Wear, 133 (1989) 39 - 45 39

FRICTION-INDUCED NOISE AND VIBRATION OF DISC BRAKES*

S. K. THEE, P. H. S. TSANG and Y. S. WANG

~~l~~~~-Sj~na~A~~#~o~~ue Technical Center, 900 West Maple Road, MI 48084
(U.S.A. j

Summary

Several noise excitation theories have been proposed in the literature.

These theories are found to be unsatisfactory for explaining the noise
excitation phenomenon. In this paper, we propose a simple mechanical
impact (hammering) model for brake noise generation. This model is
independent of friction variation during the period of decreasing sliding
speed.

1. Introduction

-4 brake system must meet certain customer requirements for

performance, durability and noise. In recent years, disc brake noise has
become an issue of growing concern to the automotive industry, especially
to the manufacturers of disc brake systems and friction materials. Brake
noise is a very complex phenomenon owing to the design of the disc brake
system and its operating conditions. Although numerous studies of this
phenomenon have been carried out throughout the years, understanding of
its excitation mechanisms remains rather limited. Several mechanisms for
noise excitation have been proposed in the literature. North [l - 31, and
Lang and Smales 141 gave excellent surveys of these mechanisms. In general,
the various proposed excitation mechanisms can be roughly grouped into
two major schools of thought. First, it is commonly believed that the brake
squeal is caused by a rapid increase in the coefficient of friction with
decreasing speed in braking, i.e. the p us. speed curve. Fosberry and
Holubecki [ 5,6], among others> conducted extensive experimental investiga-
tions in this area. Secondly, in the case where there is no apparent change in
friction, brake squeal is believed to be caused by a system instability related
to the interaction of the structural components of the brake system. Earles
and Soar [7], Milner [8] and others contributed significantly to the advance-
ment of the instability theory. Most recently Murakami et al, [9] proposed

“Paper presented at the International Conference on Wear of Materials, Denver, CO,

U.S.A., April 8 - 14, 1989.

004%1648/89/$3.50 @ Elsevier Sequoia/Printed in The Netherlands

40

that both schools of thought should be considered and reported that the
excitation of brake squeal was influenced by both the P us. speed and the
structural instability factors.
The p us. speed, the instability, and the combined P us. speed/instability
theories accurately describe the conditions under which brake noise might
occur, but they do not clearly define the physical phenomenon which
causes brake noise.
In this paper, a simple “hammering model” for noise and vibration
excitation is presented and discussed.

2. Discussion of noise phenomenon

A disc brake consists of a caliper, two disc pads (friction material),

a rotor and other components for attaching the caliper and the rotor to
the vehicle. Usually, the brake is operated hydraulically. The caliper, which
contains a cylinder with a piston, holds the two disc pads on either side of
the rotor. The caliper may slide while the rotor is firmly attached to the
wheel. Common friction materials are made of complex resin-based, short
fiber-reinforced composites containing various friction modifiers and fillers.
Typical compositions of friction materials are found in a paper by Jacko et
al. [lo]. For stable friction and low wear, a good friction film (or glaze)
is desirable on the friction surface of the pads and rotor, as shown by the
investigations of Liu and coworkers [ll, 121. A disc pad assembly consists
of a friction material attached to a steel backing plate of a certain thickness
(about 4 mm) and configuration. Attachment can be achieved by either
riveting or chemical bonding. A rotor is generally made of grey cast iron.
It can be of either a simple solid rotor design or of a configuration with
various vents for more effective cooling. Production brake systems vary
greatly with respect to the configuration of caliper, disc pads and rotor.
The use of noise insulators on the backing plate is also recently gaining
popularity owing to the increasing concern over brake noise [ 13, 141.
In braking, through the actuation mechanism of the caliper, the two
disc pads are brought into contact with the rotor in motion. The resultant
friction between the rubbing surfaces of the rotor and pads decreases the
rotor and vehicle speed. In this braking process, the kinetic energy of the
vehicle is transformed into frictional heat, part of which is transferred to
the atmosphere by convection and radiation, and the rest of which is
dissipated through the rotor and the friction material by conduction. The
temperature of the rubbing surfaces of the rotor and pads will rise during
braking. This temperature rise will significantly affect the chemistry and
microstructure, as well as the physical properties of rubbing surfaces. In
cases where this temperature rise is sufficiently high, the desirable friction
films on the friction surfaces may be destroyed, and undesirable friction
variation and high wear rates may result. Furthermore, a brake is usually
operated at various conditions of speed, deceleration, temperature and load;
 41

the mode of applying the brake may also vary from a slow, steady decelera-
tion to hard, quick applications; or it may even be a combination of fast
and slow deceleration. Thus brake noise may be dependent not only upon
the system design but also upon the way that the brake is applied.

