Brake Disc Ribs and Expansion Elements for Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Brake discs for motor vehicles and rail vehicles face challenges with high weight due to single-piece construction from gray cast iron, leading to increased fuel consumption and thermo-mechanical stresses, which result in undesirable vibrations and heat distribution issues.
Innovation Solution
The brake disc design incorporates radially arranged expansion elements and ribs formed partially by inserts, allowing for a lighter material usage and optimized shaping to achieve homogeneous mass distribution, improved damping, and reduced thermo-mechanical stresses, with the ribs and expansion elements being made from materials like aluminum or stainless steel for enhanced strength and cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the friction ring, cooling ribs, and connecting elements are made as a single piece from gray cast iron, then the structural strength and manufacturing simplicity are improved, but the overall weight increases leading to higher fuel consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The brake disc is divided into separate components: a friction ring made of gray cast iron and connecting elements made of lighter material (aluminum or steel). This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for its specific function while reducing overall weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite construction by combining different materials - gray cast iron for the friction ring (where high strength and heat resistance are needed) and lighter materials for the connecting elements and cooling ribs. This composite approach maintains structural integrity while significantly reducing weight.
2Ease of manufacture
If the brake disc is made from a single material (gray cast iron), then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the weight increases and fuel consumption rises
Solution Approach 1:
The brake disc manufacturing process is segmented into separate steps for casting the friction ring and attaching the connecting elements. This allows each component to be manufactured using optimal processes for its material, simplifying overall production despite using multiple materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting elements are pre-formed separately and then attached to the friction ring in a subsequent step. This preliminary action allows for optimized manufacturing of each component before final assembly, maintaining ease of manufacture while enabling material optimization.
3Strength
If the cooling ribs are made as integral parts of the friction ring, then the structural integrity is improved, but the weight increases and cooling efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling ribs are separated from the friction ring and made as independent components. This segmentation allows the ribs to be optimized specifically for cooling function with appropriate material selection and geometric design, improving heat dissipation efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling ribs are made from materials optimized for thermal conductivity and heat dissipation, separate from the friction ring material. This composite approach enhances cooling efficiency while maintaining the structural integrity of the friction ring.
4Ease of manufacture
If the mass distribution of the friction ring is radially inhomogeneous, then the manufacturing is simpler, but hot spots occur causing vibrations and brake judder
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting elements are designed with specific geometric features and material properties that locally compensate for the inhomogeneous mass distribution in the friction ring. This local quality adjustment ensures homogeneous overall mass distribution, eliminating hot spots and brake judder while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design significantly reduces the brake disc's weight, improves fuel efficiency, and minimizes brake judder and heat distribution issues, while maintaining high strength and reducing manufacturing costs through innovative material selection and bonding techniques.
Implementation Method 1
the expansion elements can adjust to the thermally generated expansion of the friction strip pair
Implementation Method 2
it is likewise advantageous for the expansion elements to be designed in a radially elastic fashion so they can adjust themselves to the thermal deformation of the friction ring
Implementation Method 3
the ribs between the friction strip pair can be optimized... to achieve homogeneous mass distribution... taking an ideal radial heat distribution of the friction ring into account
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a brake disc (8) having a friction ring (10) made of a frictional pair (11a, 11b) connected to each other by means of ribs (4), having a pot (9) and expansion elements (2) disposed radially to the pot (9), preferably at the outer circumference of the pot (9), and the ends thereof facing away from the pot (9) are connected to the friction ring (10). At least one expansion element (2) at least partially forms a rib (4) for connecting the friction pair (11a, 11b). The invention further relates to a method for producing such a brake disc (8), wherein expansion elements (2) are connected by casting to a friction ring (10) and/or to a pot (9). The friction ring (10) and/or the pot (9) comprise at least one protective element after being connected, wherein the friction ring (10) and/or the pot (9) is cast in a single piece with the protective element.