Friction-induced noise in drum brakes: finite-element modeling and experiments with special focus on damping

Abstract Brake squeal in friction brakes is a typical audible noise phenomenon in vehicles leading to high development and sometimes warranty costs for the suppliers. The friction forces generated during braking are responsible for self-excited vibrations in the audible frequency range starting from $$1\hbox { kHz}$$ 1 kHz . In the past countermeasures against friction-induced vibrations are mostly investigated for disk brakes while the present study focuses on drum brakes. Damping is in the context of self-excited vibrations often one of the key measures. Nowadays recuperative braking in electric vehicles relieves the conventional friction brake. Due to safety reasons, electric vehicles need to possess at least a second independent brake system. Therefore, simpler drum brakes are on the rise again when developing brake systems. Compared to brake disks, where damping elements can hardly be implemented, the freely accessible drum surface and the brake shoes offer so far unused potential for applying passive damping measures. The present paper focuses on how damping measures influence the noise behavior of drum brakes. Industrial and non-industrial brake components are investigated in detail. Experimental as well as numerical procedures are used to assess damping and noise characteristics.