2.1. Types of brake noise

In general, there are several types of noise or vibration associated with
a disc brake system. They are classified into two major categories: (a) low
frequency rigid body vibration (about 100 - 1000 Hz), called brake
roughness, judder, moan or groan; (b) medium and high frequency vibration
(about 1000 - 18 000 Hz), called squeal or squeak. Each type of brake noise
has unique characteristics and probably unique excitation mechanisms. The
brake roughness or judder is a low frequency oscillation of the order of 100
Hz which can be detected by the driver’s foot or hands. The roughness
or judder could be caused by (a) dimensional variations of brake components
e.g. variation in thickness of the rotor, lack of parallelism in rotor or pad
surfaces, distortion of lug bolts or wheel and (b) variation in thickness of
the rotor as a result of either thermal effects, or massive friction material
transfer to the rotor surface. The other low frequency phenomenon,
moan, occurs at around 150 to 400 Hz and may be caused by rigid body
oscillation of the caliper and its mount. Groan or creep groan is another
kind of low frequency (100 - 400 Hz) audible vibration which generally
occurs at around 12 mile h-’ (20 km h-l). Brake squeals or squeaks generally
occur at or above 1000 Hz up to the limit of human hearing. They are
usually associated with the continuous diametrical vibration of the rotor and
may also be due to the bending and twisting modes of vibration of the pad/
shoe assemblies. Usually, brake squeals are observed towards the end of a stop.
How are these vibrations at various noise frequencies excited? As
mentioned previously, the most commonly accepted theory is that a rapid
increase in friction with decreasing sliding speed causes brake noise. If this
is so, a brake system being dragged at a slow constant speed would be less
likely to generate noise than one being stopped, since the latter has the
potential for a rapid increase in friction with decreasing speed. However,
in practice, the reverse is found to be true. In other words, a brake being
dragged generates more noise than one being stopped or snubbed (from
a high speed to a lower speed without coming to a complete stop). Also,
during a stop, noise can occur quite suddently within a brief period of time in
the order of about 50 ms during which the sliding speed remains virtually
constant or does not change appreciably. Thus it should be questioned
whether or not this theory is correct. In fact, in comparing noisy stops with
quiet stops in our inertial dynamometer study, no correlation is found
between friction change and noise excitation, when the friction level at the
time of noise occurrence is examined closely. Therefore a noisy stop does
not always have a rapid increase in friction with decreasing sliding speed
towards the end of the stop where noise tends to occur; nor does stable
friction throughout a stop guarantee a quiet stop.
42

According to modal testing of disc brake rotors, some 70 to 80 natural

frequencies and vibrational modes are observed in the range 1000 - 16 000
Hz. Similarly, 30 to 40 frequencies and vibrational modes are observed for
a typical disc pad assembly (friction material and steel backing plate), and
about the same number for a caliper. When a rotor, a disc pad assembly, or
a caliper vibrates by bending and twisting at these high rates, it must be
asked what might be occurring at the sliding interface and what is happening
to its normal force and friction.
It is very likely that the area of contact between the rotor and the
friction pads is small while noise or vibration is occurring, and the contact
location changes rapidly. In a case like this, what would be the level of
instantaneous normal load and friction? It must be asked whether con-
ventional experimental measurement techniques are adequate for detecting
these rapid changes in normal load and friction. It appears that conventional
p vs. speed curves do not accurately represent measurements of the real
physical phenomena occurring at these high rates. Thus it is suggested that
new experimental techniques be considered for observing and measuring
these rapid changes in normal load and friction while noise is being excited
and that a new model of noise excitation mechanism is necessary for
explaining the phenomenon.
It might also be suggested that the destruction of friction film (glaze)
on the sliding surfaces yields rougher rubbing surfaces, and causes a sub-
sequent change in friction and wear behavior, as well as brake noise. If this
is true, brake noise would occur more frequently under more severe braking
conditions at high temperatures, where friction film destruction takes place
more readily. Contrary to this notion, brake noise is more frequently
observed under mild braking conditions of slow speed, slow deceleration,
light pressures and relatively low temperatures in the neighborhood of 150 .
250 “c.

2.2. The hammering model for noise activation

As stated above, modal analysis of brake components with either a
hammer or a shaker shows that the rotor has 70 - 80 natural frequencies
and vibrational modes, the friction pad or shoe assembly has 30 - 40, and
the caliper also has 30 - 40 of its own. It is important to note that the noise
frequencies identified in a vehicle test of the same brake also match those
from modal analysis of the brake components. Based on this observation,
the authors hypothesize that the brake noise and vibration might be
activated by a “hammering” type of mechanism, not dissimilar to the modal
analysis in which the vibration of the brake components is actually induced
by a hammer or a shaker. The “hammering” during braking might occur
between the friction pad/shoe assemblies and the rotor, or between the pad/
shoe assemblies and the caliper. It must then be asked how the hammering
is initiated. In other words, which component gets “hammered” into natural
modes of vibration and subsequently begins to hammer the other compo-
nent( s)?
 43

