The first concept car without traditional brake discs
traditional brake discs, brake, brake disc, car, vehicle, autonomous capability, DC Automobiles, DS E-Tense, regenerative braking, technology, automotive industry, automotive, software, Yüce Software
Cars are becoming more modern and minimalist. We can notice efforts to produce cars with increased autonomous capabilities, such as vehicles without a steering wheel or pedals. At present, we can look forward to a car without conventional brake discs, which is part of a greater effort to reduce carbon emissions.
French carmaker Automobiles DS has recently launched a prototype DS E-TENSE, which uses only electric recuperation soon.
You are interested in how regenerative braking works. First, let's recall the traditional braking by depressing the brake pedal, which causes the discs and brake pads to generate kinetic energy. In ICE, this kinetic energy is released into the air.
However, for electric cars, you can slow down by removing your foot from the accelerator pedal, which allows the car to come to a complete stop without having to touch the brake pedal. During this process, the flow of electricity from the battery to the engine stops, but the rotor rotates with the wheels. This allows the engine to act as a generator and generate electricity to recharge the vehicle's battery.
At present, all brake systems in hybrid and electric cars are supplied with backup friction disc brakes. If the recuperation soon does not provide enough energy to stop, they are ready to operate, for example, during an emergency stop.
Are cars without disc brakes the future of EVs?
DS E-TENSE performance is made without disc brakes. Instead, it uses two onboard electric motors to fully decelerate the vehicle through regenerative braking up to 600 kW.
Regenerative braking, even in its combined form, makes the car more efficient by producing energy each time the car is braked. In addition, a car without rear friction brakes would be a huge benefit to environmental efforts to reduce air pollution for ordinary consumers. According to researchers, up to 55% of road traffic pollution comes from particles without exhaust gases. About 20% of this comes from brake dust. Many vehicles, including electric ones, contain harmful metal components in the clutch, engine and brakes.
Brake dust is made up of iron particles. This is caused by friction between the iron brake rotor grinding the brake pads as the vehicle decelerates. This brake dust then wears out and enters the air. This has a significant impact on the airway health of people heavily exposed to braking dust, such as people living in high-traffic areas.
If successful, this research and development can push the sustainability goals of transport as a whole.