COUPLED THERMAL AND STATIC ANALYSIS OF BRAKE PADS AND DISCS UNDER EMERGENCY BRAKING

This study investigates the coupled thermal-structural behaviour of automotive brake pads and discs during emergency braking using finite element analysis (FEA). A sequential coupling approach integrates transient thermal analysis—driven by frictional heat generation at the pad-disc interface—with static structural simulations to evaluate temperature distributions, thermo-mechanical stresses, and deformations. The heat flux, calculated as a function of velocity decay, friction coefficient, and contact pressure, is partitioned (81% to the disc, 19% to the pads) based on thermal effusivity.