1、原文：Automobile Brake SystemThe braking system is the most important system in cars. If the brakes fail, the result can be disastrous. Brakes are actually energy conversion devices, which convert the kinetic energy （momentum） of the vehicle into thermal energy （heat）.When stepping on the brakes, the d
2、river commands a stopping force ten times as powerful as the force that puts the car in motion. The braking system can exert thousands of pounds of pressure on each of the four brakes.Two complete independent braking systems are used on the car. They are the service brake and the parking brake.The s
3、ervice brake acts to slow, stop, or hold the vehicle during normal driving. They are foot-operated by the driver depressing and releasing the brake pedal. The primary purpose of the brake is to hold the vehicle stationary while it is unattended. The parking brake is mechanically operated by when a s
4、eparate parking brake foot pedal or hand lever is set.The brake system is composed of the following basic components: the “master cylinder” which is located under the hood, and is directly connected to the brake pedal, converts driver foots mechanical pressure into hydraulic pressure. Steel “brake l
5、ines” and flexible “brake hoses” connect the master cylinder to the “slave cylinders” located at each wheel. Brake fluid, specially designed to work in extreme conditions, fills the system. “Shoes” and “pads” are pushed by the slave cylinders to contact the “drums” and “rotors” thus causing drag, wh
6、ich （hopefully） slows the car.The typical brake system consists of disk brakes in front and either disk or drum brakes in the rear connected by a system of tubes and hoses that link the brake at each wheel to the master cylinder .Basically, all car brakes are friction brakes. When the driver applies
7、 the brake, the control device forces brake shoes, or pads, against the rotating brake drum or disks at wheel. Friction between the shoes or pads and the drums or disks then slows or stops the wheel so that the car is braked.In most modern brake systems, there is a fluid-filled cylinder, called mast
8、er cylinder, which contains two separate sections, there is a piston in each section and both pistons are connected to a brake pedal in the drivers compartment. When the brake is pushed down, brake fluid is sent from the master cylinder to the wheels.At the wheels, the fluid pushes shoes, or pads, a
9、gainst revolving drums or disks. The friction between the stationary shoes, or pads, and the revolving drums or disks slows and stops them. This slows or stops the revolving wheels, which, in turn, slow or stop the car.The brake fluid reservoir is on top of the master cylinder. Most cars today have
10、a transparent r reservoir so that you can see the level without opening the cover. The brake fluid level will drop slightly as the brake pads wear. This is a normal condition and no cause for concern. If the level drops noticeably over ashort period of time or goes down to about two thirds full, hav
11、e your brakes checked as soon as possible. Keep the reservoir covered except for the amount of time you need to fill it and never leave a cam of brake fluid uncovered. Brake fluid must maintain a very high boiling point. Exposure to air will cause the fluid to absorb moisture which will lower that b
12、oiling point.The brake fluid travels from the master cylinder to the wheels through a series of steel tubes and reinforced rubber hoses. Rubber hoses are only used in places that require flexibility, such as at the front wheels, which move up and down as well as steer. The rest of the system uses no
13、n-corrosive seamless steel tubing with special fittings at all attachment points. If a steel line requires a repair, the best procedure is to replace the compete line. If this is not practical, a line can be repaired using special splice fittings that are made for brake system repair. You must never
14、 use copper tubing to repair a brake system. They are dangerous and illegal.Drum brakes, it consists of the brake drum, an expander, pull back springs, a stationary back plate, two shoes with friction linings, and anchor pins. The stationary back plate is secured to the flange of the axle housing or
15、 to the steering knuckle. The brake drum is mounted on the wheel hub. There is a clearance between the inner surface of the drum and the shoe lining. To apply brakes, the driver pushes pedal, the expander expands the shoes and presses them to the drum. Friction between the brake drum and the frictio
16、n linings brakes the wheels and the vehicle stops. To release brakes, the driver release the pedal, the pull back spring retracts the shoes thus permitting free rotation of the wheels.Disk brakes, it has a metal disk instead of a drum. A flat shoe, or disk-brake pad, is located on each side of the d
17、isk. The shoes squeeze the rotatin g disk to stop the car. Fluid from the master cylinder forces the pistons to move in, toward the disk. This action pushes the friction pads tightly against the disk. The friction between the shoes and disk slows and stops it. This provides the braking action. Pisto
18、ns are made of either plastic or metal. There are three general types of disk brakes. They are the floating-caliper type, the fixed-caliper type, and the sliding-caliper type. Floating-caliper and sliding-caliper disk brakes use a single piston. Fixed-caliper disk brakes have either two or four pist
19、ons.Brakes - what do they do?Brakes are designed to slow down your vehicle but probably not by the means that you think. The common misconception is that brakes squeeze against a drum or disc, and the pressure of the squeezing action is what slows you down. This in fact is only part of the equation.
