International Journal of Mechanics and Solids.

ISSN 0973-1881 Volume 12, Number 1 (2017), pp. 41-51

© Research India Publications
http://www.ripublication.com/ijms.htm

Finite Element Simulation of Brake Pedal Linkage

of Tractor
Amandeep

Teaching Associate
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of
science and Technology, Murthal Sonepat, India.

Atul Kumar Kaushik

Research Scholar
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of
science and Technology, Murthal Sonepat, India.

Amit Goyal
Research Scholar
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of science and Technology, Murthal Sonepat,
India.

Punit Kumar Rohilla

Research Scholar
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of
science and Technology, Murthal Sonepat, India.

Abstract

This work is based on the modelling and analysis of brake pedal linkage used
in tractors. The linkage is deployed to trigger the actuator for braking,
resulting stoppage or slowing down the vehicle. The modelling of the linkage
has been done using CAE techniques in which CATIA has been used for
creation of solid model. The finite element analysis has been performed in
ANSYS simulating the CAD model. The target outcomes of the FE analysis


Corresponding Author
42 Amandeep, Atul Kumar Kaushik, Amit Goyal & Punit Kumar Rohilla

are stress, deflection and directional deflections. The mentioned outcomes

have been observed for variety of loading conditions under defined boundary
conditions providing realistic environment.
Keywords: Brake pedal, CAE, Finite Elements etc.

1. INTRODUCTION
Brake pedal is an important part of an automobile used to apply brake in the vehicles.
The brake pedal linkage is generally made up of structural steel which is commonly
used for such parts. Load is applied on the brake pedal and the linkage is further used
to trigger the actuator so that brakes can be applied. Brakes used in tractors are of
drum type brakes, further they are categorized as hydraulic drum brakes. The present
work comprises of modeling and analysis of the linkage through computer aided
engineering (CAE) techniques. It includes modeling using CATIA and then the model
is imported in ANSYS for simulation purposes. In FE simulation a numerical
technique called FEM (Finite Element Method) works to carry out FE analysis. The
whole model is divided into small discrete parts called elements and studied with
different loading conditions and different results are obtained for each element and
thus the cumulative response has been observed. Aleksendric, D. et al (2015) studied
about stable brake pedal feel and given concept on consistency in application of actual
brakes with consistency in travelling of brake pedal. Paper gave new hybrid neuro
genetic model for dynamic control and optimization of disc brake performance during
a braking cycle versus brake pedal travel and enabled different setting of brake pedal.
A. Hildebrandt et al (2004) presented a simplified model for the dynamic behavior of
the pedal unit which can be tuned for specific requirements like pedal force and pedal
movement. Flad M. Rothfuss et al (2014) presented an active feedback system which
could respond to different braking conditions and their responses to different forces.
Paper presented views on passive components like dampers and springs that they
respond to applied forces linearly and do not allow nonlinear response to the forces
applied resulting driver not to have a brake pedal feel. Paper also dictated about
different braking conditions and provided results for active pedal dynamics. Yang, S.
et al (2016) studied stoke-force curve by batch simulation using AMESim and some
parameters like parameters of the decelerating devices, the stiffness coefficient of the
return spring, the assist rate of the booster were investigated and it was observed that
structural parameters influenced the pedal feeling very much like lead angle of the
screwing gearing caused self-locking if not chosen well thus resulting bad pedal
feelings along with security problems. Efforts are made to get a good pedal feel by
controlling these parameters. Vinkel Arora et al (2012) worked on determination of
better eye end design of mono leaf spring used in light motor vehicle. Computer aided
design was prepared using CATIA and then was analyzed with different loading
conditions using ANSYS. The CAE analysis of the leaf spring is carried out for
various parameters like deflection, Von-Mises stress, normal stress etc. Kumar
Krishan et al (2012) analyzed multi leaf springs having nine leaves used by a
commercial vehicle. CAE tools have been used to analyze the strength and
Finite Element Simulation of Brake Pedal Linkage of Tractor 43

