindle to not bear
additional axial force, the disc brakes are used in pairs
and each pair is installed on both sides of the brake
disc. Multiple brakes can be arranged for each hoist
according to the required braking torque.
Although the disc brake has been improved qualita-
tively in structure, function, and usage, it cannot effec-
tively avoid the brake accident caused by its failure.
Most of the accidents in the mine hoist, such as over-
rolling, pier tank breaking, rope breaking, and sliding,
are all related to braking failure and the lack of positive
braking pressure. The large gap between brake shoes
Xu et al.
Figure 1. Composition of the hoist system: (1) hydraulic station, (2) depth indicator, (3) roller of the hoist, (4) reducer, (5) motor,
and (6) brake.
Figure 2. Common disc brake structure diagram: (1) shell
components of brake, (2) disc spring, (3) disc spring seat, (4)
ring, (5) ‘‘V’’-shaped seal ring, (6) leakage tubing interface, (7)
YX-shaped seal ring, (8) piston, (9) seal ring, (10) back cover,
(11) connecting bolt, (12) piston inner sleeve, (13) hydraulic
cylinder head, (14) pressure tubing interface, (15) adjusting nut,
(16) hydraulic cylinder, (17) liner with cylinder, (18) brake tile,
and (19) brake disc.
and brake discs and the failure of disc springs, such as
fatigue, fracture, and small preload, cause insufficient
positive brake pressure. Therefore, how to accurately
and effectively monitor positive braking pressure is of
great practical significance and value for mine safety
production.
Structural scheme and working principle of disc
brake for monitoring positive brake pressure
Considering the characteristics of common disc
brakes, it is optimized on the basis of the original
3
Figure 3. Brake structure diagram with diagnostic brake failure
and monitoring braking force: (1) cylinder liner; (2) brake body;
(3) disc spring group; (4) disc spring force sensor; (5) adjusting
nut; (6) out of oil pipe interface; (7) piston; (8), (15), and (16)
seal ring; (9) piston inner sleeve; (10) big nut; (11) back cover;
(12) positive braking pressure sensor; (13) hydraulic cylinder
head; (14) intake pipe interface; (17) hydraulic cylinder; (18)
‘‘V’’-shaped seal ring; (19) cir-clip; (20) displacement sensor;
(21) brake tile; (22) disc spring support ring; (23) screw; (24)
protection bucket; and (25) sluice.
brake structure, and a disc brake which can diagnose
the brake fault and monitor the positive brake pres-
sure in real time is designed. The optimized structure
is composed of disc spring force sensor, positive
brake pressure sensor, disc spring group, piston,
hydraulic cylinder, bearing sleeve, tile, and other
components, and its internal structure is as shown in
Figure 3.
As shown in Figure 3, the inner disc spring seat is
designed as a disc spring force sensor with the same size
and direct replacement. It is used to monitor the disc
4 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Figure 4. Fault judgment flow chart of the disc brake.
spring force in real time to judge the state of the disc
spring group. The original connection bolt is optimized
to be the brake pressure sensor. The sensor is responsible
for real-time monitoring of the braking pressure. The
column is removed in the middle of the original cylinder
liner and connected by the bolt with the brake pressure
sensor, and the disc spring force is designed to transfer
the disc spring force to the elastic cylinder between the
right and the central shoulder of the positive pressure
sensor. A plate spring force is designed to transfer the
disc spring force to the elastic cylinder between the right
and the central shoulders of the positive pressure sensor.
The eddy current displacement sensor is set up in the
corresponding position of the brake body and the liner
of the barrel, which can monitor the sluice gap of the
brake shoe and the brake disc in real time and the deflec-
tion of the sluice plate in real time, so as to provide a
guarantee for the accurate monitoring of the clearance
value. Based on the premise that the disc spring force is
equal to the positive pressure of the brake under the
ideal braking state, the data monitored by the two sen-
sors are compared in real time. When the value is equal,
the brake pressure is normally applied to the brake disc
