Thermodynamic Analysis in Brake Pad Adhesive Layer of the Disk Brake

It is inevitable that the temperature at the braking pads is increasing during the braking phase. It not only reduces the friction coefficient of the pad but also affects the adhesion between the brake pad and the steel fixing plate, which can have a critical effect on the braking performance. To enhance the adhesion efficiency and reduce the amount of adhesive, this study has been conducted at the simulation of the coupled thermal-stress in the adhesive layer between the brake and the fixing plate during braking to determine the optimum adhesive layer structure. The simulation analysis was carried out using ABAQUS, a finite element analysis (FEA) software. The brake pad material is the carbon fiber-reinforced carbon and silicon carbide composite (C/C-SiC), high-performance friction material. As adhesives for adhesion of the brake pad and steel fixing plate, Araldite 2011 was coated on the inclined-check adhesive layer (with width of 7 mm and space of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 mm) and the analysis of thermal-stress simulation was carried out on the adhesive layer. The suitable spacing dimensions of adhesive layer which is thermo-mechanically stable saving adhesives were determined. The result is 4 mm (maximum Mises stress 47.6 MPa and saving 60% of adhesives).