Wheel Cover Affected by the Heat Generated in the Brake System

A vehicle converts kinetic energy in heat through the brake system during a typical braking action. The friction between the "brake pad" and the brake disk surface is the physical mechanism that allows this completion of work. The brake disk attached parts are thermally affected by this generated heat. The generated heat flows through the brake disk attached parts, which are thermally affected. The heat flow can negatively affect these parts, specifically, the wheel cover. This article shows a comparative study between numerical simulation and physical test about the brake disk, evaluating heat effect on the wheel cover. The physical test allows previewing damage by excess of temperature on the wheel cover on the road common use of the vehicle. A computational model was developed using commercial software to calculate temperatures in this part based on the physical test. All computational parameters were adjusted trying to fit the computational results with the test results. This article shows a basic theory about the phenomena, a computational tool overview, a description of the test, a description of the computational model, a comparison between the computational results with the test results and future developments and expectative.