and the brake performance is normal. When the value is
not equal, the machine stops running, and the specific
cause of the fault is diagnosed by the specific value of
the eddy current sensor and the specific condition of the
two pressure sensor data.
Fault diagnosis process of brake
Comparing the values monitored by the two pressure
sensors in the complete braking state of the brake oper-
ation: (1) the value is equal and normal and then the
function of the brake can be judged to be normal. (2)
The value is equal but less than the normal value and
the machine stops running and is checked at this time. If
the value is larger than the value specified in the coal
mine safety regulations, when the clearance of the brake
disc is adjusted, if the gap is normal, it can be judged to
be the fatigue or fracture of the disc spring group. (3)
The value is equal but greater than the normal value,
and then, it can be judged to be too high in the pre-
pressure of the disc spring. (4) The value is not equal.
The force of the disc spring is normal and is greater than
the positive pressure of the brake, which can be judged
as the excessive internal pressure of the brake. (5) The
value is not equal, and the disc spring force is greater
than the normal value. It can be judged that the disc
spring is stuck because of obstruction. Its fault diagnosis
process is shown in Figure 4.
This article is organized as follows. In section ‘‘Finite
element analysis of key components of brake,’’ three-
dimensional (3D) model, meshing division, and load
condition analysis of key components and the result are
stated. In section ‘‘Modal analysis of disc brake,’’ virtual
prototype model and finite element model are
Xu et al.
Figure 5. 3D model of key components.
Table 1. Material properties of key components.
Part name Material Density (kg/m3)
Disc spring force sensor 40Cr 7850
Positive brake pressure sensor 40Cr 7850
Bearing sleeve 45 steel 7890
Liner 45 steel 7890
established, and the results of common modal analysis
and prestressed model are compared. In section
‘‘Experimental verification,’’ sensors’ static characteris-
tics are checked and the results of the test are analyzed
in detail. In section ‘‘Conclusion,’’ we draw conclusions.
Finite element analysis of key components
of brake
The 3D model establishment and meshing division of
key components
The optimized disc brake has been modified to remove
the central cylindrical structure of the original cylinder
liner, adding the bearing sleeve and creating the design
of the disc spring force sensor and the braking pressure
sensor. In order to ensure the safety and reliability of
the structure, the ANSYS Workbench software is used
to carry out the statics of finite element analysis on the
key components of the above changes. The virtual pro-
totype model of the disc spring force sensor, the brake
pressure sensor, the bearing sleeve, and the liner is
established by using the 3D modeling software
SolidWorks, as shown in Figure 5.
5
Modulus of elasticity (GPa) Poisson ratio
206 0.28
206 0.28
209 0.269
209 0.269
An analysis project is created—the solution type is
Static Structure and the solver type is ANSYS solver.
The material of the sensor is 40Cr, and the
material of the bearing sleeve and the lining plate is 45
steel. According to their material properties, relevant
settings are made in the material library, as shown in
Table 1.
After the setting is completed, the grid is divided to
form the model. In order to improve the accuracy of
the analysis, the relevance value is set to 100 and the
relevance center remains the same. Finally, the grid par-
tition effect of each component is obtained, as shown in
Figure 6.
Load condition analysis of key components
In the work of the disc brake, the stress of its internal
components is mainly related to the hydraulic pressure
of the hydraulic station and the stiffness of the disc
spring. The main parameters are shown in Table 2.
Inside the disc brake, one end of the disc spring
force sensor is supported on the hydraulic cylinder and
the other monitor the disc spring force in real time.
When the brake is in the loose state, the compression
6 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Figure 6. Grid division of key components.
Table 2. Main related parameters.
