A vehicle brake is a brake

Brake

A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....

 used to slow down a vehicle

Vehicle

A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....

 by converting its kinetic energy

Kinetic energy

The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...

 into heat. The basic hydraulic system, most commonly used, usually has six main stages. The brake pedal

Automobile pedal

An automobile may have two to four foot pedals. The arrangement is the same for both right- and left-hand traffic. From left to right:* normally operated by the left foot:**clutch pedal, not in the case of automatic transmission...

, the brake boost (vacuum servo), the master cylinder

Master cylinder

The master cylinder is a control device that converts non-hydraulic pressure into hydraulic pressure, in order to move other device which are located at the other end of the hydraulic system, such as one or more slave cylinders...

, the apportioning valves and finally the roadwheel

Wheel

A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...

 brakes themselves.

Friction brake

A friction brake is a type of automotive brake that slows or stops a vehicle by converting kinetic energy into heat energy, via friction. The heat energy is then dissipated into the atmosphere. In most systems, the brake acts on the vehicle's roadwheel hubs, but some vehicles use brakes which act on the axle

Axle

An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...

s or transmission

Transmission (mechanics)

A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...

. Friction brakes may be of either drum or disc type.

Drum brake

A drum brake

Drum brake

A drum brake is a brake in which the friction is caused by a set of shoes or pads that press against a rotating drum-shaped part called a brake drum....

 is a brake in which the friction is caused by a set of brake shoe

Brake shoe

A brake shoe is the part of a braking system which carries the brake lining in the drum brakes used on automobiles, or the brake block in train brakes and bicycle brakes.-Automobile drum brake:...

s that press against the inner surface of a rotating drum. The drum is connected to the rotating roadwheel hub.

Disc brake

The disc brake

Disc brake

The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...

 is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a road wheel. A brake disc (or rotor in U.S. English), usually made of cast iron

Cast iron

Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...

 or ceramic

Ceramic

A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...

, is connected to the wheel or the axle. To stop the wheel, friction

Friction

Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:...

 material in the form of brake pads (mounted in a device called a brake caliper) is forced mechanically

Mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...

, hydraulically

Hydraulics

Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...

, pneumatically

Compressed air

Compressed air is air which is kept under a certain pressure, usually greater than that of the atmosphere. In Europe, 10 percent of all electricity used by industry is used to produce compressed air, amounting to 80 terawatt hours consumption per year....

 or electromagnetically

Electromechanics

In engineering, electromechanics combines the sciences of electromagnetism, of electrical engineering and mechanics. Mechanical engineering in this context refers to the larger discipline which includes chemical engineering, and other related disciplines. Electrical engineering in this context...

 against both sides of the disc. Friction causes the disc and attached wheel to slow or stop.

Electromagnetic brake

Electromagnetic brake

Electromagnetic brake

An eddy current brake, like a conventional friction brake, is responsible for slowing an object, such as a train or a roller coaster. However, unlike electro-mechanical brakes, which apply mechanical pressure on two separate objects, eddy current brakes slow an object by creating eddy currents...

s slow an object through electromagnetic induction, which creates resistance and in turn either heat or electricity. Friction brakes apply pressure on two separate objects to slow the vehicle in a controlled manner.

See also

• Air brake (road vehicle)
  Air brake (road vehicle)
  Air brakes are used in trucks, buses, trailers, and semi-trailers. George Westinghouse first developed air brakes for use in railway service. He patented a safer air brake on March 5, 1872. Originally designed and built for use on railroad train application, air brakes remain the exclusive systems...
  
  
• Anti-lock Braking System
  Anti-lock braking system
  An anti-lock braking system is a safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.An ABS generally offers...
  
   (ABS)
• Line lock
  Line lock
  A line lock is a device that allows the front brakes to lock independently of the rear brakes via a switch. The device is an electric solenoid that controls a valve which is placed on the front brake line, and is controlled by a switch...
  
  
• Automobile
  Automobile
  An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
  
  
• Automobile accident
• Bicycle brake systems
  Bicycle brake systems
  A bicycle brake is used to slow down or stop a bicycle. There have been various types of brake used throughout history, and several are still in use today...
  
  
• Brake lining
  Brake lining
  Brake linings are the consumable surfaces in brake systems, such as drum brakes and disc brakes used in transport vehicles.-History:Brake linings were invented by Bertha Benz during her historic first long distance car trip in the world in August 1888.-Structure and function:Brake linings are...
  
  
• Brake fade
  Brake fade
  Vehicle braking system fade, or brake fade, is the reduction in stopping power that can occur after repeated or sustained application of the brakes, especially in high load or high speed conditions...
  
  
• Brake fluid
  Brake fluid
  Brake fluid is a type of hydraulic fluid used in hydraulic brake and hydraulic clutch applications in automobiles, motorcycles, light trucks, and some bicycles. It is used to transfer force into pressure...
  
  
• Brake bleeding
  Brake bleeding
  Brake bleeding is the procedure performed on hydraulic brake systems whereby the brake lines are purged of any air bubbles...
  
  
• Car safety
  Car safety
  Automobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimize the occurrence and consequences of automobile accidents. Automobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimize the occurrence and consequences of...
  
  

• Electromagnetic brake
  Electromagnetic brake
  An eddy current brake, like a conventional friction brake, is responsible for slowing an object, such as a train or a roller coaster. However, unlike electro-mechanical brakes, which apply mechanical pressure on two separate objects, eddy current brakes slow an object by creating eddy currents...
  
  
• Electronic Brakeforce Distribution
  Electronic brakeforce distribution
  Electronic brakeforce distribution ', Electronic brakeforce limitation ' is an automobile brake technology that automatically varies the amount of force applied to each of a vehicle's brakes, based on road conditions, speed, loading, etc...
  
  
• Electronic Parking Brake
• Engine braking
  Engine braking
  Engine braking is where the retarding forces within an engine are used to slow a vehicle down, as opposed to using an external braking mechanism, for example friction brakes or magnetic brakes....
  
  
• Band brake
  Band brake
  A band brake is a primary or secondary brake, consisting of a band of friction material that tightens concentrically around a cylindrical piece of equipment to either prevent it from rotating , or to slow it . This application is common on winch drums and chain saws and is also used for some...
  
  
• Hand brake
  Hand brake
  In cars, the hand brake is a latching brake usually used to keep the car stationary, and in manual transmission vehicles, as an aid to starting the vehicle from stopped when going up an incline - with one foot on the clutch , the other on the accelerator In cars, the hand brake (emergency brake,...
  
  
• Hydraulic brake
  Hydraulic brake
  The hydraulic brake is an arrangement of braking mechanism which uses brake fluid, typically containing ethylene glycol, to transfer pressure from the controlling unit, which is usually near the operator of the vehicle, to the actual brake mechanism, which is usually at or near the wheel of the...
  
  
• Hydraulic fluid
  Hydraulic fluid
  Hydraulic fluids, also called hydraulic liquids, are the medium by which power is transferred in hydraulic machinery. Common hydraulic fluids are based on mineral oil or water...
  
  
• Inboard brake
  Inboard brake
  An inboard braking system is an automobile technology wherein the disk brakes are mounted on the chassis of the vehicle, rather than directly on the wheel hubs...
  
  
• Just Brakes
  Just Brakes
  Just Brakes is a brake specialty repair chain based in Dallas, Texas. As of 2010, the company operates approximately 160 stores across multiple states.- History :...
  
  
• Parking brake
• Regenerative brake
  Regenerative brake
  A regenerative brake is an energy recovery mechanism which slows a vehicle or object down by converting its kinetic energy into another form, which can be either used immediately or stored until needed...