A Model for the Estimation of Brake Interface Temperature

The temperature achieved at the contact surface of the disc and the pad of a friction brake during its operation has a significant impact on brake performance. Temperature measurement techniques, which are usually available under laboratory test conditions, enable obtaining relatively accurate values of the temperature at the friction surface. However, measuring the sliding surface temperature during the entire lifetime of the brake pad is very difficult due to the demanding operating conditions of the brakes, i.e. the appearance of wear, the presence of water, corrosion, and other immersive impacts. Purely mathematical models for the prediction of friction or contact surface temperature are often complex, and they are affected by a number of limitations. In this paper, an appropriate mathematical model was developed in order to enable estimation of the sliding surface temperature values between the brake disk and brake pads throughout the entire duration of brake application. This is achieved by using the results of the temperature measurement within the brake pad and its processing, by means of an originally developed mathematical model.