Optimization of Brake Pedal Feel and Performance for Dual Air Over Hydraulic System on Light Commercial Vehicles 2010-01-1888

In current scenario, Light Commercial Vehicle segment (7 ton - 9.6 ton) is gradually experiencing a shift in the focus from being just a goods carrier to a vehicle which is developed to take care of driver's safety and comfort in terms of better ergonomics and aesthetics. As compared to their conventional counterparts the new generation Light Commercial Vehicles are better equipped and tuned to cater to the changing needs of the consumers.

In view of this, refinement at the sub system level is becoming far more critical. On the same lines, the present work discusses a refined brake system for Light Commercial Vehicles where the conventional pneumatic system is replaced with Dual Air Over Hydraulic (DAOH) to achieve cost and weight advantages without compromising on its performance. However, during the development process, a lot of issues were observed with respect to the braking performance and the brake pedal feel. The proposed work focuses specifically on analyzing the cause of such problems and suggesting a solution by optimization of this alternate braking system to achieve better overall performance Vis-à-Vis current system with significant reduction in weight by almost 20% and cost by 5%.

'DAOH' (Dual Air Over Hydraulic) with foundation brake configuration of front - disc and rear - drum is being developed for 7 ton - 9.6 ton gross vehicle weight vehicles. Particularly optimization of pedal ergonomics and pedal characteristics (utilization of pedal travel) is carried out to achieve enhanced performance in terms of: Stopping distance, Deceleration, Brake pedal feel and driving confidence.