Characteristics of Services Brakes and Different Types of Service Brakes Used in Vehicles

Brakes of an automobile play an important role in controlling and protecting the vehicle from unwanted shocks because of bad roads or things/people coming in front while in motion. In this article let us discus the service brakes and their characteristics and also different types of service brakes. First, we will discuss what do service brake mean.

The service brake in an automobile is the primary braking system. These brakes are typically operated by foot. A part from service brakes there are parking and emergency brakes are also used in modern automobile.

Characteristics of service brakes
Most common characteristics of a service brake systems that can be found in modern automobiles are as follows

Friction

• Friction is the most common configuration in a service brakes. one of two components are equipped to create friction
• Brake shoes or brake pads, these are used in the friction based braking system.
• Both Brake shoes and brake pads,include a rotating device with a stationary pad and rotating wear surface.

Pumping

• In this type of brakes a pump in equipped within the system and uses piston motor to cut off the fuel supply to the vehicle.
• This process leads to internal pumping losses to the engine, which results in causes braking.

Electromagnetic

• In this type of brake, an electric motor is used, which is built-in with the vehicle.
• This type of braking system used in many hybrid vehicles for regenerative brakes.
• Some vehicles will have a generator with an internal short circuit called a secondary retarder brake.

Different variety of braking systems are found in a vehicle, depending on its use, size and weight.

Types of service brakes used in vehicles
There are different types of brake systems found in a vehicle. For example, modern passenger cars use an anti-lock brake system, whereas semi-trucks and trailers use an air brake system.

Now lets us discuss about the different types of brakes used in a vehicle. Some of the Types of service brakes are as follows,

Disc brakes

• It's a friction type braking system.
• It consists of a brake disc/rotor a brake pad which is fixed to the a device called caliper to slow the rotation of the vehicle’s wheels.
• Brake pads are pushed against the brake’s rotor with a set of calipers.

Drum brakes

• It's also one of the types of friction braking system.
• It consists of brake shoes and brake drums to stop or slow the rotation of the wheel
• A set of shoes or pads are presses against a brake drum.

Single-circuit Hydraulic Brakes

• It's a hydraulic type braking system.
• It consists of a master cylinder fed by a hydraulic brake fluid and connected by a system of brake lines and rubber fittings attached to wheel cylinders.
• Each wheel has opposing pistons drum brake.
• Hydraulic pressure is produced to push the piston and these hydraulic pressure forces the brake pads into wheel cylinder.

Brake-by-wire

• It consists of a system of electronic wires.
• When a brake pedal is pushed, they measures the electrical resistance and sends signals to the vehicles computer also known as Electronic Control Unit, which calculates the applied force and applies it to the hydraulic pump system.

Anti lock Braking System (ABS)

• An electrical control unit, hydraulic actuator and individual wheel speed sensors that work together to prevent brakes from locking up when they are “slammed on” by rapidly pumping brakes when a potential “lockup” is detected.
• Each wheel is controlled individually to maintain traction.

Power brake booster

• In this system a vacuum power naturally produced in an engine to amplify the force applied by the driver’s foot to stop even heavy vehicles.

Air brakes

• In this system, air is used instead of hydraulic fluid to activate a standard disc or drum brake.
• We can see this type of brakes usually in buses, trucks and trailers.

Advanced emergency braking system (AEBS)

• It's an autonomous safety system that has sensors to monitor a vehicle’s nearness of other vehicles and automatically applies emergency brake to avoid collision

Brake systems, whether it's air, hydraulics or computer, are equipped for safety. These are some of the brakes used in a vehicle.