Composite Brake Caliper Structure for Stiffness in Tight Envelopes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Brake calipers in vehicles often suffer from insufficient stiffness, leading to hydraulic fluid leakage and undesirable extension during braking, which limits braking force and generates noise due to modal excitations.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of a composite brake caliper structure comprising an insert component with increased stiffness, such as ceramic or metal foam, surrounded by an exterior shell component, typically made of aluminum or iron, to enhance stiffness and natural frequency while conforming to a vehicle's location envelope.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional monolithic brake caliper design is used, then manufacturing is simpler, but stiffness is insufficient leading to fluid leakage and caliper extension during braking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining an insert component (made of materials such as aluminum alloy, steel, or ceramic) with an exterior shell component (made of cast aluminum or iron). This composite structure provides increased stiffness and strength to withstand braking forces while preventing hydraulic fluid leakage and caliper extension, while still allowing for cost-effective manufacturing through casting processes.
2Strength
If caliper stiffness is increased to prevent extension, then braking force is improved, but caliper weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by placing the high-stiffness insert component only in specific areas where structural support is needed, rather than making the entire caliper from high-strength material. The insert component is positioned to provide local reinforcement for stiffness while the exterior shell provides the overall caliper structure, achieving the required braking force without excessive weight increase.
3Volume of moving object
If caliper size is reduced to fit vehicle location envelope, then vehicle integration is improved, but stiffness may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite materials to achieve a compact caliper design that fits within tight vehicle location envelopes while maintaining sufficient stiffness. The combination of the insert component and exterior shell creates a high-stiffness-to-volume ratio, allowing the caliper to be smaller without sacrificing the structural integrity needed to prevent extension and maintain braking performance.
Data Source
AI summary
Composite brake calipers, vehicle with brake calipers, and methods for adjusting brake caliper stiffness are provided. A method for adjusting brake caliper stiffness for a vehicle includes determining a vehicle location envelope of a selected brake caliper; modeling a designed composite brake caliper to conform with the vehicle location envelope and to have an increased stiffness or to conform with a reduced vehicle location envelope; forming an insert component having a selected stiffness; and casting an exterior shell component around the insert component to form a composite brake caliper having the increased stiffness of the designed composite brake caliper and configured to fit within the vehicle location envelope or configured to conform with the reduced vehicle location envelope.