IMPROVEMENT OF HEAT DISSIPATION RATE OF AN AUTOMOBILE BRAKE DRUM USING FINS INCORPORATION

Abstract

The concept of incorporation of fins in automobile brake drum came up as a measure to subdue or address the thermal problems associated with it, which ultimately leads to brake failure. In order not to compromise the original weight of brake drum,1/10th of the overall wall thickness of the brake drum was converted into fins on the outer surface of the brake drum for effective heat dissipation. Modeling and simulation analysis were carried out using Solidworks (2013) software, on both the existing and modified brake drum, followed by validation using theoretical finite element analysis. The minimum temperatures observed from the simulation analysis were 4935K and 4927K for the existing and the modified brake drum model respectively. While maximum von Mises stress were 22, 378.9 N/M2 and 21, 971.2 N/M2 and the maximum displacements were 5142 x 10(-5)and 5102 x 10(-5) for the existing and the modified brake drum model respectively. This implied that the modified brake drum have improved strength and better heat dissipation rate than the existing model.