performance of components and assemblies. Calculation of stress distribution and

damage of a multi leaf spring has been done by the finite element modeling and
analysis. With CATIA V5 R17 and ANSYS-11 the FE model of the leaf spring has
been generated and analysed. Bending stress and deflection were the target results and
are calculated using software under the defined boundary conditions. Experimental
and FEA results have been compared. CAE results were close to the experimental
results when the leaf spring is fully loaded. M.M. Patunkar et al (2011) worked on
leaf springs. Applications of the composite materials in leaf spring has been studied
for researches. An integral eyed mono leaf spring of composite material was
manufactured and tested for the static loading. Prediction on fatigue life to ensure
number of life cycles was also done by author for a leaf spring. For the kinematic and
dynamic comparatives leaf spring had been modeled and simulated. Also a study on
cyclic creep and cyclic deformation was done. These springs were simulated using
Pro E software and analyzed by using ANSYS. Considerable saving in material is
observed for the same loading conditions. Though lot of literature survey has been
done and found that no such CAE techniques have been applied to study the brake
linkages. The prime objective of this present work is to determine the stresses and
deflection in brake linkages with loading conditions.

2. CAD MODELLING
CAD modeling is related to the modeling of the parts or components on the computer
with the help of software. CAD modeling of this linkage has been prepared by using
CATIA software. Software gives a very realistic view of the linkage. Parts are made
in this software individually using two dimensional designs. The main commands
used for this two dimensional design are point, line, circle, ellipse, three point arcs,
and constraints. Point command is used to place a point in the drawing of part so as to
locate any point in the design. Line command is used to draw straight lines so as to
complete the outline of the parts. Circle is used to draw circular parts in the drawing
as there are many circular parts in the assembly so circle command is used for such
parts. The complete assembly rotates about a fixed circular rod so circle command is
used for this. There are many elliptical parts in the design so ellipse command with an
ellipse like shape to represent is used. At some places arcs are also made like three
point arcs is required to join two parts in the design. Some constraints are also
required during sketching to fix the various points and lines and thus drawing other
lines and shapes to these fixed points and lines. Now these two dimensional sketches
are finally converted into three dimensional parts using commands like Pad to extrude
a sketch to be converted into three dimensional part shape thus giving a realistic view
of the part, Pocket command is used to remove any three dimensional shape from the
final part. These parts are now assembled using Assembly command wherein multiple
parts open up in a single window which are joined using various constraints like offset
constraint to give a proper offset between the adjoining parts, contact constraint to
provide contact between two surfaces or two lines, manipulator is used to manipulate
the location of different parts manually this includes movement in x, y, z direction or
rotation about any of these axes too to finally arrange the part manually in the final
44 Amandeep, Atul Kumar Kaushik, Amit Goyal & Punit Kumar Rohilla

linkage. The in process assembly of the linkage is shown in figure-1 which is almost
analogous to actual fabrication assembly. Figure-2 is showing the wireframe
modeling of the linkage.

Figure-1: Assembly Design in CATIA

Figure 2: Wireframe Modeling in CATIA

3. FINITE ELEMENT SIMULATION

With CAE (computer-aided engineering) product design is improved by simulating
the performance in various industries. Simulation, validation, and optimization is
being carried out through steps like preprocessing, solving, and post processing.
Modelling of geometry is carried out in preprocessing step then in next step the model
is solved by an appropriate mathematical formulation using software comprised of
finite element method. Next in the post-processing step the results are reviewed. In
Finite Element Simulation of Brake Pedal Linkage of Tractor 45

this linkage the model is modeled and imported in ANSYS for FEA purpose and thus
the load is applied on the brake pedal and stress at various positions in the linkage is
studied to find out maximum stress and deformation. Scientist von mises gives von-
mises stress, which has been calculated here, and states that stress in any material
under working condition cannot exceed by von mises stress value to prevent material
from failure. This value is different for different materials. The yield value for the
material used i.e. Structural Steel is 250 MPa and the von mises stress should be less
than this value for a safe design of the linkage. Further in case of any member or part
under loading a deformation is produced in it and this deformation can be calculated
in all direction individually or combined too. Total deformation gives us the
maximum deformation that is produced in the body due to application of the load.
Every material is elastic up to some limit some materials are more elastic in nature
and some are very less elastic. So due to this application of load material will show
some deformation due to its elastic property and this is calculated as total deformation
or the deformation in different directions like x, y and z direction. Table-1 is showing
geometrical & physical configuration of the model.
Table 1: Geometric Detail of Model

