A numerical and experimental study on the factors that influence heat partitioning in disc brakes

yesTo investigate the heat partition on a vehicle disc brake, a small scale test rig with one contact interface was used. This allowed the disc/pad contact temperatures to be measured with fast-response foil thermocouples and a rubbing thermocouple. Based on the experimental conditions a 3D symmetric disc brake FE model has been created. Frictional heat generation was modelled using the ABAQUS finite element analysis software. The interface tribo-layer which affects heat partitioning was modelled using an equivalent thermal conductance value obtained from the authors¿ previous work. A 10 second drag braking was simulated and the history and distribution of temperature, heat flux multiplied by the nodal contact area, heat flux leaving the surface and contact pressure was recorded. Test rig and FE model temperatures were compared to evaluate the two methods. Results show that heat partitioning varies in space and time, and at the same time contact interface temperatures do not match. It is affected by the instantaneous contact pressure distribution, which tends to be higher on the pad leading edge at the inner radius side. They are also affected by the thermal contact resistance at the components contact interface.IMech

Interface temperatures in friction braking

YesResults and analysis from investigations into the behaviour of the interfacial layer (Tribolayer) at the friction interface of a brake friction pair (resin bonded composite friction material and cast iron rotor) are presented in which the disc/pad interface temperature has been measured using thermocouple methods. Using a designed experiment approach, the interface temperature is shown to be affected by factors including the number of braking applications, the friction coefficient, sliding speed, braking load and friction material. The time-dependent nature of the Tribo-Iayer formation and the real contact area distribution are shown to be causes of variation in interface temperatures in friction braking. The work extends the scientific understanding of interface contact and temperature during friction braking

FEM and CFD Co-simulation Study of a Ventilated Disc Brake Heat Transfer

yesThis paper presents a two-way thermally-coupled FEM-CFD co-simulation method for ventilated brake disc rotor heat transfer analysis. Using a third party coupling interface for data mapping and exchange, the FEM and CFD models run simultaneously under a standard heavy duty braking test condition. By comparison with conventional one-way coupling methods and experimental results, the performance of the co-simulation system has been investigated in terms of prediction of the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and disc temperatures as well as computing time used. The results illustrate that this co-simulation method has good capacity in providing cooling effect and temperature predictions. It also shows that the data exchange between the FEM and CFD codes at every time increment is highly accurate and efficient throughout 10 brake applications. It can be seen that the cosimulation method is more time efficient, convenient and robust compared to previous oneway coupling methods. To utilize the potential of this method, future works are proposed

Electron-cyclotron maser and solar microwave millisecond spike emission

An intense solar microwave millisecond spike emission (SMMSE) event was observed on May 16, 1981 by Zhao and Jin at Beijing Observatory. The peak flux density of the spikes is high to 5 x 100,000 s.f.u. and the corresponding brightness temperature (BT) reaches approx. 10 to the 15th K. In order to explain the observed properties of SMMSE, it is proposed that a beam of electrons with energy of tens KeV injected from the acceleration region downwards into an emerging magnetic arch forms so-called hollow beam distribution and causes electron-cyclotron maser (ECM) instability. The growth rate of second harmonic X-mode is calculated and its change with time is deduced. It is shown that the saturation time of ECM is t sub s approx. equals 0.42 ms and only at last short stage (delta t less than 0.2 t sub s) the growth rate decreases to zero rather rapidly. So a SMMSE with very high BT will be produced if the ratio of number density of nonthermal electrons to that of background electrons, n sub s/n sub e, is larger than 4 x .00001

Investigation of Disc/Pad Interface Temperatures in Friction Braking

yesMaintaining appropriate levels of disc-pad interface temperature is critical for the overall operating effectiveness of disc brakes and implicitly the safety of the vehicle. Measurement and prediction of the distribution and magnitude of brake friction interface temperatures are difficult. A thermocouple method with an exposed hot junction configuration is used for interface temperature measurement in this study. Factors influencing the magnitude and distribution of interface temperature are discussed. It is found that there is a strong correlation between the contact area ratio and the interface maximum temperature. Using a designed experiment approach, the factors affecting the interface temperature, including the number of braking applications, sliding speed, braking load and type of friction material were studied. It was found that the number of braking applications affects the interface temperature the most. The real contact area between the disc and pad, i.e. pad regions where the bulk of the kinetic energy is dissipated via friction, has significant effect on the braking interface temperature. For understanding the effect of real contact area on local interface temperatures and friction coefficient, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is conducted. It is found that the maximum temperature at the friction interface does not increase linearly with decreasing contact area ratio. This finding is potentially significant in optimising the design and formulation of friction materials for stable friction and wear performance

