Hydraulic and Pneumatic Braking System Low Cost Automation (MEL 334)

Presented By: Abhishek Bansal (2008me20562) Rachit Gupta (2008me20587)

Introduction: Hydraulic Brakes

This system uses a brake fluid (Preferably ethylene glycol) to transfer the pressure applied by the operator from the controlling unit to the actual brake mechanism, which is usually at or near the wheel of the vehicle. Most vehicles in India prefer to have drum brakes on rear wheels while disk brakes on the front wheels attached to the hydraulic controlling unit

Construction
Brake pedal or lever A pushrod (also called an actuating rod) A master cylinder assembly containing a piston assembly (made up of either one or two pistons, a return spring, a series of gaskets/ O-rings and a fluid reservoir) Reinforced hydraulic lines Brake caliper assembly consisting of one or two hollow aluminum or chrome-plated steel pistons (called caliper pistons), a set of thermally conductive brake pads and a rotor (also called a brake disc) or drum attached to an axle The system is filled with a glycol-ether based brake fluid

Diagrammatic Representation of a Hydraulic Braking System

System Operation
As the brake pedal is pressed, a pushrod exerts force on the piston(s) in the master cylinder causing fluid from the brake fluid reservoir to flow into a pressure chamber This forces fluid through the hydraulic lines toward one or more calipers where it acts upon one or two caliper pistons sealed by one or more seated O-rings which prevent the escape of any fluid from around the piston Heat is dissipated through brake pads which are made up of special heat tolerant materials such as kevlar or sintered glass

Important Considerations
Hydraulic systems are smaller and less expensive than the air brake systems Hydraulic fluid should be in-compressible. Also the hydraulic system should be air tight such that no vapor is introduced in the system Hydraulic fluid must resist vaporization at high temperatures The fluid that is used should be non-corrosive for the surrounding material Elimination of Brake Fade

Pneumatic Brakes

Introduction
A Pneumatic Brake employs use of compressed air to execute retardation or stopping motion in the vehicles. Trains, buses and trailers use air-brake systems to overcome the deficit of the hydraulic fluid in car braking systems, which can run out in the event of a leak, leading to unsafe scenarios

Evolution
Before air brakes, trains used a primitive brake system that required an operator in each car to apply a hand brake at the signal of the train director This inefficient manual system was replaced by direct air-brake systems, which used an air compressor to feed air through a brake pipe into air tanks on each car. When the engineer applied these brakes, the pipe filled with air and squeezed the brakes

Modern Triple Valve System

System works in the opposite way of a direct air-brake system:
Charging: The system must be pressurized with air before the brakes will release. At rest, the brakes remain engaged. Once the system reaches its operating pressure, the brakes are freed and ready to use. Applying: As the brakes are applied, air pressure decreases. As the amount of air decreases, the valve allows air back into the reservoir tanks, while the brakes move to the applied position. Releasing: Once the brakes are applied and the air escapes after braking, the increased pressure releases the brakes

Components of the system

Air compressor: Pumps the air into storage tanks to be used in the brake system Air compressor governor: Controls the cut-in and cut-out point of the air compressor to maintain a set amount of air in the tank or tanks Air reservoir tanks: Hold compressed air to be used by the braking system Drain valves: Used to drain the air when the vehicle isn't in use Foot valve (brake pedal): When depressed, air is released from the reservoir tanks Brake chambers: Cylindrical container that houses a slack adjuster that moves a diaphragm or cam mechanism Push rod: A steel rod (piston) connecting the brake chamber to the slack adjuster. When depressed, the brakes are released. If extended, the brakes are applied. Slack adjusters: An arm connects the push rod to the brake s-cam to adjust the distance between the brake shoes Brake S-cam: An s-shaped cam that pushes brake shoes apart and against the brake drum Brake shoe: Steel mechanism that causes friction against the brake drum Return spring: A stiff spring connected to each of the brake shoes that returns the shoes to the open position when not spread by the s-cam or diaphragm.

Types of Pneumatic Brakes

Foundation brakes are the most common airbrake systems They have a graduated release system where a partial increase in pressure dictates a proportional release in brakes Electro-pneumatic brake has more recently been used on main line passenger railways Its main advantage over the air brake is its speed of control and quick reaction times, giving instantaneous control of the whole train

Types of Pneumatic Brakes (cont.)

ECP refers to Electronically Controlled Pneumatic brakes Electro-pneumatic brakes use several train wires to operate individual valves or variations in switching of the wires to control brakes. Most of these systems use a second train line for main reservoir air supplies and they do not have the built-in two-way communications like ECP systems A car in an ECP brake train can self correct and report the information to the engineer, it only requires the standard train line pipe