Definition

Length Unit Meters

Bounding Box

Length X 256.37 mm

Length Y 132.1 mm

Length Z 435.62 mm

Properties

Volume 4.1475e+005 mm³

Mass 3.2558 kg

Statistics

Nodes 11958

Elements 2551

The material used for this linkage is structural steel having following mechanical
properties as in table-2 below. The solid model of brake pedal is imported in ANSYS
46 Amandeep, Atul Kumar Kaushik, Amit Goyal & Punit Kumar Rohilla

workbench and put under condition of static loading. The CAD model in ANSYS
workbench is shown in figure 3 below.
Table 2: Properties of Material

Structural
Poisson's Ratio 0.3
Young's Modulus 32.e+005 MPa
Density 7.85e-006 kg/mm³
Tensile Yield Strength 250. MPa
Thermal Expansion 1.2e-005 1/°C
Compressive Yield Strength 250. MPa
Tensile Ultimate Strength 460. MPa

The model imported in ANSYS kept under defined analysis environment as shown in
figure-3.

Figure 3: CAD Model in ANSYS

Finite Element Simulation of Brake Pedal Linkage of Tractor 47

Figure 4: Meshing of Brake Pedal

The model has been meshed using solid tetrahedral elements to divide the model in to
finite number of elements as required by the finite element analysis. A meshed model
of brake linkage is shown in figure-4 above. Imposing all boundary conditions on the
model comprised of fixed supports, load, revolute joint etc. A fully constrained model
of brake pedal is shown in figure-5 below where A is showing force, B & C as fixed
supports and D is joint rotation at the eye end.

Figure 5: Boundary Conditions of the Model

After providing realistic environment to the model solution phase starts. It calculates
different output parameters at each element and finally compiles the whole data at one
place.
48 Amandeep, Atul Kumar Kaushik, Amit Goyal & Punit Kumar Rohilla

Table 3: Loading Detail

Object Name Force
State Fully Defined
Scope
Scoping Method Geometry Selection
Geometry 1 Face
Definition
Define By Components
Type Force
X Component 0. N (ramped)
Y Component -150. N (ramped)
Z Component 0. N (ramped)

4. RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS

From the FE simulations the outcomes shown in Table-4 have been observed in terms
of CAE results.
Table 4: Static Results of Brake Pedal
Total Directional Directional
Object Name Equivalent Stress
Deformation Deformation Deformation 2
State Solved
Scope
Geometry All Bodies
Definition
Equivalent (von- Total
Type Directional Deformation
Mises) Stress Deformation
Display Time End Time
Orientation X Axis Z Axis
Results
Minimum 5.5322e-005 MPa 0. mm -6.5732e-002 mm -5.1054 mm
Maximum 173.51 MPa 21.053 mm 0.18462 mm 1.094 mm
Minimum
Part1.1.2 Part1.1.2.3.4 7457
Occurs On
Maximum
11111 Part1 111112 11111
Occurs On
Finite Element Simulation of Brake Pedal Linkage of Tractor 49

The relationship of load vs. stress and deflection has also been observed with
variation of load as in table-5 below.
Table 5: Variation of Load vs. Stress & Deflection
Load ( N) Stress (MPa) Deflection (mm)
150 173.51 21.053
140 161.95 19.65
125 144.59 17.544
115 133.03 16.141
100 115.68 14.036
90 104.11 12.632

The figure-6 & 7 below are showing deflection and stress induced in the linkage
respectively.

Figure 6: Deflection in Brake pedal\

Figure 7: Stress Contours in Brake pedal

50 Amandeep, Atul Kumar Kaushik, Amit Goyal & Punit Kumar Rohilla

Generally human being exerts 150 N forces in comfortable position or even lesser
therefore induced stress corresponding to this load is lesser than that of yield value of
the material i.e. 250 MPa. On the other hand maximum deflection obtained on
application of this force is 21.053 mm which is also justifiable from design point of
view.

5. CONCLUSIONS
From the observation of FE simulation it can be concluded that;
 The deflection produced in the model is safe with respect to linkage
application.
 The equivalent stress induced in the model is 173.51 MPa at full load
application which is quite below the yield stress of the material used i.e 250
MPa.
 The model can be observed for further improvements/optimizations.

