Chapter 3

brakes
CHAPTER OUTLINE
 INTRODUCTION
 ENERGY EQUATIONS
 BLOCK BRAKE WITH SHORT SHOE
 BLOCK BRAKE WITH LONG SHOE
 PIVOTED BLOCK BRAKE WITH LONG SHOE
 INTERNAL EXPANDING BRAKE
 BAND BRAKES
 DISK BRAKES
 THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS
 Introduction
 A brake is defined as a mechanical device
 which is used to absorb the energy possessed by a moving
system or mechanism by means of friction.
 The primary purpose of the brake is to slow down or
completely stop the motion of a moving system
 The energy absorbed by the brake can be either kinetic or
potential or both
 The energy absorbed by the brake is converted into heat
energy and
 dissipated to the surroundings.
Brake System Components
Brakes are classified into the following three groups:

i. Mechanical brakes:-which are operated by mechanical

means such as levers, springs and pedals.
ii. Hydraulic and pneumatic brakes:- which are operated by
fluid pressure such as oil pressure or air pressure.
iii. Electrical brakes:- which are operated by magnetic forces
and which include magnetic particle brakes, hysteresis
brakes and eddy current brakes.
Classification of mechanical brakes
A. Depending upon the shape of the friction material,
 block brakes, internal or external shoes brakes, disk
brakes and band brakes.
B. according to the direction of the actuating force,
 radial brakes and axial brakes. Internal and external shoe
brakes are radial brakes, while disk brakes are axial brakes.
 The discussion in this chapter is restricted to mechanical
brakes.
Brake capacity depends upon the following factors:
i. The unit pressure between braking surfaces
ii. The contacting area of braking surface
iii. The radius of the brake drum
iv. The coefficient of friction
v. The ability of the brake to dissipate heat that is equivalent
to the energy being absorbed
 ENERGY EQUATIONS
 The first step in the design of a mechanical brake is to
determine the braking-torque capacity.
 The braking-torque depends upon the amount of energy
absorbed by the brake.
 Thus, the kinetic energy absorbed by the brake is given by

 Similarly, the kinetic energy of the rotating body is given by

 In certain applications like hoists, the potential energy

absorbed by the brake during the braking period is given by
  the total energy absorbed by the brake is determined by
adding the above respective quantities.
 This energy is equated to the work done by the brake.

Example
A four-wheeled automobile car has a total mass of 1000 kg. The moment
of inertia of each wheel about a transverse axis through its center of
gravity is 0.5 kg-m2. The rolling radius of the wheel is 0.35 m. The
rotating and reciprocating parts of the engine and the transmission
system are equivalent to a moment of inertia of 2.5 kg-m , which rotates at
five times the road-wheel speed. The car is traveling at a speed of 100 km/h
on a plane road. When the brakes are applied, the car decelerates at 0.5 g.
There are brakes on all four wheels. Calculate:
(i) the energy absorbed by each brake; and
(ii) the torque capacity of each brake
 BLOCK BRAKE WITH SHORT SHOE
 A block brake consists of a simple block, which is pressed
against the rotating drum by means of a lever as shown in
Fig. below.
 The friction between the block and the brake drum causes
the retardation of the drum.
 This type of brake is commonly employed in railway trains.
 The angle of contact between the block and the brake drum
is usually small.
 When it is less than 45°, the intensity of pressure between
the block and brake drum is uniform.
 The analysis is based on the following assumptions:
i. The block is rigidly attached to the lever.
ii. The angle of contact between the block and brake drum is
small, resulting in uniform pressure distribution.
iii. The brake drum is rotating in clockwise direction.

Considering the force acting on the break drum resulting the

breaking toque as

The width of the block w is usually

Considering the equilibrium of forces in vertical and
horizontal directions,

Taking moment of forces acting on the lever about the hinge

point O,

where P is the actuating force on the lever.

