SAE TECHNICAL

PAPER SERIES

2000-01-0445

An Analytical Method to Predict Thermal

Distortion of a Brake Rotor
Thomas Valvano and Kwangjin Lee
Delphi Automotive Systems

Reprinted From: Brake Technology: ABS/TCS Systems, NVH, and Foundation Brakes
(SP1537)

SAE 2000 World Congress

Detroit, Michigan
March 6-9, 2000
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2000-01-0445

An Analytical Method to Predict Thermal

Distortion of a Brake Rotor
Thomas Valvano and Kwangjin Lee
Delphi Automotive Systems
Copyright 2000 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.

ABSTRACT

calculate the temperature rise, thermal stress and distortion under a given brake schedule.

The severe thermal distortion of a brake rotor can affect

important brake system characteristics such as the system response and brake judder propensity. This paper
will propose a technique to determine the thermal distortion under transient or steady state conditions. The technique involves utilizing a PC-based computer program to
calculate the necessary thermal parameters and apply
the results as input to a finite element-based thermal
stress analysis. This unique approach provides a reliable
methodology to determine the heat input and cooling
characteristics of a given brake system in addition to
resultant distortion and stress components within the
brake rotor. Analysis results are also compared to measured temperature and distortion data.

THERMAL STRESS AND DISTORTION

ANALYSIS PROCEDURE
The proposed thermal analysis process is schematically
shown in Figure 1. With given vehicle and brake system
parameters and specific brake schedule, a PC-based
thermal analysis tool calculates the frictional heat inputs
to the rotor and pad, calculates the average heat transfer
coefficients from the given cooling coefficients, and
determines temperatures of various brake components
including rotor, pad, and brake fluid. The advantage of
using a PC-based tool is its fast run-time and friendly
user interface with its many customized features. If thermal stress and distortion need to be calculated, the thermal analysis tool can be used as a preprocessor for FE
analyses by providing the necessary thermal inputs and
outputs.

INTRODUCTION
Braking performance of a vehicle can be significantly
affected by the temperature rise in the brake components. High temperatures during braking, may cause
brake fade, premature wear, brake fluid vaporization,
bearing failure, thermal cracks, and thermally-excited
vibration. Therefore, it is important to predict the temperature rise of a given brake system and assess its thermal
performance in the early design stage.
For decades, finite element analysis (FEA) has been a
preferred method to address some of the above concerns
such as rotor temperature rise and thermal cracks [1-4]. It
can be used to compare the design alternatives and
hence, optimize the brake rotor design prior to production
of prototype components. However, difficulty arises when
it is used to predict the temperature rise or thermal stress
level, in an absolute sense, since the thermal loading and
the convection boundary conditions are not well defined
under a given braking schedule. Inaccurate heat inputs
and outputs will produce unreliable results. Analysis error
is more pronounced during long heat cycles, where the
effects of temperature rise and the development of thermal cracks are more prominent.

PC-Based Thermal
Analysis Tool

Brake System Component

Geometry

Heat Flux and Heat Transfer

Coefficients

FE Model

Heat Transfer Analysis

Steady State/Transient

Heat Transfer Analysis

Steady State/Transient

Uncoupled Thermal Stress

Analysis

Simulated Brake Apply

Load Input

Figure 1.

Rotor Distortion
Stress Magnitude

Proposed analysis process

The FEA portion of the proposed method is divided into

two sections: a heat transfer analysis and an uncoupled
thermal stress analysis. ABAQUS was used to complete
both portions of the analysis. This uncoupled thermal

In this study, a PC-based thermal model and FE-based

techniques are combined to provide a reliable method to
1

A graphical user interface was built for easy data input

and post processing. Figure 3 shows a sample panel of
the model. New vehicles, brake systems, brake schedules can be updated and stored in the database with
ease.

stress analysis process can be used to consider bulk

thermal effects such as disc coning, drum bell-mouthing,
or thermal cracking due to thermal fatigue. The investigation of the localized thermal phenomena such as hot
spotting and hot banding [5,6] requires a fully coupled
thermoelastic analysis and thus, it is beyond the scope of
the current study. This separate work is underway to
include the localized thermal effects in the proposed
design process and will be reported in the future.
In the following sections, we discuss the thermal and
thermal stress analysis processes proposed above.

