International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE)

ISSN: 2278-3075 (Online), Volume-3 Issue-7, December 2013

Design & Analysis of Master Cylinder of Hydraulic

Braking System Using ANSYS
J. Reddaiah, Dr. G. Harinath Gowd, S. Praveen Kumar, V. Vishnuvardhan

Abstract—Master cylinder is a component of hydraulic braking

system and it is just a simple piston inside a cylinder. Master
1.1 Master Cylinder
cylinder is the key element of braking system which initiates and Master cylinder is a component of hydraulic braking
controls the braking action. A reservoir is attached to the master system and it is just a simple piston inside a cylinder. Master
cylinder to store brake fluid. A master cylinder having a reservoir cylinder is the key element of braking system which initiates
and a cylinder formed from a single piece of molded material. The and controls the braking action. A reservoir is attached to the
objective of the present work is to minimize the weight to increase master cylinder to store brake fluid. A master cylinder having
mileage in case of general road cars and to increase the speed of
a reservoir and a cylinder formed from a single piece of
the vehicle in case of sports cars. Saving grams at different parts
in a car helps us in saving some kilograms at the end of the design. molded material. Master cylinder is a component of hydraulic
The plastics have good elastic properties and are strong enough to braking system and it is just a simple piston inside a cylinder.
use for master cylinder. The use of plastics in the manufacturing Master cylinder is the key element of braking system which
of master cylinder reduces the weight of the master cylinder. The initiates and controls the braking action. A reservoir is
master cylinder is modeled in PRO-E and the analysis is carried attached to the master cylinder to store brake fluid. A master
using ANSYS work bench. The automobile components like cylinder having a reservoir and a cylinder formed from a
master cylinder can be easily modeled in PRO-E and can be easily single piece of molded material.
analyzed using ANSYS. The master cylinder displaces hydraulic pressure to the
Index Terms— Hydraulic braking system, Master cylinder,
rest of the brake system. It holds the most important fluid in
Pro-E, ANSYS. your car, the brake fluid. It actually controls two separate
subsystems which are jointly activated by the brake pedal.
I. INTRODUCTION This is done so that in case a major leak occurs in one system,
the other will still function. The two systems may be supplied
Braking system is a means of converting momentum into heat by separate fluid reservoirs, or they may be supplied by a
energy by creating friction in the wheel brakes. The braking common reservoir. Some brake subsystems are divided
system which works with the help of hydraulic principles is front/rear and some are diagonally separated. When you press
known as hydraulic braking systems. The braking system the brake pedal, a push rod connected to the pedal moves the
used most frequently operates hydraulically, by pressure "primary piston" forward inside the master cylinder. The
applied through a liquid. These are the foot operated brakes primary piston activates one of the two subsystems. The
that the driver normally uses to slow or stop the car. hydraulic pressure created, and the force of the primary
Hydraulics is the use of a liquid under pressure force or piston spring, moves the secondary piston forward. When the
motion, or to increase an applied force. Our special interest in forward movement of the pistons causes their primary cups to
hydraulics is related to the actions in automotive systems that cover the bypass holes, hydraulic pressure builds up and is
result from pressure applied to a liquid. This is called transmitted to the wheel cylinders.
hydraulic pressure. Since liquid is not compressible, it can When the brake pedal retracts, the pistons allow fluid from
transmit motion. A typical braking system includes two basic the reservoir(s) to refill the chamber if needed. Electronic
parts. These are the master cylinder with brake pedal and the sensors within the master cylinder are used to monitor the
wheel brake mechanism. level of the fluid in the reservoirs, and to alert the driver if a
The other parts are the connecting tubing, or brake lines, pressure imbalance develops between the two systems. If the
and the supporting arrangements. Braking action starts at the brake light comes on, the fluid level in the reservoir(s) should
brake pedal. When the pedal is pushed down, brake fluid is be checked. If the level is low, more fluid should be added,
sent from the master cylinder to the wheels. At the wheels, and the leak should be found and repaired as soon as possible.
the fluid pushes brake shoes, or pads, against revolving
drums or disks. The friction between the stationary shoes or
pads and the revolving drums or disks slows and stops them.

Manuscript published on 30 December 2013.

