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Een technologie die door experts van het Amerikaanse ruimtevaartbureau Nasa werd ontwikkeld, kan in de automobielindustrie de efficiëntie van de remsystemen mogelijk gevoelig versterken. De technologie heeft volgens zijn ontwikkelaars een positieve impact op de prestaties van de remmen, het brandstofverbruik van de wagen en het leefmilieu. Het bedrijf Orbis Brakes uit Californië heeft een licentie op de gepatenteerde technologie van de Nasa genomen.

Het revolutionaire remschijfontwerp dat door de Nasa werd ontwikkeld, is minstens 42 procent lichter dan conventionele gietijzeren schijven, met prestaties die vergelijkbaar zijn met veel duurdere koolstofkeramische remmen. De ontwikkeling van het remsysteem past in de missie van de Nasa om technologie te bevorderen die tot een verbetering van het leven op aarde moeten leiden. Het nieuwe concept werd ontwikkeld door Jonathan Lee, materiaalspecialist bij het Marshall Space Flight Center van de Nasa in Huntsville (Alabama)

Elektrische wagens, zoals de Ford Mustang Mach-E, zijn vaak veeleisend voor de remmen van de auto. – Foto: Ford Motor

Door een vermindering van de massa van de wielen, verbruikt een voertuig minder energie om te remmen en te accelereren. Conventionele remschijven zijn zwaar omdat ze bestaan uit twee metalen platen die door lucht worden gekoeld. Dat ontwerp is inefficiënt omdat de buitenste oppervlakken door een wrijving met de remblokken worden verhit, terwijl de luchtkoeling alleen op de binnenste oppervlakken inwerkt. Lee wilde in plaats daarvan de verhitte oppervlakken rechtstreeks koelen, waardoor op materiaal konden bespaard.

Lee wijst erop dat in het nieuwe concept sleuven in de remoppervlakken worden aangebracht. “Door het ontwerp van de remmen ontstaat een turbulente luchtstroom die warmte afvoert”, merkt hij op. “De sleuven vergroten ook het beschikbare oppervlak voor luchtkoeling met meer dan 30 procent en verminderen het gewicht van de schijf verder. Bovendien verhogen ze de wrijving op dezelfde manier als het krassen van beton ervoor zorgt dat treden veiliger zijn om op te lopen. De remblokken zullen minder snel slippen, wat het remmen betrouwbaarder maakt.”

Milieuvriendelijk

De ontwerper benadrukte dat de sleuven niet alleen warmte kunnen afvoeren. “De sleuven zorgen ervoor dat ook water en vuil – die eveneens de efficiëntie van de remmen ondermijnen – wordt afgevoerd”, verduidelijkt hij. “Ook de buitenrand van de remschijf krijgt een golvend patroon, waardoor nog een groter oppervlak met de afkoelende lucht in contact kan komen. Oppervlakken die niet met de remblokken in contact komen, krijgen een zwarte coating om extra warmte af te geven. Dit unieke driedelige koelsysteem – convectie aangedreven door luchtstroom, geleiding van warmte over de metalen rotor en straling van donker gecoate oppervlakken – is nog nooit eerder effectief geïmplementeerd op een conventionele schijfrem.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

“In tegenstelling tot conventionele remmen, die oververhit kunnen raken en mogelijk kapot kunnen gaan, kan dit nieuwe ontwerp de betrouwbaarheid aanzienlijk verbeteren. De ontwikkeling kan ook voor een ernstige milieuverontreinigende stof – giftige nanopartikels – een mechanische oplossing bieden.

“Wanneer remblokken een bepaalde kritische temperatuur overschrijden, kunnen ze – afhankelijk van de gebruikte materialen – een tienduizend-voudige toename van giftige nanopartikels uitstoten”, merken woordvoerders van Orbis Brakes op. “Omdat het giftige stof precies op straathoogte zweeft, is de impact op de menselijke gezondheid volgens een studie van de University of Oxford schadelijker dan uitlaatgassen.”

Het remsysteem is volgens Orbis Brakes zeker voor elektrische wagens een voordeel. “Elektrische auto’s kunnen ongeveer 25 procent zwaarder zijn dan voertuigen met een verbrandingsmotor”, betoogde Marcus Hays, topman van Orbis Brakes. “Bovendien laten deze wagens snelle acceleraties toe. Chauffeurs besturen hun elektrische voertuigen graag als een sportwagen. Orbis Brakes biedt dan ook een alternatief voor de fabrieksmatig geïnstalleerde remmen, die niet zijn ontworpen voor dat soort handling. De technologie laat snellere stops toe en biedt tegelijkertijd een grotere wendbaarheid.”

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