Vibration Analysis of a Brake Mechanism: Modeling, Simulation and Experimental Results

In this paper, an approach for identifying a model capable of representing the dynamics of the brake mechanism is presented. Experimentally acquired in-plane vibrations of the pad were analyzed using the non-linear dynamics method of Lyapunov exponents in order to characterize the system behavior. Friction-induced vibrations were then studied via the associated 4 DOF theoretical model of the brake system. Numerical simulations demonstrated that for a set of system parameters, a certain value of the slope of the mathematical characteristic between the dynamic friction coefficient and relative velocity, triggers the exponential growth of instability with an envelope in good agreement with that approximated from the experimental data. The results obtained from this study provide new insights into brake dynamics and the associated instability mechanisms.