*Correspondence Author(s)
J. Reddaiah, PG Student, ME Dept, MITS, Madanapalle,
S. Praveen Kumar, Assistant Professor, ME Dept, MITS, Madanapalle.
[Link] Gowd, Professor, ME Dept, MITS, Madanapalle. Figure 1: Master cylinder sectional view
M. Vishnuvardhan, Associate Professor, ME Dept. Intellectual
Engineering College, Anantapur

© The Authors. Published by Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and

Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the
CC-BY-NC-ND license [Link]

Published By:
Retrieval Number: G1388123713/13©BEIESP Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
Journal Website: [Link] and Sciences Publication (BEIESP)
90 © Copyright: All rights reserved.
 Design & Analysis of Master Cylinder of Hydraulic Braking System Using ANSYS

1.2 Working Of Master Cylinder The second edition of brake design and safety gives basic
When the brakes are not applied, the piston cups of the design considerations to design safer brakes and its
primary and secondary pistons are positioned between the components. The standard of quality of brake technology as
inlet port and the compensating port. This provides a passage changed over the last two decades. The new design can only
between the cylinder and reservoir tank. The secondary be achieved through proper research, through the use of
piston is pushed to the right by the force of secondary return sound engineering concepts and testing the results of small
spring, but prevented from going any further by a stopper design changes. The information provided by the author has
bolt. When the brake pedal is depressed, the primary piston helped in considering engineering design concepts, safety
moves to the left. The piston cup seals the compensating port considerations, material selection, guides, standards and
blocking the passage between the primary pressure chamber practices for the project.
and the reservoir tank. As the piston is pushed further, it 1.4 Polypropylene
builds hydraulic pressure inside the cylinder and is applied or
Polypropylene is a very versatile material. It offers a great
transmitted to the wheel cylinders in that circuit. The same
combination of properties such as lightweight, strong, high
hydraulic pressure is also applied to the secondary piston.
heat resistance, as well as stiffness and flexural retention.
Hydraulic pressure in the primary chamber moves the
Among these and many other great properties, polypropylene
secondary piston to the left also. After the compensating port
is easily fabricated. Polypropylene can be subjected to a wide
of the secondary chamber is closed, fluid pressure builds and
range of fabrication methods and applications.
is transmitted to the secondary circuit.
Polypropylene, also known as polypropene, is a
thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications
including automobile parts, packaging and labeling, textiles,
stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers.
Polypropylene is a strong, lightweight thermoplastic that
offers outstanding toughness, rigidity, and resistance to
thermal deformation. Fabricators and designers value these
characteristics and have come to consider polypropylene one
of the most satisfactory thermoplastic resins for a wide range
of applications. This unique material can be steam-sterilized
or autoclaved without damage and resists environmental
Figure 2: working of master cylinder-brake application
Stress-cracking when subjected to most chemical tests.
Several characteristics of polypropylene enable thin
section oriented moldings to have virtually unlimited flex
life, making it an excellent material for integral hinges in
molded parts. These properties include Fatigue resistance,
Ultimate tensile strength and Ultimate elongation.
Polypropylene is highly responsive to injection speed and
pressure and sets up quickly in the mold, enabling molders to
attain high production rates. This combination of
performance properties gives polypropylene a position in the
injection molding field that is unique among thermoplastics.
Polypropylene also demonstrates excellent chemical
Figure 3: working of master cylinder-brake release resistance, good abrasion resistance, good dimensional
stability, and a high surface gloss on finished pieces. The
1.3 Design Considerations Of Master Cylinder versatility of this polymer makes it particularly well suited
The basic information about brake system and its master for film and fibers requiring superior strength, optical
cylinder, function, purpose, working principle, different qualities, grease resistance, and moisture barrier properties.
shape and size of master cylinder, failure considerations has 1.5 Properties Of Polypropylene
been taken from automotive brake system. The work done by
brake system parts manufacturers tells that cost mold brake 1.5.1Machining Properties
master cylinder made of cast iron was used universally in all
The machine ability of polypropylene is excellent. It may
the old car and light trucks and after that there has been
be processed on any standard machine shop equipment.
increased research done on improving the mileage of the
Sometimes a coolant is required.
vehicle by reducing the weight. The research made a way to 1.5.2 Density And Specific Gravity
concentrate on reducing the weight of brake master cylinder Specific gravity, similar to relative density, is a ratio of the
by changing the materials. The manufacturers came up with weight of a certain volume of material to an equal volume of
new idea of composite master cylinder having integral body water at 23°C. Determining the specific gravity of a material
made of aluminum and reservoir made of plastic material and
is done by weighing the sample in air then weighing it again,
thus reducing the weight when compare to cost mold master submerged in distilled water. These two weights will be
cylinder made of cast iron. Those manufacturers are entered into a formula where the specific gravity can be
concentrating on reducing weight of master cylinder by found. Relative Density/Specific Gravity
changing the material and by changing the type of of polypropylene is 0.095
manufacture. This information gives basic steps for this
project in taking reduction of weight further and considering
plastic material to design brake master cylinder.
Published By:
Retrieval Number: G1388123713/13©BEIESP Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
Journal Website: [Link] and Sciences Publication (BEIESP)
91 © Copyright: All rights reserved.
 International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE)
ISSN: 2278-3075 (Online), Volume-3 Issue-7, December 2013

