Feature Article

A r t i c l e
F e a t u r e

Brake Test Systems

Dieter Weiss

For quality assurance and technical refinement of brakes, which are of course highly important for vehicle
safety, the brake R&D engineering community makes extensive use of a variety of dedicated brake test
systems. For example, a friction tester can evaluate wear-behaviour and friction coefficient of materials and
is utilized for managing the production quality of such materials. An inertia type brake dynamometer is the
defacto test machine used for doing fundamental R&D work on friction material and brake assemblies. A brake
NVH dynamometer is a helpful tool for testing the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) generated by brakes.
For the inertia type brake NVH dynamometer, complete brake assemblies along with relevant suspension
system and complete axle structure are subject to NVH measurements. On the chassis type brake NVH
dynamometer, the complete vehicle in its original condition is used as the test specimen.

Introduction durability and NVH-behaviour are listed in Table 1. In

this article, we introduce the brake test systems provided
A reliable brake is the most fundamental safety system of by HORIBA.
all vehicles. Even 2000 years ago Roman soldiers'
chariots had a block brake incorporated. In order to Friction Tester
manage the complex challenge of quality assurance and
f ur ther technical ref inement of vehicle brakes, the One of the most violently worn parts of a vehicle are the
worldwide brake R&D engineering community makes brake pads or friction lining. In order to make sure that
extensive use of a variety of dedicated brake test systems. the end of line total brake system performance check
T he most com mon br a ke t e st ma ch i ne s, u sed for completes with a positive result, it is most important that
investigating the basic brake's performance, power, wear, all individual components are refined to a high level of
Table 1 Brakes & Brake Components Test Systems
No. Type Test Subject Test Sample Test Result
Complete brake system mounted
Roller type brake Wheel brakes basic function test
1 on fully operational vehicle. Brake function
dynamometer Service garage & inspections
Test at low speed
Wheel brakes & ABS basic Complete brake system mounted
Roller type brake- & ABS Brake function,
2 function test on fully operational vehicle.
function tester ABS controls
End of assembly Line Test at high speed
Quality control for brake pads & Friction value,
3 Friction tester Friction material sample piece
friction linings Friction material condition
Corner module of brake pads, disc Friction value,
Inertia-type brake R&D function test of a complete
4 & calliper; or drum linings, shoes Function of all parts,
dynamometer brake unit (drum or disc brake)
& cylinder Wear & tear of all parts
R&D investigation on brake NVH
Complete axle with brake pads,
Inertia type NVH brake (noise / vibration / harshness) Brake function,
5 disc & calliper; or drum linings,
dynamometer checking for disturbing squeals, Resonance vibrations
shoes & cylinder
judder, creep & groan, etc.
R&D investigation on brake NVH
Complete vehicle including all
Chassis type NVH brake (noise / vibration / harshness) Brake function,
6 parts of the original brake system
dynamometer checking for disturbing squeals, Resonance vibrations
(disc- or drum Brake)
judder, creep & groan, etc.

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 Technical Reports

R&D and produced at a dependable and stable quality. - Data recording and result evaluation: per for med
automatically, e.g. by Excel-macro
The most important and common example for brake
component testing is the conventional friction tester. The The friction tester result shows the friction coefficient μ
friction pairs (disc vs. pads / drum vs. shoes & lining) as a function of rubbing speed, brake pad temperature
are the most critical wear and tear parts on each brake and nominal applied pressure per cm2.
assembly. Depending on load cycles and driver habits,
the typical service life time for friction pads is approx. Inertia Type Brake Dynamometer
50,000 km meanwhile the rotor disc may last for 100,000
km. An inertia type brake dynamometer is the de facto test
machine used for doing fundamental R&D-work on
Even more important than its wear-behaviour, is the parts friction material and brake assemblies, by manufacturers
performance with regard to a stable friction coefficient of the f riction material, brake systems and vehicle
"μ" irrespective of speed and brake temperature. Normal manufacturers. Figure 2 shows an example of inertia
organic friction material guarantees a friction coefficient type brake dynamometer. A complete brake module,
μ of 0.2 to 0.4. For easy and repeatable determination of consisting of original disc, pads and calliper, or brake-
the friction material μ-value and batch control during drum, shoe and lining are mounted as a test-sample. For
high volume pad- and lining production, the friction a conventional Inertia dynamometer test, the brake stator
μ-tester is found to be an ideal machine. (all non rotating parts) will be adapted to the "prony-type"
tail stock. Meanwhile the brake-rotor (disc or drum) are
Figure 1 shows a friction μ-tester. A friction material adapted to the rotating dynamometer main shaft.
sample of cube-shaped (within 50 50 15 mm) is
mounted on a typical disc & calliper or drum brake With this machine a complete brake can be exposed to
assembly. This test brake is adapted to a rotating real life load cycles, and repeated as often as necessary.
dynamometer shaft. Other test conditions are as follows: A typical test schedule comprises as many as 500 to 5000
times of stop and drag brake applications, which are
- Dynamometer speed: 15 to 1500 rpm (variable, driven performed by a dedicated control and automation system.
with an AC motor of up to 50 kW) A 200 kW main drive is used to accelerate the machine to
- Brake control: with a servo-hydraulic actuator initial speed, which lies within the range of 0 to 3000
- Friction measurement: with Prony-type torque-meter rpm, before the test brake is applied. The kinetic energy
(TBrake) for simulating the vehicle inertia mass is supplied by a set
- Test cycle: automatically controlled by a computer, of f lywheels. Accurate electrical inertia simulation is
digital data acquired during cycle superimposed onto the f lywheels inertia. Thus we are
- Items to be recorded: test speed (rpm), braking pressure able to achieve a simulation accuracy of within +/-1 % of
(bar) and temperature (°C) gross vehicle weight (GVW). Typical test conditions are
- Calculation of friction coefficient: as follows:
μ (-) = TBrake / 2 R Friction-Radius A Piston PHydraulic
- Initial speed of dynamometer: 0 to 3000 rpm
- Items to be recorded: All important parameters, e.g. test
Cooling air AC-motor