THE PC-BASED MODELPREPROCESSOR

A PC-based thermal model was developed to predict
temperatures throughout the brake corner. The model
includes the brake disc, pads, caliper, wheel, spindle, and
axle in order to accurately predict brake system temperatures during long braking and heat soaking conditions. In
addition, the model can be used to predict the brake fluid
temperature rise [7]. Various aspects of the brake thermal analysis process are schematically summarized in
Figure 2.

Figure 3.

The temperatures of various brake components are calculated for the given brake schedule and plotted in both
space and time. For example, the left picture in Figure 4
represents the brake corner temperature distribution at
the end of the fade schedule. The right plot shows the
temperature rise and drop during the fade stops and the
subsequent cooling.

Brake Geometry

Vehicle Info
& Brake
Schedule

Total
Energy
Dissipated

F&R
Split

Friction
Braking
Energy

Thermal Model

Secondary
Braking Effects

Figure 2.

An input interface of the thermal analysis tool

Temperature
Distribution

Cooling

Brake thermal analysis process for a vehicle

under a given braking schedule

The model considers various forces on the vehicle during

braking and computes the time-dependent braking power
dissipated, q , from the calculated brake torque, , and
wheel speed, , i.e.,
q = =

(1 )
Vcg
r

(1)
Figure 4.

where , r , and Vcg are respectively tire slip, tire rolling

radius, and the vehicle speed. Thermal contact resistance is used to determine the division of heat between
the friction pair and to ensure the equal temperature condition at the friction interface.

An output interface of the thermal analysis

tool

Heat inputs to the rotor and pads are also calculated and
used in the subsequent thermal stress analysis.

THE FINITE ELEMENT MODEL

The air flow characteristics around the brake components

are highly complex and they can vary significantly with
the underbody structure as well as the component
shapes. Instead of using empirical equations, which are
commonly used in the thermal analysis [1,2], the average
heat transfer coefficients are calculated from the measured cooling coefficients by an iteration algorithm. Since
the cooling coefficients account for all three modes of
heat transfer, the estimated heat transfer coefficients
include the equivalent radiation heat transfer coefficient.

The finite element method was used to calculate the thermal stress and distortion of the brake rotor. A common
finite element model was used in both analyses. The
comprehensive model, as shown in Figure 5, is required
for accuracy of temperature calculations and the proper
constraint of the system.
Simulated components
included the bearing assembly, axle, wheel studs and
nuts, disc brake rotor, and wheel. The addition of brake
pads and linings were required within the thermal stress

analysis to apply the structural loading. Thermal inputs,

as calculated by the PC program, were directly applied to
the FE model and used to determine component temperatures. Nodal temperatures, along with simulated braking
load inputs, were subsequently applied to perform the
uncoupled thermal stress analysis.

qconv

A
qoutboard

A
qinboard
Tambient
Figure 6.

Heat transfer boundary definitions

1.20E+06

Qoutboard
Qinboard

1.00E+06

Brake corner finite element model

2

Heat Flux (W/m )

Figure 5.

BRAKE DISC THERMAL ANALYSIS

Thermal conduction and convection were the only two
modes of heat transfer considered in this analysis. However, as described in a previous section, the heat transfer
coefficients obtained from the PC-based tool include the
effects of radiation. A section plot of the brake corner FE
model is shown in Figure 6. Surface interfaces (identified
with the letter A) were defined between adjacent components and assigned thermal contact resistance values.
Heat energy to the inboard and outboard brake plates
was applied across the area swept by the brake pads.
Constant convection coefficients, calculated by the PC
program, were applied to all exposed surfaces.

8.00E+05
6.00E+05
4.00E+05
2.00E+05
0.00E+00
-2.00E+05
0

15

30

45

Time (sec)

Figure 7.

Applied heat flux for transient braking event

The measured temperature data in Figure 8 was collected with thermocouples embedded into the brake disc.
Note that temperature data was only collected during
brake apply portion of the heat cycles. As expected, temperature magnitudes on the brake plate surface increase
rapidly with each brake apply while temperatures on the
rotors wheel mounting surface increase gradually.

