Numerical Analysis and Experimental Testing correlation applied to Braking Systems

The attention of automotive industry for comfort related phenomena has significantly growth in recent years and when dealing with braking systems, this aspect is taken into account at the very beginning of its design phases. In the very earlier stages of the development of braking systems, simulations are performed with the aim of optimizing NVH behavior and trying to reduce products time-to-market. The growing use of numerical simulations for structural and dynamic analysis needs the comparison with real-world experimental measurements. This study investigates and tries to improve the correlation between numerical and experimental methodologies in free-free and operating conditions. The project was conducted in the NVH department at Brembo, a global leader in the design and production of braking systems. The analysis focused on the three main components involved in the braking phase: the brake pads, the brake caliper, and the brake disc. Replicating free-free conditions for each individual component is relatively straightforward, and the results are already quite promising. However, further studies have been conducted to make the procedure more quantifiable, objective, and repeatable. In contrast, a new methodology was developed to describe the operating conditions of the entire suspension system. The objective was to reconstruct the experimental operational deflection shape (ODS) of the components during system instabilities, and evaluate its consistency with simulation outcomes. The results confirm the well-known challenges of measuring complex, nonlinear systems under real-life conditions. In order to prove the methodology's correctness, it was also applied to a simpler case, delivering promising results. These outcomes suggest that the approach is fundamentally valid. However, it can be furtherly refined to increase accuracy and reliability, investigating some aspects that has been identified as improvement areas.