Abendroth’s experimental study on brake noise with a derotator system

on a brake dynamometer indicates that after a certain number of braking
stops or snubs, the rotor surface can develop 9 or 13 equally spaced high_
spots, which appear as waviness or hills and valleys on the surface [15].
The recent study by Inoue [16] also shows that thermal deformation of
the rotor can occur during braking as a result of the frictional heat which
causes the formation of localized hot spots on the rotor surface. It is easy to
imagine that if the friction pad has a length approximately equal to two
neighboring hills on the rotor surface, the pad may be tilted or cocked when
slid across these hills and valleys, in a fashion rather similar to a small boat
rocking up and down against a series of waves of certain wavelength.
Therefore we can also imagine that “hammering” during braking may
be initiated by the rocking action of the disc pads when they slide across
the rotor surface against the “hills and valleys” which are formed by thermal
distortion (or by any other mechanical distortion such as uneven rotor
wear or massive friction material transfer to the rotor). The impacted pads
might in turn hammer the caliper or the rotor, and thus start a chain reaction
of hammering among the brake components. During this process one or
more components might be excited into natural modes of vibration or
resonance which result in noise and vibration, The order as to which com-
ponent would go into resonance first probably depends on the specific
system design and its operational conditions.
Thus, this simple mechanical impact (hammering) model can explain
the excitation mechanism of brake noise without having to deal directly
with the frictional force, or the destruction of the friction film.
The model is also useful in explaining the observation that brake squeal
is more likely to occur at lower speeds. At relatively low speeds, the disc
pads have to slide over the hills and valleys of the rotor surface in a rocking
or cocking motion, which leads to eventual hammering and noise as
described above. At higher speeds, however, we believe that it becomes
possible for the pads to skim over the hills and valleys without resulting in
severe rocking motions, just as a speed boat skims over the water surface.
In other words, the hammering action could be avoided at higher
braking speeds, and the brake would have a lower tendency to induce noise
under such conditions.
The model is not inconsistent with the instability theory. The action of
hammering can be viewed as an effect of an “unstable state” induced by
unfavorable interaction among structural components. While the instability
theory depicts the conditions of component interaction which can lead to
the excitation of noise or vibration, the hammering model describes the
physical phenomenon by which the brake noise is excited. It is generally
believed that the phenomenon of increasing friction, with decreasing sliding
speed is due to the difference between a high static friction and a lower
dynamic friction, or stick-slip. According to Schallamach’s work on the
stick-slip phenomenon [17], the more elastic member of the two rubbing
surfaces buckles at the interface during the stick-slip motion, and as it
44

recovers from this buckling, a wave of detachment sweeps across the contact
region, with a movement similar to that of a caterpillar. We believe that this
sweeping wave of detachment produces the same effect as a series of tiny
hammers, which can provide additional energy for exciting the components
into noise or vibration. Therefore the stick-slip motion can be viewed
simply as a secondary hammering mechanism.
It was mentioned earlier that the use of noise insulators was gaining
popul~ity for reducing disc brake squeal. A typical noise ~sulator consists
of an elastomer of high damping capacity, sandwiched between two thin stiff
steel plates with certain adhesives. This sandwich assembly is then attached
to the back of the steel backing plate of the disc pad. It has been reported
that the shearing action of the high damping elastomer between the plates
during braking is responsible for reducing the brake squeal [ 13, 141. We
believe that the efficiency of the noise insulator can also be equated to its
effectiveness in minimizing the hammering action between the disc pad and
the caliper structure.

3. Summary and conclusions

Brake noise is a complex phenomenon. Several theories on brake noise

excitation have been proposed in the literature. However, these theories are
found to be inadequate in explaining the noise excitation phenomenon. We
propose a simple mechanical impact model (hammering) for brake noise
excitation. This physical model does not rely on friction variation to explain
the excitation of noise and ~bration. The model is not inconsis~nt with
the “instability” theory, although it differs from the latter in that it depicts
the physical process by which the noise and vibration are activated. More-
over, stick-slip can also be treated as a secondary mechanism of hammering
by this simple mechanical impact model.
We also believe that more advanced and accurate measurement
techniques other than the conventional experiment techniques for
measuring the normal load and frictional force are needed to aid study of
and increase understanding of the complex but important noise phenom-
enon.

References

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1972.
2 M. R. North, Disc brake squeal, Proc. Conf. on Brake of Road Vehicles. 1976,
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1976, pp. 169 - 176.
3 M. R. North, A survey of published work on vibration in braking systems, MIRA
Bull., 4, 1969.
4 A. M. Lang and H. Smales, An Approach to the Solution of Disc Brake Vibration
Problems, Paper C37/1983, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1983. pp. 223 -
231.
 45

5 R. A. C. Fosberry and Z. Holubecki, An investigation of the cause and nature of

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