Thermal analysis of a solid brake disc

Braking is a process which converts the kinetic energy of the vehicle into mechanical energy which must be dissipated in the form of heat. During the braking phase, the frictional heat generated at the interface disc - pads can lead to high temperatures. This phenomenon is even more important that the tangential stress as well as the relative sliding speeds in contact is important. The objective of this study is to analyze the thermal behavior of the full and ventilated brake discs of the vehicles using computing code ANSYS. The modeling of the temperature distribution in the disc brake is used to identify all the factors and the entering parameters concerned at the time of the braking operation such as the type of braking, the geometric design of the disc and the used material. The results obtained by the simulation are satisfactory compared with those of the specialized literature. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.