Light duty automotive drum brake squeal analysis using the finite-element method

The method presented in this work intends to analyze drum brake design parameters of a light duty automotive drum brake system. The main objective of this work is to correlate brake materials and unstability parameters to identify which condition will effectively reduce squeal propensity. The methodology involves (a) the finite-element method of the brake components, namely, drum, shoes, and frictional linings, (b) static calculations to get a pre-stress state around which (c) is computed the complex eigenvalues of the system. Hence, positive real parts indicate dynamic instabilities which are explored by varying parameters, namely, the modulus of elasticity of the materials and the friction coefficient at the contact of the shoes with the drum. According to calculations, it was observed that there exist a given range of values for Young’s modulus and friction coefficient that are favorable to reduce drum brake squeal occurrence. In addition, the method proposed delivered results that match with brake squeal literature.