Design and manufacturing of a test rig to measure brake components' fluid consumption

Brake pedal feel is very important in modern passenger car braking systems. This feeling is determined by the relationship between the force applied on the pedal by the driver’s foot, the movement of the pedal and the deceleration of the vehicle. It is such an important parameter in terms of the driver interface that the movement and deformation of the component parts of the system, which affects the force/travel relationship, must always be estimated or predicted at the design stage, or measured from previous similar installations. This last way is chosen by Applus+ IDIADA to perform these measurements. The project is carried out in Applus+ IDIADA facilities as an ideada internal project. The first part of the project is to define the techniques and the different parts to design and manufacture the test rig. The main objective of this part is to understand the problem and select the main components to build the rig in order to determine different values of fluid consumption by each part of the brake system. These components should be dimensioned to withstand specifications and ensure the proper functioning of the test. Once the materials are selected, the second step will be the design of the test rig, taking into account the materials and components selected on the first step. The test rig will be designed with CAD software. The last step will be the assembly of the CAD design and the different elements that compound the hydraulic circuit to carry out the test. Therefore, this design is going to be tested and validated with different configurations of brakes and different elements such as hoses, pipes, calipers, etc. Finally, after performing validation tests, the test rig will be used in the brakes laboratory to carry out different absorption brake tests, as part of commercially-focused projects conducted by Applus+ IDIADA