Class Parameter
Sluice oil pressure 5 MPa
Nonstandard disc spring stiffness 68.97 t/mm
Number of disc spring 8 of the disc spring is k = 68.97 t/mm, and the compres-
Sluice gap 2 mm
amount of the disc spring group is the maximum, and
the disc spring force sensor is the maximum force state
at the moment. It is known that the brake oil pressure
of the disc brake is 5 MPa. The internal piston diameter
is 140 mm and the piston diameter is 60 mm. The
pressure value produced by oil pressure during fully
loosening is calculated from the formula F = P
S =
5 3 (1402 602) 3 (p=4) ’ 62:8 kN.Therefore, the
maximum force of disc spring force sensor is 62.8 kN.
The force condition of the positive brake pressure
sensor is different during the opening and closing of
the brake. When the brake is opened, the thin cylinder
part bears the tensile stress; when the brake is closed,
the thick cylindrical part (the strain patch fitting area)
bears the pressure stress. In full sluice, the disc spring
force is equal to the oil pressure, and the compressed
disc spring group applies the disc spring force to the
shaft shoulder of the power sensor through the bearing
sleeve, so the tension of the thin cylinder part is equal
to the oil pressure of 62.8 kN under the state of com-
plete sluice. The brake shoe is not in contact with the
brake disc at this point, so the rough cylinder end is
not subjected to force. In fully closed condition, the
positive brake pressure is equal to the oil pressure
minus the disc spring force. The coal mine safety
regulations stipulate that the sluice gap must be less
than 2 mm. Under the constant condition of other
parameters, the smaller the clearance value, the greater
the positive pressure value of the brake. For safety, the
clearance value of the sluice gate is 1 mm, the stiffness
sion of the eight disc springs at the time of the complete
sluice is 8 3 62:8=68:97 ’ 7:3 mm. In the ideal case, the
braking pressure in fully closed condition is
FN = k
l = 68:97 3 (7:3 1)=8 ’ 54:2 kN.
The inner end face of the bearing sleeve is sup-
ported on the axle shoulder of the brake pressure sen-
sor. The upper end face of the large disc is supported
by the disc spring force of the disc spring group.
When the brake is in the loose state, the bearing
sleeve is the maximum force state, and the force is
62.8 kN at this time.
The inner face of the liner is connected with the
brake pressure sensor through the bolt, and the outer
end face contacts with the brake disc in the brake state.
At this time, it is the maximum force state of the lining
plate. When the brake clearance is 1 mm and when the
brake is normal, the force is 54.2 kN.
Result analysis of key components
According to the contacting fixed condition of the key
parts inside the brake, the corresponding constraint
conditions are applied. Considering the stress analysis
above, the corresponding load conditions are added.
Equivalent stress and total deformation are added to
the post-treatment. Then, we obtain stress cloud and
deformation cloud of each component. In order to
show the deformation trend of the sensor, the
Xu et al.
deformation effect of the cloud image is amplified and
the undeformed position line diagram of the sensor is
added, as shown in Figure 7.
According to the stress and deformation cloud dia-
gram of each key component, the specific numerical
analysis is summarized, as shown in Table 3.
According to Table 3, the maximum variable value
of the brake pressure sensor at the closing time is
0.036 mm. The shape variable of the lining plate at
Figure 7. Continued
7
the closing time is 0.12 mm, and the maximum vari-
ables of the other components are all within this
range. The deformation amount is safer to meet the
safety requirements. The safety coefficient at the time
of tension is 2.04, and the safety factor of the lining
plate is 3.2, when the closing force is forced. The
safety factor of the other components is within this
range, so the strength is fully satisfied with the safety
requirements.
8 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 7. Stress and deformation clouds of key components: (a) positive pressure sensor (compression), (b) positive pressure
sensor (tensile), (c) spring force sensor, (d) bearing sleeve, and (e) lining plate.

