PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF CERAMIC BRAKE PADS IN LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES

ABSTRACT Braking systems play a critical role in ensuring the safety and reliability of modern vehicles, with the brake pad being one of the most important components. In light-duty vehicles, ceramic brake pads have gained popularity due to their superior thermal stability, reduced noise, and long service life when compared to semi-metallic and organic pads. Despite their wide application, a systematic performance evaluation is still required to establish their suitability under varying braking conditions. This research presents a comprehensive numerical study on the performance evaluation of ceramic brake pads for light-duty vehicles using finite element analysis (FEA) in ANSYS Workbench. The results indicated that the maximum Von Mises stress under normal braking was 52.8 MPa, while under emergency braking it increased to 97.4 MPa, concentrated at the leading edge of the brake pad. These stress levels remain below the compressive strength limit of ceramic materials, thereby confirming structural safety under extreme conditions. Deformation analysis revealed that the maximum displacement was 0.12 mm during normal braking and 0.35 mm during emergency braking, both within the ISO-recommended service limits. This ensures that the ceramic pad maintains consistent contact with the disc and guarantees safe braking performance. Thermal analysis revealed a minimum temperature of 45 °C and a maximum of 210 °C during normal braking, while emergency braking conditions generated temperatures ranging from 48 °C to 420 °C at the pad–rotor interface. Although these temperatures are relatively high, they remain significantly below the degradation threshold of ceramic materials, which exceeds 600 °C, thereby validating the thermal stability of ceramic pads under severe braking. Wear simulations based on Archard’s wear law demonstrated a progressive increase in wear depth with braking cycles. At 1,000 cycles, the maximum wear depth was 0.05 mm, increasing to 0.18 mm at 5,000 cycles, and reaching 0.35 mm at 10,000 cycles. The wear was predominantly localized at the leading edge and contact surface regions, indicating potential zones for future design optimization to enhance service life. In conclusion, the performance evaluation confirms that ceramic brake pads are structurally reliable, thermally stable, and wear-resistant under both normal and emergency braking conditions in light-duty vehicles. The study not only validates the suitability of ceramics as a brake pad material but also highlights the need for geometric optimization to minimize localized wear. These results provide valuable insights for automotive manufacturers and serve as a foundation for future experimental validation studies.