Thermal Stress Distribution in the Drum Brake of a Small Vehicle

ABSTRACT
In this project, the approach of finite element analysis is used to evaluate the thermal stress distribution in the brake drum of a small car. During braking, the kinetic energies of a moving vehicle are converted into thermal energy through frictions in the brakes. Excessive thermal stress may cause undesirable effect on the material of the brake drum that eventually leads to initiation of crack. For the optimized design of a brake drum, it does appear to be very important to examine the thermal stress distribution in the brake drum at different thickness of drum’s wall.