The braking system of a car may not have appeared to be what it is today without the help of hydraulic system.
Not only has the break, the system had lots of functions in the entire units of modern cars. The hydraulic system has a basic principle which it applies to any device the system is built inside.
Car break is the major safety measure in any car and shares the control mechanism with the moving parts of the car. It serves as the major link between the moving parts and non-moving parts in the wheels of any vehicle with the aim of slowing down and stopping the whole system.
Friction plays a vital role in determining how the braking system will work. The friction created between the break and the moving parts may be determined from the material used in the braking system.
Since the system requires enough friction to function effectively, grease and oil are not usually allowed on the breaking pads or drums since they are friction reducing agents.
The moving parts that would come in contact with the break usually have the absence of oil or grease.
Meanwhile, due to the nature of the operation, the system usually generate heat, wear and tear within the breaking parts.
Lots of automobile manufacturing brands have the problem of making the braking system that could stand the test of time without wear and tear. It is this deficiency that usually causes breaking system failure in cars leading to most road accidents.
The excessive heat generated from the braking system could ignite fire through any of the tires or the fuel tank.
The mechanical force needed to move the breaking system levers in the manual breaking method is usually high and may fail to function sometimes.
The lever braking system made driving to appear risky and the driver may not be confident of the braking system while driving especially if the speed is very high which may need extra manual force to overcome in the case of emergency stop.
The system was used by the cars produced before the popular adaptation of the hydraulic technology.
The breaking friction of a car break is usually created when pressure from the brake pedal is transmitted to the wheels. The braking system is mounted at the wheels so that it remains stationary to the wheel rotation.
The pressure will move a stationary part of the brake assembly to contact a rotating portion connected to the wheel.
As the two surfaces meet, friction is created which slows the moving part and possibly bring it to a stop if the contacting pressure is high and consistent, the whole action will bring the rotation of the wheel to the slow or stop state.
During the action, heat is generated and minor wear and tear may be taking place at that moment which will become noticeable after using the braking system for a long time.
THE HYDRAULIC PRINCIPLE OF A CAR BREAKING SYSTEM
Before the inclusion of hydraulic technology into car braking system, it had been a difficult situation dealing with car breaks.
The hydraulic system offers lots of advantages which outweighs its disadvantages and that includes the reduction mechanical force, which means less mechanical force will be needed to overcome larger force.
The idea when incorporated into breaking system reduced the problem of direct force application rather little application of force will build enough pressure needed to activate the braking system.
The system works such that whenever a driver steps on the brake pedal the hydraulic will activate enough pressure to direct the applied force directly to the breaking drums or disc.Â
The force from the brake pedal operates on a hydraulic piston mounted under a fluid reservoir called the master cylinder.
The action of the brake pedal on the master cylinder will force a good volume of fluid to flow out of the cylinder with developed in-built pressure the fluid will move through the hoses and tubing brake lines to transfer the pressure to a wheel cylinder at each wheel.
The wheel cylinder usually has pistons that move outward under direct hydraulic pressure and their outward movement will mechanically move and apply the brakes.
The quality of any car braking system is based on the manufacturer, some cars are known with an accurate breaking system with durability and reliability.
When a particular model of a car has issues with braking system, it is possible that any of that car model will have a similar problem since their production process is usually automated using same parts and materials.
The hydraulic braking system has contributed to the reduction of road accidents through more accurate and reliable response as proven by modern cars. Though some has argued that lever braking system gives a faster response if it is in perfect condition but will require high force input from the driver.
The system has made driving to be fun rather being a task that will require high human force which made the weak to be afraid of driving.
The system has been extended to other areas of car operations especially the modern cars which use hydraulic for steering the wheels of the car instead of the traditional method of linkages and lever connections, and that has made steering of cars to be easy, with little application of force the car will turn to any direction.
Though it has the disadvantage of possible fluid leakages and fluid volume reductions, their advantage of higher efficiency and safer performance placed the technology above the existing ones.
Almost all mobile vehicles and aircraft now have a hydraulic system in one aspect of the function or the other and usually incorporated into specific units in these machines.
Besides cars, hydraulic system had played vital roles in modifying existing technologies which include industrial machines, artificial intelligence robots, turbines, cranes, and heavy-duty vehicles.
