How Brakes Work

We all know that pushing down on the brake pedal slows a car to a stop. But how..... 

1. How does this happen?
2. How does your car transmit the force from your leg to its wheel?
3. How does it multiply the force so that it is enough to stop something as big as car?

 

Of all the systems that make up your car, the brake system might just be the most important. In the olden days it was also one of the simplest. Over the years as improvements have been made, the system that has evolved isn't so simple anymore. (It's also about a zillion times more reliable and safer.)

Ø Brakes convert the kinetic energy to heat energy. All of this heat is generated between the friction surfaces of your brake pads and your rotors.

Ø Brakes operate on a simple hydraulic principle. If a force is exerted on the piston putting pressure on the fluid confined in the left hand container, the fluid is forced out through the narrow tube at the bottom and into the right hand container, exerting a force on the second piston, forcing it to move upward.

Ø This is how the force from your foot gets to the four corners of the car. If we add a lever to magnify the force applied to the first (master) cylinder, and maybe even a power booster unit to increase that force even more.

• When you depress your brake pedal, your car transmits the force from your foot to its brakes through a fluid. Since the actual brakes require a much greater force than you could apply with your leg, your car must also multiply the force of your foot.
  

Two main type of Brakes:-

 

1. Drum Brakes 

-   Are usually use on the rear of many rear-wheel drive.

-  When drum brake are applied, brake move out-ward and against a rotating brake drum.

-  The wheel studs for the wheels are attached to the drum.

-  Drum brake are economical to manufacture, service, and repair.

Drum brakes component :

1.  brake backing plates

2.  brake drums

3.  brake shoe self-adjusters

4.  brake shoes

5.  brake springs

6.  wheel cylinders

2. Disk Brakes

-   Disc brakes are used on the front of most vehicles built since the early 1970s and on the rear wheel of many vehicles.

-   A disc brake operates by squeezing brake pads on both side of a rotor or disc that is attached to the wheel.

-   Due to the friction between the road surface and the tires, the vehicle stops.

Disc brakes component:

1.  brake callipers

2.  brake pads

3.  rotors

4.  caliper mounting