Brake block
A brake pad is an object that is pressed against a rotating or translationally moving object in order to reduce its speed . The braking force is created by sliding friction . It depends on the sliding speed, the materials used, the contact pressure and the temperature .
From a physical point of view, braking takes kinetic energy (energy of movement) from the object to be braked. This energy collects as heat in the friction partners and must be dissipated in a suitable way.
The brake pad has the shape of the moving object on its pressure side. It wears out more or less quickly in the course of its use, but generally faster than the material on which it is frictionally braking.
The first brake blocks were found on carriages and agricultural carts . Here a block of wood, pressed either by a lever or a spindle drive, pressed against the wheel running surface. The spindle brake is usually on the right side of the carriage, as strength and skill are required to apply the brake quickly enough. In railways brake blocks have been since the 1860s cast iron - iron used, as even today still predominantly on freight cars are in use.
Brake pads are also used on disc brakes . Today, however, supports made of metal are bonded to brake linings made of various fiber composite materials up to sintered metal . In the case of drum brakes, the term brake shoe is used instead of brake pad .
