Influence of Brake Pad Thickness on Disk Brake Squeal

抄録

A squeal test using a pad with a different thickness demonstrated that a squeal with a higher frequency can be generated if a thin pad is used. The factors that changed as a result of pad thickness were termed 'difference of pad rigidity' and 'dimension difference in the thickness direction of the pad,' and the influence each factor exerted on the squeal was clarified. First, the dynamic stiffness of the pads used for the squeal tests were measured by adding a vibration that imitated the frequency and amplitude of the squeal. The measurement showed that the pad rigidity becomes hard when the pad thickness becomes thin. In addition, the pad vibrated with the same amplitude and the same phase from the frictional contact surface to the back plate in the thickness direction. The pad rigidity is in inverse proportion to the pad thickness because the pad can be viewed as springs in series in the thickness direction. Next, the influence that pad thickness exerted on squeal was analyzed by using a surface-contact-analysis model that reproduced the pad rigidity with a distributed spring and the dimension difference in the thickness direction of the pad with distance from the contact surface to the rotational center of the pad. Results showed that the squeal frequency becomes high when the pad rigidity becomes hard. If the dimension in the thickness direction of the pad becomes small, the squeal is not generated easily; however, the dimension does not influence the squeal frequency.