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 air-
brake 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