Table 3. Specific numerical situation of the analysis results of key components.

Part name Maximum stress (MPa) Maximum deformation (mm) Yield strength (MPa) Safety factor

Disc spring force sensor 294 0.097 785 2.67

Positive pressure sensor (pull) 385 0.053 785 2.04
Positive pressure sensor (pressure) 326 0.036 785 2.42
Bearing sleeve 152 0.046 360 2.34
Liner 112 0.120 360 3.20

Figure 8. Brake assembly model diagram.

Modal analysis of disc brake
Establishment of the virtual prototype model and the
finite element model
Due to the phenomenon of vibration in the operation
of the hoist, the brake needs to repeat the loosening
and closing movements of the drum with the continu-
ous lifting of the lifting items. During the closing pro-
cess, when the brake shoe is in contact with the brake
disc, the vibration of the drum and the contact of the
brake shoe and the brake disc will cause more complex
vibration of the disc brake device. Therefore, the mode
analysis of the brake needs to be carried out to obtain
the modes and natural frequencies, and the ANSYS
Workbench is still used to carry out the routine of the
brake. Modal analysis (sluice state) and modal analysis
with prestress (closing state) are used to determine
whether the excitation frequency of the optimized disc
brake is far away from the inherent frequency of the
brake structure. First, the virtual prototype model is
built according to the specific parameters of the brake
according to SolidWorks, as shown in Figure 8.
In order to facilitate analysis and guarantee the
results of analysis at the same time, the following simpli-
fied treatment is carried out before importing the model:
(1) the sealing ring and other parts that do not affect the
Xu et al.
Figure 9. Mesh map of brake.
Figure 10. Distribution table of mesh quality.
strength are skimmed; (2) it neglects the thread of the
screw hole which has little influence, so as to avoid the
influence of the existence of small side on the calculation
speed. By communicating with the manufacturer of the
brake and consulting the relevant data, the material of
the brake parts is determined. The material attributes of
the material library (Engineering Date) in the analysis
project B are added, and the grid partition model of the
brake is finally obtained, as shown in Figure 9.
The grid model consists of 3795786 nodes and
2226850 units, and the Element Quality of the model is
shown in Figure 10, whose values are mostly between
0.63 and 1, and the quality of the grid is better.
Analysis of finite element model
The disc brake is installed on the fixed support by the
double-head bolt in the work. According to the actual
situation, the Fixed Support constraint is added to the
six bolt holes of the disc brake. When performing pre-
stressed modal analysis, positive pressure
FN = k
l = 68:97 3 (7:3 2)=8 ’ 45:7 kN is added to
brake shoe surface after adjusting the model and the
friction force of 11,420 N (friction coefficient is 0.35).
1. The results of common modal analysis
9
The conventional mode of the brake is solved by
ANSYS Workbench, and the first fourth-order natural
frequency and vibration mode are taken. As shown in
Figure 11, the line frame in Figure 11 is the position of
the open disc type brake, which is convenient to observe
the deformation trend.
2. The result of modal analysis with prestress
The above-mentioned conventional modal analysis and
the natural frequency of prestressing mode analysis are
arranged, as shown in Table 4.
According to the natural frequency given in Table 4,
the natural frequency of the two working states of the
disc brake is initially above 600 Hz. According to the
vibration pattern of Figure 12, the brake shows the
bending deformation trend in the low-mode vibration
pattern, and it is concentrated on the brake body. In
the high-order mode vibration pattern, the brake mas-
ter is in the high order mode. It should be shown that
the trend of torsional deformation is concentrated on
the lining of the cylinder with parts. In the field, the
vibration frequency of the hoist is detected by the fast-
Fourier transform (FFT) spectrum analysis method
between 26.54 and 169.24 Hz, and the first-order
10 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 11. Vibration pattern of normal mode analysis.

Table 4. Specific natural frequency of disc brake.

