Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 April 2012
Braking operation is a process which converts the kinetic energy and the potential energyof the vehicle into other energies. The major part of the mechanical energy is transformedinto heat. During the braking phase, the frictional heat generated at the interfacedisc–pads can lead to high temperatures. This phenomenon is even more important that thetangential stress as well as the relative sliding speeds in contact are important. Theobjective of this study is to analyse the thermal behavior of the full and ventilatedbrake discs of the vehicles using computing code ANSYS. The modeling of the temperaturedistribution in the disc brake is used to identify all the factors and the enteringparameters concerned at the time of the braking operation such as the type of braking, thegeometric design of the disc and the used material. The results obtained by the numericalsimulation are satisfactory compared with those of the specialized literature.