REFERENCES
[1] Hildebrandtet, (2004). “Nonlinear control design for implementation of
specific pedal feeling in brake-by-wire car design concepts”, Proceedings of
the American Control Conference, Vol. 2, pp. 1463–1468.
[2] Aggarwal M. L., Khan R.A. and Aggarwal V.P., (2005). “A stress approach
model for predictions of fatigue life by shot peening of EN45A spring steel,”
Journal of Fatigue, Vol.28, issue 12, pp.1845-1853
[3] Aleksendric, D., Cirovic, V., and Smiljanic, D.,(2015). "Brake Pedal Feel
Control Model," SAE Technical Paper, Vol. 1, pp. 26-74
[4] Aour B., Rahmani O. and Nait Abdelaziz B., (2007). “A coupled FEM/BEM
approach and its accuracy for solving crack problems in fracture mechanics”,
International Journal
Solids Structure, Vol. 44, pp. 2523-2539
[5] Arora Vinkel, Aggarwal M.L, and Bhushan Gian, (2011). “A Comparative
Study of CAE and Experimental Results of Leaf Springs in Automotive
Vehicles” International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, Vol.
3 Issue 9, pp. 6856-6866
[6] C.K. Clarke and G.E. Borowski(2010) “Evaluation of Leaf Spring Failure”
ASM International Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention, Vol. 5, Issue 6
pp. 54-63
[7] Corvi Andrea,(1990). “A Preliminary Approach to Composite Beam Design
using FEM Analysis”, Composite Structures, Vol.16, pp. 259-275
[8] E. V. Bordatchev, and R. Henriksen, (1999). “State space modeling of
machine tool spindle units using subspace identification”, Proceedings of the
2nd IASTED International Conference on control and Application, pp. 120-
123.
Finite Element Simulation of Brake Pedal Linkage of Tractor 51

[9] Flad, M., Rothfuss, S., Diehm, G., and Hohmann, S., (2014). "Active Brake
Pedal Feedback Simulator Based on Electric Drive," SAE Int. J. Passeng.
Cars–Electron Electr. Syst., Vol. 7, Issue 1,.pp.189-200
[10] J.J. Fuentes, (2009). “Premature Fracture in Automobile Leaf Springs”
Journal of Science Direct, Engineering Failure Analysis, Vol. 16, pp. 648-655
[11] Krishan Kumar & M.L. Aggarwal, (2015). “Fatigue life prediction: A
comparative study for a three layer EN45A parabolic leaf spring,”
Engineering Solid Mechanics, Vol. 3, pp. 157-166
[12] M. M. Patunkar, D. R. Dolas,(2011) “Modelling and Analysis of composite
leaf spring under the static load condition by using FEA” ,International
Journal of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp.1 -4.
[13] M. Hanss, K. Willner,(2004) “Fuzzy arithmetical modeling and simulation of
vibrating structures with uncertain parameters,” Proceedings of the ISMA2004
Conference, pp. 3079–3094.
[14] P. Lardeur, E .Lacouture, E. Blain, (2001). “Spot weld modeling techniques
and
performances of finite element models for the vibrational behaviour of
automotive structures”, Proceedings of the ISMA25 Conference, Leuven,
Belgium, pp. 387–394.
[15] P. Lardeur, J. Hettinger, J.M. Duffal, F. Jourda, C. Lie nard,(2004). “Finite
element
modeling techniques for the vibrational behavior of galvanized assemblies,”
Proceedings of the ISMA2004 Conference, Leuven, Belgium, pp.
863–874
[16] P. Lardeur, M. Scionti, R. Scigliano, (2006). “Verification and validation of
finite
element models for the vibration behavior of a windscreen in presence of
variability”, Proceedings of the ISMA2006 Conference, Leuven, Belgium, pp.
1951–1962.
[17] Shiva Shankar and Vijayarangan, (2006). “Mono Composite Leaf Spring
for Light Weight Vehicle Design, End Joint, Analysis and Testing” ISSN
1392, Material Science Vol. 12, pp220-225
[18] W. Li, H. Pu, Q. Liu, G. Chen, and S. Zhang, (2009). “ANSYS-Based
dynamic analysis of high-speed motorized spindle”, International Conference
Computer Engineering Technology, pp. 336-340.
[19] Yang, S., Deng, W., Liu, H., He, R., (2016). "Studies on Brake Pedal Feeling
Based on a Novel Mechatronic Booster," SAE Technical Paper, pp .1-14.
52 Amandeep, Atul Kumar Kaushik, Amit Goyal & Punit Kumar Rohilla