Heat Generation in a Disc Brake

Application ID: 102


This example models the transient heating, and final temperature, of a disc brake of a car in brake-and-release sequence. It is important to model the transient heating and the following convective cooling to determine the minimum interval between a series of similar brake engagements. If the cooling is insufficient the disc overheats and results in brake failure.

The model uses the Heat Transfer interface in 3D and simulates the transient heat production, dissipation and transfer within the disc as it rotates slower and slower. The maximum temperature is reached after approximately 2/3 of the brake engagement time. The results show that the cooling time between similar brake engagements needs to be in the range of 100 seconds to achieve sufficient cooling.

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: