Transient thermal analyses of an integrated brake rotor and wheel hub for heavy duty vehicles

In this study, transient thermal analyses for a new integrated rotor and wheel hub concept are performed by consideration of convection, conduction and radiation effects. Test methods used for the characterization and certification purposes are constructed in a simulation environment and the effect of different ventilation vanes and rotor-hub arrangements on heat transfer mechanism is examined and the details are summarized for a reliable simulation process. Validated procedures are used to report a series of characterization and certification analyses, namely; CFD analyses including wheel assembly, cooldown analyses, R13 repeated stop fade and alpine hot descent analyses for current design and new integrated rotor and hub pair for alternative ventilation vane designs. The analyses are especially focused on predicting the cooling period and predicting maximum bearing temperatures for normal and excessive loading scenarios. To provide benchmark a commercial integrated rotor and hub pair used in heavy duty vehicles is also analysed. The average convective heat transfer coefficient and cooldown period of proposed integrated brake rotor are improved by 117.3% and 30.5% compared to the base design. The maximum wheel bearing temperature is decreased by 27.0% and by 27.1% for the proposed integrated brake rotor and wheel hub compared to the benchmark model, in accordance with the repeated stop and alpine hot descent analyses. In addition, the total weight reduction of 10 kg (15%) according to the base design is achieved.