Effect of contact area variation on squeal propensity of disc modes

The squeal propensity associated with the contact area variation is studied using the finite element method and the analytical contact and rotating modeling. The disc brake system is modeled as a rotating finite element disc in contact with annular sector-friction material. The squeal propensity is numerically determined with respect to the contact span angle and the radial contact length which define the contact geometry. The results show that the squeal propensity is strongly influenced by the contact area variation. Particularly, the squeal propensity of the transverse doublet mode changes periodically with the variation of the contact span angle. However, the in-plane dominant modes have the decreased squeal tendency as the span angle increases. The variation in the radial contact length is also shown to make contribution to the change in squeal propensity for both the transverse and in-plane modes.