What Is An Air Brake? how Does It Work?

Diesel technicians must be familiar with how air brakes operate and how to diagnose, repair, and maintain air brake systems because they are an essential part of diesel vehicles.

Instead of hydraulic fluid, pressurized air is used to operate air brakes on trucks. Drum brakes, disc brakes, or a combination of both can be used as air brakes.

An engine-mounted compressor is used to pressurize the air. The air compressor then pumps the compressed air into the air storage tanks, where it is kept until it is required.

The parking brake is released, and the service brakes are applied using air pressure. The system contains many air circuits.

When the air pressure in the spring brake chamber is released, the parking brake engages by spring force in the parking brake portion of the chamber.

This also makes using the parking brake as the emergency braking system possible. The force of the spring inside the chamber would be able to outweigh the force of the air on the diaphragm and apply the brakes to all four wheels if air pressure fell too low.

When the driver applies the brakes, air pressure is applied to the wheel like how hydraulic pressure is applied in a hydraulic brake circuit.

air brake invention
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