Road Vehicle Performance:
Braking
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
ASSIST. PROF. DR. MOHAMMAD ALI MOSABERPANAH
Principles of Braking
For roadway design and traffic analysis, vehicle braking characteristics
are the most important aspect of vehicle performance.
Braking performance is a key factor to the determination of:
◦ stopping-sight distance, which is one of the foundations of roadway design
◦ the length of the yellow interval for signals
Principles of Braking
Like we did for determining maximum
tractive effort, we can use a force and
moment-generating diagram (Fig. 2.6) to
determine Fbf and Fbr (braking force, front
and rear).
Principles of Braking
Principles of Braking
Also, from summing forces along the vehicle’s longitudinal
axis gives:
Fb f rlW ma Ra W sin g Eq. 2.25
where: Fb = Fbf + Fbr
Substituting this equation (2.25) into the previous
two equations (2.23, 2.24) yields the following
equations:
Wf
1
Wlr hFb f rlW Eq. 2.26
L
Wr
1
L
Wl f hFb f rlW Eq. 2.27
Principles of Braking
The maximum vehicle braking force (Fb max) is equal to
the coefficient of road adhesion times the weights
normal to the roadway surface.
Fbf max W f (front braking force)
Fbr max Wr (rear braking force)
= coefficient of road adhesion
Principles of Braking
Substituting Eqs. 2.26 and 2.27 gives:
W
Fbf max lr h f rl Eq. 2.28
L
W
Fbr max
L
l f
h f rl Eq. 2.29
To develop maximum braking forces, the tires should be at the
point of impending slide.
If the tires begin to slide (i.e., the brakes lock), a significant
reduction in road adhesion will result. See Table 2.4 for
example coefficients of road adhesion for various
pavement/weather conditions under max and slide scenarios.
, coefficient of road adhesion
Braking Force Ratio and Efficiency
The maximum attainable vehicle deceleration,
using the vehicle’s braking system, is equal to g
(same derivation logic as for max acceleration).
To approach this maximum vehicle deceleration,
vehicle braking systems must correctly distribute
braking forces between the vehicle’s front and rear
brakes.
Braking Force Ratio and Efficiency
The front/rear proportioning of braking forces will be optimal
(achieving a deceleration rate equal to g) when it is in the exact same
proportion as the ratio of the maximum braking forces on the front and
rear axles, i.e.,
Fbf max
BFR f / r max
Fbr max
Thus, maximum braking forces (with the tires at the point of
impending slide) will be developed when the brake force
ratio (front force over the rear force) is:
l r h f rl
BFR f / r max Eq. 2.30
l f h f rl
BFR—brake force ratio that results in maximum (optimal) braking forces
Braking Force Ratio and Efficiency
It follows that the percentage of braking force that
the braking system should allocate to the front and
rear axles for maximum braking is:
100
PBF f 100 Eq. 2.31
1 BFR f / r max
100
PBFr Eq. 2.32
1 BFR f / r max
Braking Force Ratio and Efficiency
It is clear from Eq. 2.30 that the design of a vehicle’s braking
system is not an easy task because the optimal brake-force
proportioning changes with both vehicle and road
conditions.
◦ Passenger and cargo loading conditions, especially for trucks, is a
major factor
◦ Changes in road conditions produce different coefficients of road
adhesion
Because of these uncertainties, vehicle designers often
choose brake force proportioning that is good on average,
but rarely optimal
Braking Force Ratio and Efficiency
Because true optimal brake-force proportioning is seldom
achieved in standard non-antilock braking systems, we use
a term that reflects the degree to which the braking system
is operating below optimal.
Braking efficiency is defined as the ratio of the maximum
rate of deceleration, expressed in g’s (denote gmax),
achievable prior to any wheel lockup, to the coefficient of
road adhesion.
g max
b Eq. 2.33
Theoretical Stopping Distance
With a basic understanding of brake force
proportioning and the resulting braking
efficiency, attention can now be directed
toward developing expressions for minimum
stopping distances.
Theoretical Stopping Distance
Equation for theoretical stopping distance is given by
(assuming V2 = 0)
bW K V 2
S ln 1 a 1 Eq. 2.42
2 gK a W f W W sin
b rl g
grade resistance term is + for uphill, for downhill
where: b is the mass factor accounting for moments of inertia during
braking, given value of 1.04 for automobiles.
Ka CD Af
2
Theoretical Stopping Distance
Assume that the effect of speed on the coeff. of
rolling resistance is constant, and can be
approximated as V = (V1 + V2)/2 (use this V in Eq. 2.5
for frl)
If we ignore aerodynamic resistance (which is not a
big factor in deceleration), we get:
b V12 V22
S
2 g b f rl sin g Eq. 2.43
grade resistance term is + for uphill, for downhill
Theoretical Stopping Distance
V1 = initial vehicle speed in ft/s,
V2 = final vehicle speed in ft/s,
frlW = rolling resistance,
where: b is the mass factor accounting for moments of
inertia during braking, given value of 1.04 for
automobiles.
End of Chapter two