Effects of damping on brake squeal coalescence patterns – application on a finite element model

Brake squeal is referred to, in most publications, as a flutter instability triggered by a mode coupling phenomenon. A lot of clues tend to prove that damping would be a key parameter in brake squeal modelling. This study aims at investigating the effects of damping on coalescence patterns, that is to say on the way the modes couple. A finite element model of the whole brake corner has been used to compute the brake modal behaviour. Then a complex eigenvalue analysis has been undertaken to assess the brake stability as a function of the friction coefficient. Different kinds of damping spreading over the modes have been studied. Two main effects have been noticed: a shifting effect and a smoothing effect. The first one always stabilize the brake, whereas this is not the case of the second one. The combination of the two effects may make the brake more unstable depending on the spreading of the additionnal damping.