Applications of Contact Length Models in Grinding Processes

yesThe nature of the contact behaviour between a grinding wheel and a workpiece in the grinding process has a great effect on the grinding temperature and the occurrence of thermal induced damage on the ground workpiece. It is found that the measured contact length le in grinding is considerably longer than the geometric contact length lg and the contact length due to wheel-workpiece deflection lf. The orthogonal relationship among the contact lengths, i.e. lc2 = (Rrlf)2 + lg2, reveals how the grinding force and grinding depth of cut affect the overall contact length between a grinding wheel and a workpiece in grinding processes. To make the orthogonal contact length model easy to use, attempts on modification of the model are carried out in the present study, in which the input variable of the model, Fn’, is replaced by a well-established empirical formula and specific grinding power. By applying the modified model in this paper, an analysis on the contributions of the individual factors, i.e. the wheel/workpiece deformation and the grinding depth of cut, on the overall grinding contact length is conducted under a wide range of grinding applications, i.e. from precise/shallow grinding to deep/creep-feed grinding. Finally, using a case study, the criterion of using geometric contact length lg to represent the real contact length lc, in terms of convenience versus accuracy, is discussed

Coupled CFD and FE Thermal Mechanical Simulation of Disc Brake

yesTo achieve a better solution of disc brake heat transfer problem under heavy duty applications, the accurate prediction of transient field of heat transfer coefficient is significant. Therefore, an appropriate coupling mechanism between flow field and temperature field is important to be considered. In this paper, a transient conjugate heat transfer co-simulation disc brake model has been presented in order to improve the accuracy and feasibility of conventional coupled FE and CFD method. To illustrate the possible utilizations of this co-simulation method, a parameter study has been performed e.g. geometric, material, and braking application. The results show the advantage of the co-simulation method in terms of computing time efficiency and accuracy for solving complex braking heat transfer problem

Systematic Digitized Treatment of Engineering Line-Diagrams

YesIn engineering design, there are many functional relationships which are difficult to express into a simple and exact mathematical formula. Instead they are documented within a form of line graphs (or plot charts or curve diagrams) in engineering handbooks or text books. Because the information in such a form cannot be used directly in the modern computer aided design (CAD) process, it is necessary to find a way to numerically represent the information. In this paper, a data processing system for numerical representation of line graphs in mechanical design is developed, which incorporates the process cycle from the initial data acquisition to the final output of required information. As well as containing the capability for curve fitting through Cubic spline and Neural network techniques, the system also adapts a novel methodology for use in this application: Grey Models. Grey theory have been used in various applications, normally involved with time-series data, and have the characteristic of being able to handle sparse data sets and data forecasting. Two case studies were then utilized to investigate the feasibility of Grey models for curve fitting. Furthermore, comparisons with the other two established techniques show that the accuracy was better than the Cubic spline function method, but slightly less accurate than the Neural network method. These results are highly encouraging and future work to fully investigate the capability of Grey theory, as well as exploiting its sparse data handling capabilities is recommended

Numerical Investigation of Conjugate Natural Convection Heat Transfer from Discrete Heat Sources in Rectangular Enclosure

yesThe coupling between natural convection and conduction within rectangular enclosure was investigated numerically. Three separate heat sources flush mounted on a vertical wall and an isoflux condition was applied at the back of heat sources. Continuity, momentum and energy conservation equations were solved by using control volume formulation and the coupling of velocity and pressure was treated by using the “SIMPLE” algorithm. The modified Rayleigh number and the substrate/fluid thermal conductivity ratio were used in the range ∗=^−^ and =− respectively. The investigation was extended to compare results of FC-77 with Air and also for high values of >. The results illustrated that, when the modified Rayleigh number increases, dimensionless heat flux and local Nusselt number increases for both fluids. Opposite behaviour for the thermal spreading in the substrate and the dimensionless temperature , they were decreased when ∗ is increased. Also with increasing the substrate/fluid thermal conductivity ratio for a given value of the modified Rayleigh number the thermal spreading in the substrate increased which is the reason of the decrease in the maximum temperature value. The present study concluded that, for high values of >, the effect of the substrate is negligible