Common modal analysis Prestress modal analysis

Order number Frequency (Hz) Order number Frequency (Hz)

First order 681.78 First order 730.26

Second order 1131.6 Second order 1246.7
Third order 1406.2 Third order 1468.4
Fourth order 1881.5 Fourth order 1946.9

natural frequency of the brake is 730.26 Hz and has a
higher safety degree in the modal analysis of the prestress.
Experimental verification
Checking experiment of sensors’ static
characteristics
1. The disc spring force sensor completed by trial is
shown in Figure 13(b). The laboratory uses the
experimental device shown in Figure 13(a) to cali-
brate its static characteristics. The main principle is
to test the linearity and sensitivity of disc spring
force sensor by using the standard spoke sensor and
the designed disc spring force sensor for many times.
In the experiment, the standard spoke sensor, the disc
spring force sensor, and the circular cushion block are
placed between the bracket and the hydraulic cylinder,
concentric with the piston rod. The power is continu-
ously added to the sensor by the handle. As the two
sensors are concentric, the force size is the same. The
pressure value is recorded by 1 t, and the value of the
pressure and voltage is recorded each time by observing
the screen on the left side in Figure 13(a). In order to
test the linearity and sensitivity of the sensor, the other
variables are constant. The experiment is repeated
thrice and the average value is obtained. The test data
are shown in Table 5.
According to the average value, it is processed by
least square method. Finally, the characteristic curve of
the sensor is fitted as shown in Figure 14.
Xu et al. 11

Figure 12. Vibration pattern of normal mode analysis of prestress modal analysis.

Table 5. Test data of spring force sensor. linearity and sensitivity of the sensor are in good range,
which conforms to the test demands.
Pressure (t) Voltage (V)
1 2 3 4 2. The positive brake pressure sensor completed by
trial is shown in Figure 15.
0 0.807 0.801 0.81 0.806
1 1.056 1.060 1.052 1.056
2 1.312 1.315 1.308 1.312 The above-mentioned method is used to check the
3 1.568 1.562 1.558 1.563 static characteristics of the positive brake pressure sen-
4 1.824 1.818 1.821 1.821 sor, and the average value of the three sets of data is
5 2.08 2.084 2.078 2.081
6 2.336 2.331 2.329 2.332
recorded and fitted. The test data are shown in Table 6.
7 2.592 2.589 2.594 2.592 The average value is also processed by the least
8 2.848 2.840 2.851 2.846 square method. Finally, the characteristic curve of the
9 3.104 3.103 3.112 3.106 sensor is fitted as shown in Figure 16.
10 3.36 3.357 3.361 3.359 The linear degree of the spring force sensor is
11 3.616 3.615 3.622 3.618
12 3.872 3.875 3.871 3.873 0.297% and the sensitivity is 0.402 V/t. The experiment
12.5 4.008 4.01 4.003 4.007 shows that the linearity of the sensor is good and meets
the test demands. When the two sensors are manufac-
tured, ANSYS software is used to analyze the force of
The linear degree of the spring force sensor of the the sensor and find out the area with obvious stress–
disc spring is 0.15% and the sensitivity is 0.267 V/t. The strain distribution relative to other areas, so as to meet

Table 6. Test data of the positive brake pressure sensor.

