A study of the influence of brake pad topography on the generation of brake noise and vibration

The main objective of this study is to present the importance of considering the brake pad surface topography on predicting noise and vibration of braking system through finite element method (FEM). In this paper, a numerical analysis of disc brake squeal using a three-dimensional FE model of an actual disc brake system is presented. Firstly, the FE model is validated using the results of the parts and assembly's FRF measurements, followed by using a complex eigenvalue analysis to assess the brake stability. Subsequently, the perfect and real surface topography of friction material are considered to examine its effect on squeal noise generation. As a result, it is observed that the real pad surface predicted less unstable frequencies than the perfect pad surface.