Análise termomecânica de um disco de freio Baja SAE utilizando o software Salome-Meca

Abstract

The braking system of a Baja SAE prototype acts not only in deceleration, but also as a fundamental element of control and maneuverability in extreme off-road conditions. This work aims to evaluate the struc tural and thermal behavior of the front brake disc of a Baja vehicle, manufactured in Hardox 450 steel, ensuring the reliability of the design. For this, the sequentially coupled thermomechanical analysis methodology was employed using the open source Salome-Meca platform and the Code_Aster solver. The numerical model eval uated three critical operational scenarios based on von Mises failure theory: purely mechanical panic braking, warping due to a 0.5 mm caliper misalignment, and thermomechanical coupling. The results obtained demon strated that the component exhibits high robustness under normal operating conditions, achieving a Safety Factor of 5.69 in cold braking and 3.21 under severe thermal expansion, validating the safety of the design. However, the analysis revealed high vulnerability to misalignment, resulting in a Safety Factor of 0.73 and indicating plastic deformation. It is concluded that the design is safe and efficient for operation, provided that the assembly tolerances are maintained.