Pressure (t) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Voltage (V) 1 0.806 1.195 1.599 1.998 2.411 2.807 3.213 3.623 4.011
2 0.807 1.203 1.601 2.001 2.407 2.798 3.220 3.617 4.021
3 0.813 1.198 1.597 2.003 2.409 2.803 3.217 3.621 4.017
V 0.809 1.199 1.599 2.001 2.409 2.803 3.217 3.620 4.017
12
Figure 13. Performance testing equipment: (a) sensor performance testing device and (b) disc spring force sensor in kind.
Figure 14. The characteristic fitting curve of the disc spring
force sensor.
the requirement that the deformation of the fitting
position is higher than that of other places under the
same external force. A total of 16 strain gauges are
evenly attached to the stress-sensitive area, and then,
two-thousandths of the standard sensors are used for
testing to ensure that the accuracy of the sensors is up
to five-thousandths. In the actual working process, 16
brakes are monitored at the same time, and the mea-
sured values of each sensor are compared with the aver-
age values. If the values exceed 10%, the fault will be
diagnosed.
Figure 15. The physical map of the positive brake pressure sensor.
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Test experiment of brake
1. Installation of sensor for monitoring gap
The sensor for monitoring gap is selected with eddy
current sensor JYHX4-GW-DO. The displacement sen-
sor of this type can measure the distance between the
probes to the detected surface statically and dynami-
cally. The linearity and resolution are high, and the
main technical parameters are shown in Table 7.
The sensor is installed on the sluice and lining plate
of the barrel by special support. The former is used to
monitor the deflection of the drum to determine
whether it is within the specified range. The latter is
used to monitor the clearance value of the sluice, and
the absolute value of the number difference between
the closing display value and the opening display value
is used as the interlock gap value. The site installation
diagram is shown in Figure 17.
2. Installation of disc spring force sensor and posi-
tive brake pressure sensor.
The assembled parts that finished according to the stan-
dard are assembled with the original parts to form a
brake with monitoring function. The disc spring force
sensor replaced the disc spring force of the original disc
Xu et al.
Figure 16. Characteristic fitting curve of positive brake
pressure sensor.
spring seat, which is used to monitor the opening and
closing of brake in real time. The positive brake pres-
sure sensor is installed on the reformed cylinder liner
through screws to monitor the braking pressure, and
the braking status of the brake is judged by the data
comparison of the two sensors. The brake is completed
and assembled by the relevant technicians on-site, as
shown in Figure 18.
Figure 17. Field installation of eddy current sensors: (a) monitoring the deflection of the drum and (b) monitoring gap.
Figure 18. Field installation of pressure sensors: (a) installation of the positive brake pressure sensor and (b) installation of the
brake.
13
Analysis of experimental results
The results in normal condition. The brake is adjusted: the
clearance of the brake shoe is adjusted to 2 mm; the
gap between the brake shoe clearance of the two sides
of brake is controlled in 0.1 mm, and then, the data col-
lection is carried out by the signal acquisition device.
The upper computer records the displacement, spring
force, and positive brake pressure of the eddy current
sensor; the disc spring force sensor; and the positive
braking pressure sensor during the opening and closing
of the brake, and the related data recorded are given in
Table 8.
From Table 8 it can be observed that, when the
brake shoe displacement is zero, disc spring force and
positive brake pressure are basically consistent. The
maximum error is 3%. When the brake shoe displace-
ment starts increasing, disc spring force also increases.
However, the positive brake pressure decreases.
Because of the complex working environment, the
value is not zero. The next stage is the opposite of the
last phase. When the brake shoe displacement is zero
again, the situation is similar to the previous phase.
The above data are consistent with the desired data.
14 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 19. Curve diagram of experimental data.

Table 7. Main parameters of eddy current sensor. Table 8. Part of the experimental data.