Both steady state and transient heat transfer analyses

were performed for the brake dynamometer schedule
under consideration. The applied heat flux history for the
dynamometer brake event was calculated from the PCbased tool. Magnitudes for the first three brake snubs
are shown in Figure 7. These thermal inputs were
directly transposed into the ABAQUS heat transfer analysis. The resultant temperature history for nodes on the
inboard brake plate region and the rotors wheel mounting surface are presented in Figure 8. Corresponding
temperatures, as calculated by the PC-based program
and measured in a brake dynamometer are plotted for
comparison.

The steady state temperature on the brake plate region

was calculated to be 419 C with the PC-based tool and
417 C as a result of the FE analysis. This correlates
with the maximum temperature predicted by the transient
analysis shown in Figure 8. The rotors steady state temperature profile can be seen in the section plot of the
brake disc, Figure 9. The brake plate region remains the
warmest section with the inboard brake surface exhibiting
higher temperatures than the outboard surface due to the
heat transfer in the hat section. Corresponding thermal
distortions and stresses, attributed to both the transient
and steady state, will be investigated in the subsequent
section.

450

400

Measured Data
PC Program

Temperature (deg C)

350

ABAQUS
300

250

200

Wheel Mounting Surface

(ABAQUS)

150

100

50

60

120

180

240

300

Time (sec)

Figure 8.

Transient temperature results for brake rotor

Figure 10. Pressure application for inboard and outboard
pad assemblies
There are two aspects of rotor distortion to investigate:
the lateral distortion of the rotor along the circumference
of the brake disc and the amount of coning of the brake
plate region. The proposed analysis method simulates
the lateral distortion generated from assembly and brake
application loads. For example, Figure 11 presents this
rotor distortion under the brake line pressure of 3.1 MPa
(450 psi) and a steady state temperature profile. The
curves depict the magnitude and direction of displacement (with respect to angular position) around the circumference of the brake disc. The caliper is positioned
at about the 270-degree angle and, as a result, the effect
of the structural loading from the brake pad assemblies is
evident.

Figure 9.

Steady state temperature contours plot

5.50E-01

UNCOUPLED THERMAL STRESS ANALYSIS

Outer Ring
Middle Ring
Inner Ring

Lateral Displacement (mm

5.00E-01

The thermal stress analysis of the brake rotor involved

the simultaneous application of static braking loads with
the thermal loads previously determined in the FE heat
transfer analysis. The sequence of static events included
the preloading the wheel nuts, application of brake pressure, and finally, the input of a brake torque through the
spindle axle. Nodal temperatures from either the transient or steady state analyses were applied simultaneously with the brake torque. The addition of the shoe
and lining assembly, to the FE model, was required to
simulate the structural loading of the brake event. Brake
pressure was applied to the contacting areas of the
inboard and outboard backing plates as shown in Figure
10. Contact surfaces, with defined frictional coefficients,
were assigned at the brake shoe and disc interface. Additional contact surfaces were defined between the bearing
assembly and the brake disc and between the brake disc
and the wheel. The defined interfaces allowed for the limited movement of the brake rotor, with respect to the
wheel and bearing, during both structural and thermal
loading events.

4.50E-01

4.00E-01

3.50E-01

3.00E-01

2.50E-01

2.00E-01
0

90

180

270

360

Angular Position (deg)

Figure 11. Calculated lateral distortion of brake plate

region
Rotor coning causes a change in parallelism of the brake
plate region with respect to the wheel mounting surface.
The coning of the brake plates, due to thermal loading, is
apparent when viewed through the rotor cross section.
Figure 12 presents a deformed plot of the brake disc at a
thermally steady state condition. The deformation of the
4

Component stresses, resulting from the application of

thermal and brake loads, can be viewed as a steady state
condition or as a transient state with stress magnitudes
cycling between separate brake events. The prediction of
thermal fatigue is not within the scope of this study, but
the reporting of stress amplitudes is an indication of the
propensity for this phenomenon to occur. Figure 14
shows Von Mises stress contours occurring after the
eighth brake event. Maximum stress concentrations are
located along the rotors outboard brake plate region.

brake plate region is primarily attributed to the thermal

expansion of the rotor and its constraint at the wheel
mounting face. The magnitude of coning angle was calculated, from the thermal stress analysis, throughout the
simulated brake schedule.

coning angle

Figure 12. Coning of brake disc

Non-contact gap sensors were used in the dynamometer
tests to measure the distance between the sensor head
and the rotor surface. Data was collected on the inboard
and outboard brake plates at three radial locations from
the wheel centerline. The disc coning angle was, then,
calculated from the gap sensor data measured at two
radial locations. As with the case for temperature measurements, data was only collected during brake application events.

