The Improvement of the Operational Characteristics of the Ventilated Front Brake Discs

Wear and crack resistance are important operational characteristics of brake discs. The paper presents the most optimal concentration of sulfur in cast iron, which ensures its least wear, and discusses the implementation of the front brake discs manufacture from Gh190 cast iron having 0.11 ... 0.13% sulfur content at contrast to the 0.01 ... 0.03% sulfur content, and proves the change leads to a significant increase in wear and frictional properties of the discs. In the course of research, it is found that the increase in the crack resistance of brake discs is possible due to the improvement of the thermophysical properties of cast iron with the increase in the carbon content (up to 3.55 ... 3.60%) and the decrease in the silicon content (up to 1.45 ... 1.50%), while the carbon equivalent is constant.

Review of the coatings used for brake discs regarding their wear resistance and environmental effect

Wear of a friction pair of brake (brake disc and pads), in addition to reducing the active safety of vehicles, leads to the formation of particles that can affect the environment and human health. In addition to the technologies that are being developed for the collection of particles created by the wear of brakes during braking process, today new materials are being introduced, as well as various technologies for processing friction pairs with the aim of reducing brake wear and thus the formation of particles. Furthermore, today, technologies for coating (cladding) the friction surfaces of disc brakes with some materials are increasingly applied and researched, in order to reduce the wear intensity (wear rate) of disc brakes, i.e. the emission of particles created by wear of friction pairs. The aim of this paper is to analyse and review different deposition techniques and materials used for brake discs coatings, as well as the effect it has on the wear rate of friction pair. There are many coating deposition techniques, and special attention is paid to the technology of laser hardfacing of brake rotors.

RESEARCH ON MATERIAL FLOW-STRESS BEHAVIOR AND THE DIE-FORGING PROCESS FOR FORGED-STEEL BRAKE DISCS FOR HIGH-SPEED TRAINS

Due to the large size and complicated features, the brake discs of high-speed trains are difficult to forge, so a reasonable design of the process and the die parameter are prerequisites for successful forming. The flow stress of 23CrNiMoV, a forged-steel brake disc material for high-speed trains, was investigated by a uniaxial compression experiment on a Gleeble 1500 test machine. Based on the obtained flow-stress data, a series of numerical simulation analyses of the die forging of high-speed-train brake discs were carried out by using finite-element software. The effects of forging temperature, flash groove parameters and forming speed on the flow filling, forming load and temperature change of metal during die forging were studied. The simulation results were optimized and better process parameters were obtained. Based on the obtained process parameters, the simulation of the forming process was completed and a better forming quality was obtained.

Airflow simulation when braking with a disc brake

With an increase in train motion speed, the issue of improving braking systems becomes more and more important, since braking systems have a direct impact on safety of traffic. At high travel speeds, the friction elements heat up strongly, so heat dissipation from the brake discs is essential. Therefore, an important task is to study the aerodynamics of brake discs. To achieve these goals, experimental measurements on a special test bench, or simulation in specialized software packages can be used. The article discusses methods for studying air flow when braking with a disc brake. The simulation methods, turbulence models and software packages used for simulation are considered. The influence of the internal geometry of the discs on ventilation and heat dissipation is considered. Also, the geometry of the disc is analysed using simulation in the specialized software. Based on the simulation results, a conclusion about the influence of the internal disc geometry on the air flow through it is drawn.

Modeling the Depth of Surface Cracks in Brake Disc

The article presents the state of knowledge and research in the field of surface cracks occurring in disc braking systems of rail and car vehicles. The craze formed during the operation of vehicles is particularly dangerous and leads to breaking the disc into several pieces. It may lead to a loss of braking force and damage to the entire disc brake caliper. The main aim of the research is to identify surface cracks in brake discs made of cast iron and use experimental methods to estimate their depth. Research were conducted on the disc braking system developed by the authors. In examining the location and depth of cracks, the penetration method, ultrasound, as well as a special probe were used. This device measures the crack depth based on the electrical resistance between two points on the surface of the metallic object. The tests showed that the first microcracks on the brake discs appeared after 309 braking tests on the test stand. In addition, it was observed that the surface cracks length of the disc increased linearly to depth until they reached about 11.5–12 mm with corresponded to crack lengths in the range of 65–70 mm. However, determination of the regression functions presented in the article allows to estimate the depth of surface cracks up to 70 mm long on cast iron brake discs by measuring their length.