RETRACTED ARTICLE: Design and analysis of composite brake disc and crystal plasticity modelling of composite Al–15Mg₂Si–4.5Si

In the automotive industry, recent advancements have been carried out on weight reduction to improve product competitiveness and make a profit out of it. As the brake disc is part of the unsprung weight of the vehicle, hence weight reduction affects the fuel consumption, performance of the vehicle, and road handling significantly. The present research basically deals with the design, analysis, and manufacturing of a brake disc of a two-wheeler whose strength-to-weight ratio is high. Conventionally, cast iron or steel is usually used as material for brake disc in the automotive industry. Instead of using these materials, a composite (Al–15Mg₂Si–4.5Si) is employed to reduce the weight of the brake disc. The microstructures and strengthening mechanisms of the composite samples are thoroughly examined. Three-dimensional crystal plasticity modelling is used to investigate the underlying micromechanical mechanisms of the composite sample. Statistical measures are obtained to characterise a microstructure, and a representative volume element is constructed using these measures through the utilisation of the software tool DREAM.3D. The assessment of the representative volume is conducted with a predictive crystal plasticity material model offered by DAMASK. In order to validate the results, simulation results are compared with the experimental values. The 3D model of modified brake disc and brake pad are designed using SolidWorks software. In order to evaluate the strength of the brake disc, thermal and structural analysis of the modified brake disc is done using Finite element analysis in ANSYS 2020 software and has been compared with the brake disc made of stainless steel to validate the results, and it has been found that the composite brake disc gives better results than the steel brake disc.