20、 Brakes are essentially a mechanism to change energy types. When youre travelling at speed, your vehicle has kinetic energy. When you apply the brakes, the pads or shoes that press against the brake drum or rotor convert that energy into thermal energy via friction. The cooling of the brakes dissipa
21、tes the heat and the vehicle slows down. Its the First Law of Thermodynamics, sometimes known as the law of conservation of energy. This states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it can only be converted from one form to another. In the case of brakes, it is converted from kinetic energy t
22、o thermal energy. Angular force. Because of the configuration of the brake pads and rotor in a disc brake, the location of the point of contact where the friction is generated also provides a mechanical moment to resist the turning motion of the rotor. Thermodynamics, brake fade and drilled rotors.I
23、f you ride a motorbike or drive a race car, youre probably familiar with the term brake fade, used to describe what happens to brakes when they get too hot. A good example is coming down a mountain pass using your brakes rather than your engine to slow you down. As you start to come down the pass, t
24、he brakes on your vehicle heat up, slowing you down. But if you keep using them, the rotors or drums stay hot and get no chance to cool off. At some point they cant absorb any more heat so the brake pads heat up instead. In every brake pad there is the friction material that is held together with so
25、me sort of resin and once this starts to get too hot, the resin starts to vapourise, forming a gas. Because the gas cant stay between the pad and the rotor, it forms a thin layer between the two whilst trying to escape. The pads lose contact with the rotor, reducing the amount of friction and voila.
26、 Complete brake fade. The typical remedy for this would be to get the vehicle to a stop and wait for a few minutes. As the brake components cool down, their ability to absorb heat returns and the next time you use the brakes, they seem to work just fine. This type of brake fade was more common in ol
27、der vehicles. Newer vehicles tend to have less outgassing from the brake pad compounds but they still suffer brake fade. So why? Its still to do with the pads getting too hot. With newer brake pad compounds, the pads transfer heat into the calipers once the rotors are too hot, and the brake fluid st
28、arts to boil forming bubbles in it. Because air is compressible （brake fluid isnt） when you step on the brakes, the air bubbles compress instead of the fluid transferring the motion to the brake calipers. Voila. Modern brake fade. So how do the engineers design brakes to reduce or eliminate brake fa
29、de? For older vehicles, you give that vapourised gas somewhere to go. For newer vehicles, you find some way to cool the rotors off more effectively. Either way you end up with cross-drilled or grooved brake rotors. While grooving the surface may reduce the specific heat capacity of the rotor, its ef
30、fect is negligible in the grand scheme of things. However, under heavy braking once everything is hot and the resin is vapourising, the grooves give the gas somewhere to go, so the pad can continue to contact the rotor, allowing you to stop. The whole understanding of the conversion of energy is cri
31、tical in understanding how and why brakes do what they do, and why they are designed the way they are. If youve ever watched Formula 1 racing, youll see the front wheels have huge scoops inside the wheel pointing to the front （see the picture above）. This is to duct air to the brake components to he
32、lp them cool off because in F1 racing, the brakes are used viciously every few seconds and spend a lot of their time trying to stay hot. Without some form of cooling assistance, the brakes would be fine for the first few corners but then would fade and become near useless by half way around the track. Rotor technology.If a brake rotor was a single cast chunk of steel, it would have terrible heat dissipation properties and leave nowhere for the vapourised gas to go. Because of this, brake rotors are typically modified with all manner of extra design features to help them cool down