 Depending upon the magnitude of coefficient of friction (µ)
and location of hinge pin (c), there are three different cases.
Case I :- a > µ c
is called a partially ‘self-energizing’ brake. This is a very desirable condition.
Case II :- a = µc
is called a ‘self-locking’ brake. This is not a desirable condition in normal
applications.
Case III :- a < µc , ). This is a dangerous operating condition.
In designing block brakes, care should be taken to see that the
brake is not self-locking
 The main disadvantage of the block brake is the tendency of
the brake drum shaft to bend under the action of normal
reaction.
 The remedy is to use two symmetrical blocks at the opposite
sides of the brake drum.
Example
A single block brake with a torque capacity of 250 N-m is shown in Fig. below The
brake drum rotates at 100 rpm and the coefficient of friction is 0.35. Calculate
i. the actuating force and the hinge-pin rxn. for clockwise rotation of the drum;
ii. the actuating force and hinge-pin rxn. for anticlockwise rotation of the drum;
iii. the dimensions of the block, if the intensity of pressure is 1 N/mm2. l = 2w.
State whether the brake is self-locking.
Exercise
A double block brake is shown in Fig below. The brake drum
rotates in a clockwise direction and the actuating force is
500 N. The coefficient of friction between the blocks and the
drum is 0.35. Calculate the torque absorbing capacity of the
brake. Hint ( )
 BLOCK BRAKE WITH LONG SHOE
The semi-block angle Fig below Block Brake with Long Shoe
is denoted by θ.
It is one half of the total angle of the contacting surface of
block with the drum.

An element of friction lining, located at an

angle (Φ) and subtending an angle (dΦ) is
taken as shown in the fig.
 Having the elementary area dA=RdΦw and the pressure p,
The normal reaction dN on the element is given by

The force of friction on the elementary area is given by,

The torque transmitted by the force of friction on the

elementary area is given by,

Here the block or the lining will retain the cylindrical shape of
the brake drum when wear occurs.
After the radial wear takes place, a point such as Y’ moves to Y
due to the force P on the actuating lever and maintains contact
of the lining on block with the brake drum.
If it is for wear, (δy) should be constant because it is same for
all points. Therefore,

The radial wear (δr) is proportional to the work done by the

frictional force.
 So, from the above expressions

The pressure is maximum when Φ= 0. Therefore,

And

From all the above Eqs

Then the normal reaction dN on the element is given by

But ,The elemental force (dN) is resolved into the following

two components:
(i) Vertical component (dN cos Φ)
(ii) Horizontal component (dN sin Φ)
The horizontal components on two sides of the lining will
cancel each other. Therefore, the net force (N) is vertical and it
is given by,
The torque transmitted by the force of friction on the
elementary area is given by,

 The tangential frictional force on the block can be found by

dividing the torque by the radius
 In the above expression, the term

is called ‘equivalent’ coefficient of friction and denoted by

(µ'). Therefore,

 It is observed that the equation is similar to of block

brake with short shoe except that (µ) is replaced by (µ').
 INTERNAL EXPANDING BRAKE
 It consists of a shoe, which is pivoted at one end and
subjected to an actuating force P at the other end.
 A friction lining is fixed on the shoe.
 they are used on all automobile vehicles.
 The actuating force is usually provided by means of a
hydraulic cylinder or a cam mechanism.

The analysis of the internal shoe brake is based on the

following assumptions:
i. The intensity of normal pressure at any point is
proportional to its vertical distance from the pivot.
ii. The brake drum and the shoe are rigid.
iii. The centrifugal force acting on the shoe is negligible.
iv. The coefficient of friction is constant.
 Consider an elemental area on the friction lining located at
an angle Φ and subtending an angle dΦ.

The elemental area will be

If p is the intensity of normal pressure on this elemental area,

the normal reaction dN is given by,

 As mentioned in the first assumption, the normal pressure

p is proportional to the vertical distance (R sin Φ) of the
element from the pivot.
Therefore,

And they both give us

the normal reaction force dN is given by,

The moment Mf of the frictional force ( µdN) about the pivot

point is given by

The moment Mn of the frictional force (dN) about the pivot

point is given by
 The torque transmitted by the force of friction on the
elementary area is given by,

Considering the forces acting on the shoe and taking

moments about the pivot,

This is called as self-energizing effect!!