1.5.3Tensile Strength Table 1: specifications for cylinder

Tensile strength is determined through tensile testing, Name Symbol Units Dimension
Reservoir outer
which is a measurement of how much force a plastic can diameter
Do mm 75
withstand before fracturing or breaking. Throughout the Reservoir inner
Di mm 69
tensile testing, information such as brittleness or ductility of a diameter
material is revealed. This information is used when Thickness of
T mm 3
designing parts to be absolutely positive that the part will reservoir
withstand all environmental forces it will encounter. A stress Height of reservoirs H mm 88
Cylinder outer
vs. strain graph, created from the tensile test, is commonly diameter
do mm 33.4
used to find out the materials tensile strength at its yielding Cylinder inner
point and its tensile modulus. Tensile or Yield strength of di mm 25.4
diameter
polypropylene is 5,000 psi Thickness of
t mm 4
Cylinder
1.5.4Tensile Modulus Height of Cylinder h mm 148.5
The tensile modulus is a ratio of stress to elastic strain in
tension. The tensile modulus of different resins may be
acquired through tensile test. Tensile Modulus of
polypropylene is 1.9 G Pa
1.5.5Elastic Modulus
The elastic modulus measures the stiffness of a material,
which is extremely important when it comes to designing of
products. When in flex, measurements of how much force
the material can withstand before deforming are taken.
Elastic Modulus in Flex of polypropylene is 1.7 - 2.5 G Pa
1.5.6Hardness
When measuring the hardness of materials, the Rockwell
Hardness Test is used. The hardness is determined by
penetrating the material with an indicator on a hardness
testing machine. The further the indicator penetrates the
sample, the larger the number measured, and the harder the Figure 4 Master cylinder model designed in pro-E
material. Hardness of polypropylene is 80 - 110 (R)
1.5.7Thermal Conductivity 2.1. Area, Volume & Mass For Aluminium Master Cylinder
Thermal conductivity is the rate at which heat is transferred The overall weight of the aluminium master cylinder is
through a section of material. When it comes to materials measured, which is 0.355kg. The formulae and calculations
which are exposed to the most extreme temperatures, the for weight of the aluminium master cylinder are given below.
measure of heat flow through a material is a testing essential. 1. Area A = πR2
The molecular make-up, thickness, and density of a material, A = 0.073 m2
all directly relate to its thermal conductivity. Thermal 2. Volume V = πR2h
Conductivity 2.8 of polypropylene is W/m K. V = 1.309×10-4 m3
3. Mass m = density × volume
II. MODELING USING PRO-E m = 0.355 kg
Pro /ENGINEER (Pro/E) is a program that is used to create 2.2. Area, Volume & Mass For Plastic Master Cylinder
precision three dimensional computer models. The 3-D parts The overall weight of the plastic master cylinder is measured,
created on Pro /E use a technique known as solid modeling, which is 0.355kg. The formulae and calculations for weight
(as opposed to wire frame or surface modeling). Other of the plastic master cylinder are given below.
important descriptors used to classify Pro/E include: 1. Area A = πR2
feature-based, associative, and constraint (or A = 0.073 m2
parametric)-based. Pro /E is a fully parametric CAD program 2. Volume V = πR2h
This means that the geometry of features (e.g., holes, slots) V = 1.309×10-4 m3
on a part have to be fully specified in terms of size, shape, 3. Mass m = density × volume
orientation, and location. This specification allows the user to m = 0.124 kg
write equations (i.e., relations) which decribe how features on
individual parts or multiple parts should relate to each other. 2.3. Comparing The Results
For example, in an engine, if the diameter of the piston is
increased or decreased, the corresponding engine block is
automatically modified to match the specifications of the new
piston. For the student, full parametrics means that you must
have a strategy before you start modeling of what features
you want and how you want to constrain them within the part.
The specifications of the standard cylinder used for the
present study are given in the following table.
Published By:
Retrieval Number: G1388123713/13©BEIESP Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
Journal Website: [Link] and Sciences Publication (BEIESP)
92 © Copyright: All rights reserved.
 Design & Analysis of Master Cylinder of Hydraulic Braking System Using ANSYS