Class Parameter Brake shoe Disc spring Positive brake

displacement (mm) force (t) pressure (t)
Model JYHX4-GW-DO
Working frequency 0–60 kHz 0.00 4.35 4.23
Probe diameter 18 mm 0.00 4.30 4.24
Resolving power 6 0.001 mm 0.00 4.30 4.24
Range of error <0.1% 0.00 4.29 4.26
Output signal 4–20 mA 0.00 4.30 4.26
0.00 4.30 4.17
0.00 4.29 4.17
0.04 4.41 0.52
Meanwhile, the monitoring data are displayed by 0.47 4.44 0.48
0.60 4.52 0.37
the developed visual interface of LabVIEW on the com- 0.77 4.82 0.22
puter. The changes in the monitoring data curve during 1.51 5.71 0.07
the complete opening and closing of the brake are inter- 1.71 5.76 0.06
cepted. In order to facilitate the analysis, the oil pres- 1.77 5.83 0.07
sure values monitored by the oil pressure sensors are 1.70 6.16 0.07
1.78 6.15 0.06
intercepted. The final field experiment data curve is 1.78 6.16 0.06
shown in Figure 19. 1.43 5.78 0.07
As shown in Figure 19, with the rapid rise of oil pres- 0.53 5.13 0.08
sure in the brake, the brake shoe tile and the brake disc 0.02 4.58 3.41
0.00 4.39 3.76
are separated from the brake disc. The gap increases
0.00 4.36 3.82
rapidly from zero. At this time, the force of the disc 0.00 4.29 4.16
spring increases with the rise of the oil pressure, and the 0.00 4.30 4.25
brake pressure is rapidly reduced to zero as the brake 0.00 4.29 4.24
shoe leaves the brake disc. When the sluice is stable, the
oil pressure value, brake clearance, disc spring force,
and positive brake pressure all remain constant. During oil pressure, the brake shoe is rapidly attached to the
the closing process of brake, with the rapid decline in brake disc under the action of disc spring force, and the
Xu et al.
Figure 20. Faulty brake in kind.
brake shoe clearance is reduced to zero at this time.
When the closing is completed, the disc spring force is
almost equal to the positive brake pressure and remains
constant. The experimental results are basically consis-
tent with the theory, which shows that the brake
strength meets the requirements of the use and can
complete the function of braking and monitoring the
positive pressure of braking.
By observing the data curves of Table 8 and Figure
19, it can be found that the positive brake pressure
monitored by the sensor is not completely equal when
the brake is closed. This is because of the residual pres-
sure in the hydraulic cylinder and the nonstandard disc
spring stiffness.
Figure 21. Curve diagram of experimental data.
15
The results in fault condition. As shown in Figure 20, the
brake cylinder of Xinyang and Shijiazhuang mines has
jammed. The reason for the failure is that the key
groove of the guide key is blocked by oil pollution
caused by the seepage of hydraulic oil and dust in the
environment, and the brake shoe cannot normally fit
the brake disc during the braking process. When the
distance between brake shoe and brake disc is very
small, jamming occurs. At this time, the disc spring
force is equal to the positive braking pressure. If the
positive braking pressure is normal only according to
the disc spring force, the actual positive braking pres-
sure is zero. Actual brake cannot brake normally, but
it cannot be accurately judged by disc spring force sen-
sor only. Positive pressure, this miscarriage of justice, is
bound to cause major accidents.
Therefore, the disc spring force sensor and positive
brake pressure sensor discussed in this study are used to
verify the above faults. The data obtained during the
experiment are shown in Figure 21. From Figure 21, it
can be seen that the brake clearance is 0.02 mm, the disc
spring force is 4.24 t, the oil pressure is 0.21 MPa, and
the positive braking pressure is zero. It is diagnosed that
the brake has insufficient braking force.
Conclusion
A new type of disc brake structure with diagnosing
brake fault and real-time monitoring braking pressure
is presented in this article, and its structure and work-
ing principle are analyzed and expounded; its fault
16
diagnosis process is established. In this article, the over-
all structure of the brake and the performance of the
key components are studied. Based on the 3D modeling
software SolidWorks, the simplified model of the vir-
tual prototype of the entire brake and its key compo-
nents is established. Using the finite element analysis
software ANSYS Workbench, the modal analysis and
static analysis are carried out to obtain the natural fre-
quency and vibration mode and the structural strength
of the key components, which provides a reliable theo-
retical basis for the experiment. The prototype of disc