Figure 14. Stress contour plot

Figure 13 presents the calculated coning angle and measured data for the first eight brake applications. The FE
analysis results follow the measured trend of increasing
coning angle with repeated brake cycles. Discrepancies
in the angle magnitudes at the beginning and end of the
brake apply are partially attributed to the amount of time
step increments requested from the analysis. File size
limitations restricted the number of data points output;
thus, maximum values of distortion may have been
skipped.

The transient output can be used to evaluate the cyclic

behavior of stress, within the brake plate region, and to
perform thermal fatigue analyses on the rotor design.
Figure 15 shows the hoop stress history of the inboard
brake plate for the first eight brake snub applications.
Stress magnitudes become compressive during brake
application and tensile during the cooling stage between
subsequent brake events.

20

0.3
0

Ho o p S tre s s (M P a )

0.25

Coning Angle (deg)

0.2

0.15

0.1

-2 0

-4 0

-6 0

-8 0

Measured
ABAQUS

0.05

-1 00
0

30

60

90

12 0

T im e (s e c )

Figure 15. Inboard brake plate hoop stress history plot

-0.05
0

30

60

90

120

Time (sec)

Figure 13. Inboard brake plate coning

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The benefit of utilizing analytical methods in the development of components is that multiple design iterations can
be evaluated at minimal cost. With the successful correlation of test and analytical data, the authors feel confident that this method can be utilized to evaluate multiple
design proposals, with respect to rotor distortion, and
recommend optimum component design parameters to
meet the design specifications.

The authors wish to thank the management for the

approval of this publication.

REFERENCES
1. H. Dittrich and R. Lang, Finite-Element Analysis of
the Thermal Loads Acting on a Passenger Car Brake
Disk, Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift, Vol. 86, No. 6,
pp. 265-269, 1984.
2. A. Fukano and H. Matsui, Development of DiscBrake Design Method Using Computer Simulation of
Heat Phenomena, SAE 860634, 1986.
3. G. Pigozzi and E. Ceretto, Combined Thermal and
Mechanical Analysis of Truck Brakes, Proc 3rd Intl
Conf, Innovation and Reliability in Automotive Design
and Testing, Vol. 2, pp. 921-933, 1992.
4. A. Rinsdorf, Evaluation of the Energy Input in Pad
and Disc During a Brake Application, SAE 942086,
1994.
5. A. E. Anderson and R. A. Knapp, Hot Spotting in
Automotive Friction Systems, Wear, 135, 1990, pp.
319-337.
6. Kwangjin Lee and R. B. Dinwiddie, Conditions of
Frictional Contact in Disk Brakes and Their Effects on
Brake Judder, SAE 980598, 1998.
7. Kwangjin Lee, Numerical Prediction of Brake Fluid
Temperature Rise During Braking and Heat Soaking, SAE 1999-01-0483, 1999.

The determination of thermal fatigue life is another development to be investigated. Thermal fatigue evaluation
would require long heat cycles to ensure that temperature and resultant stresses attain steady state operating
conditions. Also, the finite elements close to the friction
surface may need to be further refined to accurately predict thermal stresses and thus computer file sizes and
running time need to be addressed.

CONCLUSIONS
An analytical method to determine the thermal distortion
and stress levels of a brake rotor was developed. A PCbased program was used to calculate specific thermal
parameters. These parameters were utilized to perform a
finite element analysis and generate rotor distortion and
stress data. Both transient and steady state heating conditions were investigated. The calculated rotor temperatures from the PC program and the FE analysis correlate
to measured data. In addition, the calculated thermal
deformation results are also in good agreement with the
measured displacements. The proposed method was
shown to be a viable tool and can be used in conjunction
with the design process to reduce or eliminate unwanted
thermal distortions in future projects.