Experimental thermal analysis of brake cooling relative to mass flow of air through a ventilated brake disc

Individual component testing is an integral part of vehicle development and can be performed in multiple stages of the product development process. One such component assembly that often requires extensive testing is the brake system. The brake system is crucial for vehicle safety and, thus, needs to be validated from a functional perspective. A test rig setup to accommodate a brake caliper fixture, as well as a funnel housing an anemometer, was purposefully designed and manufactured. This arrangement allows for measuring brake disc performance, surface temperature and quantifying mass airflow through the disc. The results show that the mass flow of air through the disc vanes highly depends on the disc temperature, but can also vary by more than 10 % for discs with the same specifications. Furthermore, the results highlight non-negligible differences in disc cool-down behaviour based on the braking scenario used to heat the disc up.