Anti-Lock Braking System

 

On a slick road, stopping a car quickly might be very difficult. Anti-lock braking systems (ABS) significantly reduce the difficulty of this occasionally nerve-wracking event. In fact, even experienced drivers struggle to stop as rapidly on slick roads without ABS as they can with it.

We'll learn everything there is to know about anti-lock braking systems in this blog, including why you need them, what's inside, how they operate and the complete diagram of ABS system.

The concept behind anti-lock brakes is uncomplicated. A wheel that is skidding (where the tyre contact patch is sliding with respect to the road) has less traction than a wheel that is not skidding. If you've ever been stopped on ice, you are aware that you cannot gain traction if your wheels are spinning. This is as a result of the contact patch's relative ice sliding. Anti-lock brakes help you in two ways: You'll stop more quickly and you'll be able to steer when you stop by preventing the wheels from sliding as you slow down.

An ABS system is composed of four basic parts:

1.      Pumps

2.      Speed Sensors

3.      Controller

4.      Valves

Speed sensor

There must be a means for the anti-lock braking system to detect when a wheel is likely to lock up. This information is provided by the speed sensors, which are placed at each wheel or, in certain circumstances, in the differential.

Valves

Each brake has a valve that the ABS regulates in the brake line. The valve has three positions on various systems:

1.      The valve is open in position one, allowing pressure from the master cylinder to directly affect the brake.

2.      The valve isolates that brake from the master cylinder in position two by blocking the line. This keeps the pressure from increasing more if the motorist applies more force to the brake pedal.

3.      The valve partially releases brake pressure in position three.

Pump

There must be a way to restore the pressure lost when the brakes' pressure is released by the valve. That is what the pump does; it is present to restore pressure to a line when a valve lowers the pressure there.

Controller

A computer in the car serves as the controller. It manages the valves while keeping an eye on the speed sensors.

How ABS work?

ABS systems come in a wide variety of configurations and control schemes. We will go over one of the more basic systems in detail.

The speed sensors are constantly being watched by the controller. It searches for unusual decelerations in the wheel's motion. There is a sharp deceleration just before a wheel locks up. The wheel would come to a stop considerably more swiftly than any car could if left unfettered. Under ideal circumstances, it might take a car five seconds to stop from 60 mph (96.6 kph), but a locked wheel could stop spinning in less time.

The ABS system decreases the pressure on the brake until it detects an acceleration, then increases the pressure until it detects a subsequent deceleration because it knows that such a rapid deceleration is impossible. Before the tyre can actually experience a major change in speed, it can do this extremely quickly. Due to the brakes, the tyres are kept very close to the point at which they will start to lock up, slowing down at the same rate as the vehicle. The system now has the most braking power possible.

The brake pedal will pulse when the ABS system is engaged; this is caused by the valves opening and shutting quickly. Some ABS systems have a 15 time per second.

Anti-Lock Brake Diagram

Let's now see the components to understand how anti-lock brakes function as a complete system. This illustration shows the location of the brakes in your car in detail and gives an example of where they are.

 

Check out the video for more information on anti-lock brakes and related subjects.