brake with monitoring function has been tried success-
fully, and the static characteristic analysis of the disc
spring force sensor and the brake pressure sensor is
completed in the laboratory. The test experiment on
the brake is carried out in the field. The experimental
results show that the disc brake can effectively monitor
the positive brake pressure in real time; the strength
and stiffness meet the requirements of use and verified
the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed struc-
tural scheme.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article: The supports of Production, Prospective Joint
Research Projects in Jiangsu Province (No. BY2016026-02),
and the Priority Academic Program Development (PAPD) of
Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions in carrying out this
research are gratefully acknowledged.
ORCID iD
Di Zhang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6003-4806
References
1. Wang J and Ge T. Dynamic analysis of overwinding and
overfalling of a drum winding hoist. J China Univ Min
Technol 1997; 26: 103–106.
2. Yin WJ. Research on overwind hydraulic buffer system
of shaft hoist equipment. Chinese Hydraulics Pneum
2016, http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-YYY
Q201602028.htm
3. Henao H, Capolino GA and Sieg-Zieba S. Wire rope
fault detection in a hoisting winch system by motor tor-
que and current signature analysis. IEEE Trans Ind Elec-
tron 2011; 58: 1727–1736.
4. Gong J, Ding K, Wang L, et al. In-service hoisting
machinery brake performance detection method research.
Electron Test 2015; (05): 123–125.
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
5. Xu B, Cheng M, Yang H, et al. Safety brake perfor-
mance evaluation and optimization of hydraulic lifting
systems in case of overspeed dropping. Mechatronics
2013; 23: 1180–1190.
6. Ge SR, Zheng RY and Xiao ZK. The adaptive compensa-
tor booster brake of the hoist. Patent 93115120.1, CN
1103052A, China, 1995.
7. Li LP, Cao HX and Liu XL. Normally open hydraulic
disc brake with automatic compensation and wear indica-
tion. Patent, 200720090207, CN 201041211Y, China,
2007
8. Feng M. Failure analysis and solution research of disc
brake for mine hoist. Changsha, China: Central South
University, 2012, p.12.
9. Cheng J. A monitoring sensor design of hoist disc brak-
ing force. Ind Control Comput 2015; 7: 83–84.
10. Gao XQ. Analysis and detection method of positive pres-
sure for disc brake of mine hoist. Taiyuan, China: Taiyuan
University of Technology, 2017.
11. Zhang DK, Ge SR, Wang DG, et al. A hoist reliability
disc brake. Patent, 200920037838, CN 201347340Y,
China, 2009.
12. Xiao K and Fu S. A condition monitoring system of the
disk brake based on nRF24L01. In: Proceedings of the
10th international conference on electronic measurement &
instruments, Chengdu, China, 16–19 August 2011,
pp.283–286. New York: IEEE.
13. Hao YX. Working condition monitoring and safety of
mine hoist brake system. Chinese J Saf Sci 2006; 16:
126–129.
14. Jin MJ, Guo KF, Zhang S, et al. Fuzzy fault tree analysis
of hoist disc brake. Min Mach 2013: 53–55.
15. Wang Q and Xiao XM. Dynamic monitoring of mine
hoist braking system based on PLCs. In: Proceedings of
the 2011 IEEE international conference on cyber technol-
ogy in automation, control, and intelligent systems, Kunm-
ing, China, 20–23 March 2011. New York: IEEE.
16. Bao JS, Tong MM, Zhen C, et al. Intelligent tribological
forecasting model and system for disc brake. In: Proceed-
ings of the 2011 IEEE international conference on cyber
technology in automation, control, and intelligent systems,
Kunming, China, 20–23 March 2011. New York: IEEE.
17. Zhai YF, Xu GY, Zhang YY. Failure analysis of disc
brakes of mine hoist based on disc spring holder sensor.
Saf Coal Mines 2018; 49(07): 106–108,111.
18. Yinghua L, Lila Y, Zhaofei Y, et al. Study on influence
of increase in thickness of disk spring on braking torque
of disk brake. Min Process Equip 2018; 46: 19–22.
19. Zhou ZF. Development and exploitation of new hydrau-
lic pressure clamp disc anti-wind brake. J Taiyuan Heavy
Mach Ins 2005; (02): 83–87.
20. Matsushima T, Izui K and Nishiwaki S. A conceptual
design method of disc brake systems for reducing brake
squeal—construction of a design criterion using simpli-
fied analysis model based on the concept of first order
analysis. J Japan Soc Precis Eng 2010; 76: 973–980.
21. Li Z, Yu J, Zeng N, et al. Simulation and optimization
design of disc-type magnetorheological brake. Trans Chi-
nese Soc Agri Mach 2015; 46: 364–369.