TEMPERATURE AND THERMAL STRESSES IN A BRAKE DRUM SUBJECTED TO CYCLIC HEATING

Abstract

For the optimized design of a brake drum, it appears to be very important to examine the transient temperature and thermal stress distributions in the brake drum. In the direct measurement, of them, however, a number of difficulties are involved In this study, in order to examine the initiation mechanism of the thermal crack in the brake drum, the temperature and thermal stress distributions in the brake drum in the course of their heating and cooling were investigated by using a two-dimensional axisymmetric Finite Element Method. The effect of a circumferential fin near the open end of the brake drum was also examined.