Types of Car Brakes Systems and Their Definitions

Types of car brakes in general, brake systems are divided into two types: disc brakes and drum brakes. That is what many people know.

However, when examined in detail, we will find that there are many types of brakes used in cars.

Therefore, this time we will review in detail the types of brakes in cars and their explanations.

But, we divide it into three categories, namely;

• Based on function
• Based on how it works
• Based on the control system

A. Types of Brakes Based on Function

Based on use or function, there are two types of brakes, namely

1. Primary Brake

The primary brake is the main braking system on the vehicle that actively maintains the safety of the car. In other words, the main brake is the brake that will work when we press the brake pedal to slow down the vehicle. This brake is located on each wheel.

In cars, the main brake is driven by one pedal, the brake pedal, so that when we step on the brake pedal, all four wheels will brake together. While on motorcycles, there are usually two brake controls. Front brake and rear brake.

2. Parking/Hand Brake

If the main brake functions to reduce the speed of the vehicle, the parking brake is used to hold the vehicle. This parking brake does not function as the main brake because although it can be the same principle as the main brake, the parking brake mechanism does not have a return spring.

Thus, this brake is more suitable for locking the wheels of the vehicle so that they do not rotate. This parking brake is very useful when the car is parked on a downhill road and secures the vehicle from running on its own.

This brake is activated through a lever that has a lock. So that, when pulled automatically the wheels, will be locked. Apart from using a lever, there is also a parking brake that is activated via a button. This system is known as an Electronic Park Brake (EPB) which is driven with the help of an electric motor.

B. Types of Brakes Based on How They Work

The principle of brakes does use the change of motion energy to heat through friction. But, there are several techniques for rubbing, namely.

1. Drum Brake

Drum brakes use two brake pads that rub against a brake drum. This brake drum is shaped like a bowl with iron material, on this drum wall the brake lining will press. The direction of the lining pressure in this type is outward so that the drum rotation will be stopped if the drum wall is exposed to the friction force of the lining.

This brake system has a wider friction surface. We can see that the shape of the lining used has a wide surface. So that the braking power that can be achieved is also large, which is why drum brakes are widely used in heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks.

2. Disc Brakes

While the disc brake system works using the clamping principle. In this case, the brake disc as a swiped medium will get a pinch from the brake lining linked to the knuckle.

This causes the disk to stop rotating when the lining clamps the surface of the disk. From the friction area, the disc brake type is smaller but because the direction of pressure is opposite / clamping, even a little brake power can stop the vehicle.

Therefore, disc brakes are known as responsive and more powerful brakes to stop the vehicle. However, these brakes have a disadvantage when stopping a vehicle that has a large momentum because the narrow friction is not able to counteract the rotational energy of the wheels.

3. Engine Brake

For the third type, you may consciously use it often or even you don't recognize this brake system. As the name implies, engine brakes use engine energy to brake. How does it work?

When the engine decelerates, the gas valve from the beginning is open and immediately closed. This affects the piston movement which seems to be held back by the vacuum of the intake manifold. So that the engine speed tends to drop immediately.

If in this condition we connect the clutch and enter the gear, the vehicle speed will be held due to this engine RPM slowdown. This deceleration is referred to as an engine brake.

However, the engine brake does not enter the car's main braking system because the engine brake only works when the engine is decelerating.

Read also most important parts of a car engine

C. Brake System Based on Controller

The brake controller is the mechanism of the pedal or lever in charge of converting the power given by our hands into movement on the caliper. There are three types of controllers namely;

1. Mechanical Brake

Mechanical brakes are brake controllers that utilize wire cables as a link between the brake lever and the brake disc lever. This is commonly found in motorcycle drum brake systems or motorcycle rear brakes.

The mechanical brake is the simplest brake activator because the movement of the lever is directly passed to the brake actuator through the wire cable. However, this metal-based wire can also distort or expand so we need to make brake adjustments to this brake system so that the brakes are always firm.

2. Hydraulic Brake

Unlike the mechanical type that uses wire cables, the hydraulic brake system uses fluid as a power distributor. The principle uses Pascal's law where when the pressure imposed on the liquid will be forwarded in all directions equally large.

This fluid will receive pressure from the piston which is pushed due to the movement of the pedal/brake lever. Because the fluid is pressurized by the piston, the fluid will push in all directions with a large pressure according to the piston pressure. Here, the fluid push will be directed to the caliper or wheel cylinder to be converted back into motion energy.

This fluid brake system is widely used because it is proven to be more effective and responsive. After all, the braking power will be channeled as a whole without loss of power.

3. Wind Brake

In principle, the wind brake system is also the same as the hydraulic brake, except that the braking power is not obtained from the pedal stepped on by the driver but from the pressurized wind. While the brake pedal only functions to open the valve that channels pressurized air with the brake actuator.

In this case, there are two components, namely the brake chamber which will convert wind pressure into motion energy, and the air tank as a pressurized air provider. If the gas pedal is pressed, these two components will be connected so that the pressurized air will push toward the brake chamber to move the brake actuator lever.

Because it uses wind pressure, the braking power is also very large. This is used on large vehicles such as buses and trucks.