Test station Test specimen

speed (rpm), pressure (PHydraulic), braking torque (T Brake)
and Temperatures (°C)
Torque - Calculation of friction coefficient:
measuring
Braking
pressure
device μ = TBrake / 2 R Friction PHydraulic A Piston
device
Machine - Data recording and result evaluation: per for med
frame
automatically, e.g. by Excel-macro
Damping
element
Test
specimen
A full size inertia brake dynamometer allows accurate
measuring of all physical parameters of the brake, while
exposing it to dynamic real life load cycles.

Figure 1 Friction Tester

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 Feature Article Brake Test Systems
A r t i c l e

DC-motor Engagable flywheels Cooling air Torque measuring a minimum the complete brake assembly along with
device
relevant suspension system, or even better including the
complete axle structure mounted to the testing station,
F e a t u r e

shall be subject to NVH measurements. To accommodate

such big test samples, an extra large noise insulated test
chamber, along with an inline brake torque measuring
device is required. A supplementary climatic air handling
unit also allows measurements of the brakes N V H
Static brake test Machine frame Test specimen
behaviour at variable temperature and humidity condition.

A multi channel, high speed PC based data acquisition

and FFT analyzer enables the NVH engineers to pick up
Figure 2 Inertia Type Brake Dynamometer
and characterize all audible brake noise, as well as lower
frequency body noise which is generated by the dry
friction pairs and conducted into the vehicles axle and
body str uctures. Dedicated NVH test cycles target
Brake-NVH Dynamometer typical NVH problem zones regarding speed, braking
pressure and temperature.
The extremely high power and speed potential of modern
Torque measuring device
vehicles requires high energy braking systems to be
Flywheels DC-motor MC-Pherson strut
installed inside rather small wheels and rims. At the same
time the non-suspended axle mass should be reduced, or
at least remain constant, for the sake of good suspension Noise
performance. Thus the specific technical requirements measurement

on the basic braking capability have increased drastically.

The challenge is to deliver a light-weight, but high power Static brake test Machine frame Roller

brake. This trend has caused the brakes to become more

susceptible to noise and vibration problems, including
brake squeal (1 to 15 kHz) or brake judder (1 to 100 Hz).

Combined with the very competitive market and customer

demands, especially on new car war rant y per iods Figure 3 Inertia Type Brake NVH Dynamometer

exceeding 24 months, the cost for fixing brake related

noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) problems has
increased drastically. Quite often brake disc and pads are Chassis Type Brake NVH Dynamometer
completely replaced, e.g. simply in order to cure the early
morning squealing noise. The friction material and brake In general the target for R&D work by means of a
manufacturers have made great efforts in order to find dynamometer system is to get as close as possible to real
dependable solutions for suppressing such brake NVH life operating conditions, through simulation of all
problems. A brake NVH dynamometer is a helpful tool relevant engineering parameters. At the same time the
for doing this challenging R&D work. disadvantages of on-road testing, especially the higher
cost and limited repeatability due to changing traffic
Inertia Type Brake-NVH Dynamometer conditions can be overcome. The most efficient approach
System in order to reach this target is to use a chassis type brake
NVH dynamometer.
The inertia type brake NVH dynamometer follows the
basic idea of a conventional iner tia brake tester as Again, the basic idea is copied from the inertia type brake
described above(Figure 3). To investigate the multiple tester. But on the chassis type brake dynamometer, the
vibrations which are generated by dry friction brakes, as complete vehicle in original condition is used as the test

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 Technical Reports

sample. The dynamometer is installed inside a large size

chamber with heavy thermo-acoustic insulation and a
cor responding climatic ai r conditioner u nit. T he
dynamometer itself is typically a 48" single roller with
approximately 300 kW main drive, for accurate control of
variable speeds, torques and vehicle inertia (Figure 4).

Normally the vehicle engine is not running and the test

brake is actuated either by a robot driver, or directly by
servo hydraulic controls. A special, automated NVH test
matrix along with dedicated NVH measuring system are
prepared for screening all kind of operating conditions
including the brake related noise and vibrations problem
zones. Using this powerful machine, a 3 days automatic
test cycle, run during the weekend, delivers a more useful
NVH test result, compared to that a one week, stressful
on roa d t est ca n prov ide. A l l mea su red d at a a re
automat ically processed for nu mer ic and g raphic
presentation.

DC-motor Torque measuring

device

Noise
measurement

Machine frame 48” -roller

Figure 4 Chassis Type Brake NVH Dynamometer

Conclusion
Generally, conventional vehicles use the friction type
brakes for which the wear of the related parts is inevitable.
This type of brake transforms the kinetic energy into
thermal energy when braking. Recently, regenerative
brakes which are applied to hybrid electric vehicles is
paid much attention as it can re-use the kinetic energy by
conver t i ng the elect r ic energ y and cont r ibutes to
improvement of fuel economy. Like this, the future trend
of braking technologies can be drastically changed as
well as other automotive technologies. For the brake test
systems, advanced hardware and simulation tools for
testing such new systems will be also developed.

Dieter Weiss
HORIBA Europe GmbH
Business Unit Brake & Windtunnel
General Manager

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