Table 2: Results Comparison

Mass Density
Type of cylinder
kg kg/m3
Aluminium master
0.355 2710
cylinder
Plastic master
0.124 946
cylinder

III. FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

The finite element method is a numerical technique for
solving problems which are described by partial differential
equations or can be formulated as functional minimization. A
domain of interest is represented as an assembly of finite
elements. Approximating functions in finite elements are
determined in terms of nodal values of a physical field which
is sought. A continuous physical problem is transformed into Figure 6: Principal stress on Aluminium master cylinder
a discretized finite element problem with unknown nodal
values. For a linear problem a system of linear algebraic
equations should be solved. Values inside finite elements can
be recovered using nodal values.
The way finite element analysis obtains the temperatures,
stresses, flows, or other desired unknown parameters in the
finite element model are by minimizing an energy functional.
Energy functional consists of all the energies associated with
the particular finite element model. Based on the law of
conservation of energy, the finite element energy functional
must equal zero.
The finite element method obtains the correct solution for
any finite element model by minimizing the energy Figure 7: Principal stress on Polypropylene master cylinder
functional. The minimum of the functional is found by setting
the derivative of the functional with respect to the unknown
grid point potential for zero.
Thus, the basic equation for finite element analysis is:
∂f/∂p =0
Where F is the energy functional and p is the unknown grid
point potential (In mechanics, the potential is displacement)
to be calculated.
This is based on the principle of virtual work, which states
that if a particle is under equilibrium, under a set of a system
of forces, then for any displacement, the virtual work is zero.
Each finite element will have its own unique energy
functional.
Table 3: properties of materials
MATERIAL YOUNGS POISSON’S Figure 8: Stress intensity on aluminium master cylinder
MODULUS RATIO
Aluminium 70000 N/mm2 0.3
polypropylene 2000 N/mm2 0.28

Figure 9 Stress intensity on Polypropylene master cylinder

Figure 5: meshed model for brake master cylinder.

3.1. Results From Ansys

Published By:
Retrieval Number: G1388123713/13©BEIESP Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
Journal Website: [Link] and Sciences Publication (BEIESP)
93 © Copyright: All rights reserved.
 International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE)
ISSN: 2278-3075 (Online), Volume-3 Issue-7, December 2013

Figure 10: Stress on Aluminium master cylinder

Figure 11: stress on polypropylene master cylinder

3.2. Comparision Of Results
For a pressure 3.95 N/mm2 approximately equal to 4 N/mm2,
the maximum stress acting on the surface of polypropylene
cylinder is 2.25953 N/mm2, which is slightly higher than the
maximum stress that acts on the surface of aluminium master
cylinder, which is 1.67259 N/mm2. Since the maximum stress
acting the surface of cylinder is very less compare to the
ultimate strength of that material, the polypropylene material
can easily withstand the pressure.

IV. CONCLUSION
In this Project the design and analysis of plastic and
aluminium master cylinder are performed. And it is
concluded that, the plastic master cylinder is more
advantages for Automobiles. The following conclusions were
made:
➢ The weight of master cylinder made up of
polypropylene i.e. 0.124 kg is less than master cylinder
made up of Aluminium i.e. 0.355 kg
➢ The stress induced in master cylinder made up of
polypropylene material is more when compared with
that of master cylinder made up of Aluminium material
but the stresses induced in polypropylene master
cylinder is very less compare to the ultimate strength of
that material.

REFERENCES
1. Richard F. Waughtal, Automobile weight reduction using High
performance plastics.
2. [Link]
3. George Fontes, H31 Booster rebuild & master cylinder, 1991 BMW
750iL, 2010
4. Jeri S. Culp, Light weight brake system.
5. [Link] and [Link], Aluminium master cylinders.
6. [Link]
7. Melior, Inc., Introduction to Brake Systems – Study guide.
8. LEXUS Technical training, Master cylinder.

Published By:
Retrieval Number: G1388123713/13©BEIESP Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
Journal Website: [Link] and Sciences Publication (BEIESP)
94 © Copyright: All rights reserved.