Characterization of the brake system of a Formula SAE vehicle

SAE Formula vehicles are required under extreme braking conditions during the race, where four-wheel braking is required. The brake assembly is composed of mechanical and hydraulic systems, which depending on the assembly of the components, can be subject to losses, causing a variation of the expected behavior. During braking situations, it is important to consider the load transfer in order to configure the braking distribution between the front and rear axles of the car with the best setup desired. The main objective of this work is to formulate a numerical model using the empirical data from the brake system of a SAE Formula vehicle to ensure that, after force is applied to the pedal, and the corresponding load is transferred to the front axle, the vehicle can lock the four wheels. Experimental data was acquired through static tests carried out on the bench and prototype vehicle, controlling the change of pressure and force between the front and rear axles through the balance bar mechanism. These tests were performed using low cost instrumentation, based on the Arduino platform. These analyses ensures that a vehicle with a brake distribution configured by the balance bar will lock the four wheels during the brake tests.