Suppression of Brake Squeal Using Shunted Piezoceramics

Due to increased interest in comfort features, considerable effort is spent by brake manufacturers in order to suppress brake squeal. This process can be shortened by eliminating the remaining squealing with shunted piezoceramics that are embedded into the brake system. The piezoceramic offers the unique ability to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. The damping performance is determined by the connected shunt. This paper presents a multibody system of a brake, which is capable to reproduce the important features of brake squeal. It includes the dynamics of a piezoceramic that is shunted with a passive LR shunt or a negative capacitance LRC shunt. Analytical stability analysis are carried out to obtain optimal shunt parameters. The performance increase with a negative capacitance is studied in detail. The simulations are validated with measurements on an automotive disc brake.