Title: On the origin of disk brake squeal

Authors: Utz Von Wagner, Stefan Schlagner

Addresses: Chair of Mechatronics and Machine Dynamics, School of Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems, Technische Universitat Berlin, Secretariat MS1, Einsteinufer 5, 10587, Berlin, Germany. ' Chair of Mechatronics and Machine Dynamics, School of Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems, Technische Universitat Berlin, Secretariat MS1, Einsteinufer 5, 10587, Berlin, Germany

Abstract: It is commonly accepted by engineers and scientists working in the field of brake noise, that squeal in a disk brake is initiated by an instability due to the friction forces leading to self-excited vibrations. The self-excited brake system then oscillates, reaching a limit cycle. Popp et al. described in 2002 based on a very simple model the pre-conditions for positive work of the friction forces (i.e., excitation of squeal). The authors of the present paper used a multi degree of freedom system for the investigation of the origin of the excitation mechanism by observing the average power of the friction forces at the pads and comparing the result with the classic stability analysis. A measurement technique based on these theoretical investigations was developed for detecting parameter regions (e.g., for the brake pressure and corresponding squealing frequencies) which are suspicious for squeal.

Keywords: disk brake squeal; self-excited vibrations; excitation mechanism; friction forces; vehicle braking; vehicle design; brake pads; stability analysis; brake pressure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2009.027123

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2009 Vol.51 No.1/2, pp.223 - 237

Published online: 15 Jul 2009 *

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