PAMM · Proc. Appl. Math. Mech. 3, 124–125 (2003) / DOI 10.1002/pamm.

200310339

Rudolph, M.; Popp, K.; Hogenkamp, W.

Computation of the Temperature between Brake Disk and Pad

The authors present a computation method which is based on an analytical approach describing the temperature
distribution due to a moving heat source. This approach has been adapted to the technical problem of the disk-
pad contact and programmed in MATLAB. In particular, the inhomogeneous pressure distribution in the contact
plane has been taken into account. Further, FE-calculations have been conducted to ascertain the correctness of the
analytical approximation. By this combination of analytical and numerical methods an efficient calculation of the
contact temperature became possible which is by far faster than corresponding FE-calculations. The results have been
confirmed by measurements using a brake test rig and an IR-camera system.

1. Introduction

The temperature distribution in the frictional contact between brake disk an brake pad is an important feature
concerning brake pad design and vibrational behavior. The temperature in the contact zone reigns the chemical
and physical processes, which finally result in the frictional force. It is difficult to measure this temperature, as
measuring devices can easily be destroyed by wear. Therefore, calculating the temperature is a desirable aim.

2. Theoretical Considerations

The work is based on an publication of J. C. Jaeger in 1942: Moving Sources of Heat and the Temperature at Sliding
Contacts. In that paper, from a solution

δT = δT (x, y, z, t − t0 ) with Q(x0 , y0 , z0 , t0 ) = Q0 (1)

of the thermal conductivity PDE ∂T ∂t = a∇∇T an expression is derived, which gives the temperature distribution
δT on the surface of an infinite halfspace underneath and in the vicinity of a moving homogeneous heat source. This
motion is of constant speed V and the distribution

X−L
2qa Vx Vl
δT = e−u K0 (|u|)du with X = , L= (2)
πλV X+L 2a 2a
is calculated in the stady state for a heat source with length 2l in the direction of motion (coordinate x). In the
y-direction perpendicular to the direction of motion the source is of infinite width. In eq.(2) q stands for the specific
heat flow per area and the thermal diffusivity a = ρcλp is composed by the thermal conductivity λ, the density ρ and
the specific heat cp . K0 represents a Bessel-function of second kind and zero order.
The number L is defined as one half of the Péclet-number which is known from the calculation of convection and
here it is used to characterize the temperature distribution for different speeds. The evalutation of eq.(2) is elaborate
and therefore Jaeger developed the approximation
πλV 
δT = 2π(L − X), −L ≤ X < L
2qa
√ √ 
= 2π( L − X − |L + X|), X < −L (3)

which is applicable for high values of L. In case of the friction pair disk and pad, high values of L are given, therefore
calculation time can be reduced considerably.

3. Pad-Disc Contact

To calculate an approximate temperature distribution between brake pad and disk the thermal properties of the disk
are needed. Therefore, temperature-dependent values of the thermal diffusivity a and the thermal conductivity λ
have been measured by material scientists at IWW, Technical University of Clausthal. In the calculation model, the
disk can be represented by an infinite halfspace since the temperature variation calculated by Jaeger only affects a
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Section 1: Linear and nonlinear oscillations 125

a) b)

dT [K] pb=30 bar

dT [K]
pb=15 bar
q [107W/m2]

n [rpm]
x [m]

Figure 1: a) Example of calculated temperature distribution and related specific heat

b) Comparison between calculated (–) and measured (∗) temperature difference

rather thin layer of the disk surface. The contact areas of the brake pad which slide on the disk surface are regarded
as heat sources with a specific heat flow q = µpV which depends on the local contact pressure p, the coefficient of
friction µ and the sliding velocity V . To calculate the contact pressure distribution between pad and disk the real
contact area and its distribution over the nominal contact surface have been measured. Photos made by microscopy
can be evaluated by digital image processing which gives the percentage value for the area of real contact related to
the nominal contact surface.
This contact relation has to be transformed from the case of a 2-dimensional contact to a line-contact which can be
calculated by Jaeger’s method. For this task, the nominal contact area is idealized as a grid of equally sized squares
containing smaller squares representing the area of real contact. These smaller squares are distributed randomly
in the grid squares. Taking a representative stripe out of this arrangement, a mean distance dm between contact
squares can be calculated.
The temperature distribution over the representative stripe is calculated in three major steps. First, the contact
features are calculated from the parameters of the brake in action and an assumed arbitrary pressure distribution.
This distribution can be chosen using the characteristic distance dm . In a second step, a temperature profile is
calculated for each of the contact points using Jaeger’s approach. These profiles are superposed in a third step
assuming a linear system behaviour. A calculation result for the case of a brake pressure of pb = 30 bar, a rotational
speed n = 200 rpm, a friction coefficient µ = 0.45 and a contact ratio t = 0.12 is shown in figure 1a.

4. Comparison between Measurement and Calculation Results

To verify the temperature calculations it is necessary to use a temperature value which is accessible by measurements.
Therefore, the disk surface temperature difference between the inlet and the outlet of the brakes frictional contact is
chosen. This difference can easily be determined by recording the surface temperature of the disk with an infrared
camera. Considering the calculated temperature profile this temperature difference can be found a short distance
behind the pad-disk contact as the design of the brake does not allow to observe the trailing edge of the pad. In
figure 1b the calculation results (line) and measurements (stars) are shown for different speeds and brake pressures.
A very good agreement between measurements and calculation can be realized.

5. Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank TMD Friction GmbH for funding this work, delivering brake pad material and providing
the infrared camera system.

6. References
1 Jaeger, J. C.: Moving Sources of Heat and the Temperature of Sliding Contacts, Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W., 176 (1942),
203–224.

Dipl.-Ing. Martin Rudolph, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karl Popp, Institute of Mechanics, University of
Hannover, Appelstr. 11, 30167 Hannover, rudolph@ifm.uni-hannover.de, Dipl.-Ing. Wolfgang
Hogenkamp, TMD Friction GmbH, Schlebuscher Str. 99, 51381 Leverkusen.