WHY PETAL DISC BRAKES ARE USED INSTEAD OF ROUND DISC BRAKES?

Generally the disc of disc brake is round in shape but few disc brakes have petal shaped disc.What is the reason behind this?We will try to find out the answer of this question in this article.

When we apply brakes the kinetic energy of the wheels is converted to heat energy.As brake pads are in direct contact with the disc, so disc gets heated up.Now, if this heat is not properly dissipated then the disc may get overheated and might change its property.For this purpose, holes are provided in disc brakes.But in extreme conditions we require additional mechanism to remove this heat.For this purpose cuttings are provided in disc in the form of petal,as a result the diameter of disc remains same so effective braking is achieved with enough cooling.

You can notice that not all discs are given petals. Some discs are the usual round ones while only some get petals and there is a good reason for it. The reason petals are given is if the disc is expected to undergo heavy braking forces and has to dissipate a lot of heat a lot quickly or else if the disc is of a smaller size and the area is not enough to handle to heat dissipation rate.

Also petal discs look cooler and they add an extra aesthetic value to the entire thing.

CLICK "HERE" TO DOWNLOAD THIS ARTICLE IN PDF FORM