Example
An internal-expanding brake with four identical shoes is
shown in Fig. 12.19. Each hinge pin supports a pair of shoes.
The actuating mechanism is designed in such a way that it
produces the same force P on each of the four shoes. The face
width of the friction lining is 50 mm and the maximum
intensity of normal pressure is limited to 1 N/mm2. The
coefficient of friction is 0.30. Calculate:
(i) the actuating force P; and
(ii) the torque-absorbing capacity of the brake.
 BAND BRAKES
 It consists of a flexible steel strip lined with friction material,
which is pressed against the rotating brake drum.
 When one end of the steel band passes through the fulcrum
of the actuating lever, the brake is called the simple band
brake.
 The construction of a simple band brake is shown below.
The ratio of band tensions is given by,

The torque Mt absorbed by the brake is given by,

Considering the forces acting on the lever and taking moments

about the pivot,

Having an element of the band

subtending an angle (dΦ) as shown
If P and (P + dP) are tensions in the band in the loose and
tight sides respectively. And p is the intensity of pressure, the
normal reaction (dN) is given by

Considering equilibrium of vertical forces on the element,

For small angles, and Neglecting higher order differentials,

 The intensity of pressure is maximum, when the band

tension P is equal to P1
 Differential Band Brake
 In this case, neither end of the band passes through the
fulcrum of the actuating lever.
 Such brakes can be designed for the condition of self-locking.
 The FBD of forces acting on the band and the lever is shown.

Considering forces acting on the lever and taking moments

about the pivot,
 Since ,

For the self-locking condition,

Therefore, the condition of self-locking is given by

Band brake offers the following advantages:
i. Band brake has simple construction. It has small number of parts,
reduce the cost
ii. can easily produced without requiring specialized facilities like foundry
or forging
iii. more reliable due to small number of parts.
iv. requires little maintenance.
The disadvantages of band brake are as follows:
(i) The heat dissipation capacity of a band brake is poor.
(ii) The wear of friction lining is uneven from one end to the other.
 They are used in applications like bucket conveyors, hoists and chain
saws.
 They are more popular as back-stop devices
Exercise.
A differential band brake is shown in Fig. below The width
and the thickness of the steel band are 100 mm and 3 mm
respectively and the maximum tensile stress in the band is 50
N/mm2. The coefficient of friction between the friction lining
and the brake drum is 0.25. Calculate:
(i) the tensions in the band;
(ii) the actuating force; and
(iii) the torque capacity of the brake.
Find out whether the brake is self-locking.
 DISK BRAKES
 A disk brake is similar to a plate clutch, except that one of the
shafts is replaced by a fixed member.
 In this case, the wheel rim constitutes the disk.
 The friction lining on the caliper contacts only a small portion
of the rim, leaving the remaining portion to dissipate the heat
to the surrounding.
 There are two pads, on either side of the disk, in the form of
annular sector.
 There are two types of shapes for the pads of caliper disk
brakes, namely, annular and circular
The friction radius (R) for uniform pressure theory is given by,

The torque capacity of the disk brake is given by,

The friction radius (R) of circular pad is given by

The values of (δ) are given in Table

Disk brakes have the following advantages:

(i) it is simple to install and service.
(ii) it has high torque transmitting capacity in small volume.
(iii) ability to dissipate heat
(iv) it is easy to control.
(v) The brake can never become self-locking.
(vi) The brake is equally effective for both directions of rotation of the disk.
(vii) The disk brake has ‘linearity’, that is, the braking torque is linearly proportional
to the actuating force.
Example
The following data is given for a caliper disk brake with annular
pad, for the front wheel of the motorcycle:
torque capacity = 1500 N-m
outer radius of pad = 150 mm
inner radius of pad = 100 mm
coefficient of friction = 0.35
average pressure on pad = 2 MPa
number of pads = 2 , Calculate the angular dimension of the pad.

Exercise
The following data is given for a caliper disk brake, with
circular pad, for the lightweight two-wheeler,
Mt= 1500 N-m, Pavg= 2 MPa
number of caliper brakes on the wheel = 3
number of pads on each caliper brake = 2
The ratio of pad radius to the distance of the pad center from
axis of disk is 0.2. Calculate the radius of the pad.(µ = 0.35)
 THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS
 The energy absorbed by the brake is converted into heat,
which increases the temperature at the rubbing surfaces.
 When the temperature increases, the coefficient of friction
decreases, adversely affecting the torque capacity of the
brake.
 At high temperature, there is rapid wear of the friction
lining, which reduces the life of the lining.
 Therefore, the temperature rise should be kept within
permissible range.
 The temperature rise depends upon the mass of the brake
drum assembly, the ratio of the braking period to the rest
period and the specific heat of the material.
 it is assumed that all the heat generated during the braking
period is absorbed by the brake drum assembly.
So, the temperature rise is given by