Brake booster what is

We almost literally stop our vehicles with air! Imagine a container with two chambers, number one and number two. Both of these chambers have nothing in them — just a vacuum. Between these chambers is a wall that moves if something pushes it.

If we let air into chamber one , the normal, atmospheric pressure will push the wall towards the vacuum in chamber two. The reason we use brake boosters is to allow the pressure of the air around us to take some of the strenuous load of braking a 3, pound car off of our legs.

Remember that when the brake pads of any vehicle contact the rotors to stop the vehicle from moving, they have to press hard and long enough for friction to remove enough of that kinetic energy to avoid hitting whatever is in front of you.

Is this brake booster idea making sense yet? When that rod moves, the piston in your master cylinder moves with it to create the hydraulic pressure that moves your brake pads. This means that the air you let into the brake booster is doing a lot of the work for you, so you can focus one more important things, like driving safely.

However, there are vehicles where a vacuum pump may be used anyway. Some hybrid and electric vehicles might have a dedicated vacuum pump if they use this design. Remember that brake boosters are simply that — boosters. They just make the job a lot easier. In this case, there are three main types:.

This is more likely to be found in electric vehicles if a manufacturer chooses not to use a vacuum pump. If you have any experience with any vehicle, you probably saw this coming. Your brake booster might be failing if:. Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Skip to content. Table of Contents. Related Posts: What is Mechanical Engineering? What is Heat Exchanger? Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. It also opens a valve inside the booster, allowing air to enter one side of it which is separated into two halves by a diaphragm.

The pressure differential between the two sides adds extra force to the master cylinder piston. Electric vacuum pumps are also occasionally used on gasoline vehicles to ensure constant, steady vacuum for the brakes. Not all systems use engine vacuum, however. On many diesel-powered trucks or vehicles that tow heavy loads, a hydroboost system is used instead. Whether vacuum-, electric- or water-powered, brake boosters have made driving easier and safer for all vehicles on the road.

Photo courtesy of Flickr. Know How. Having been bitten by the car bug at a young age, I spent my formative years surrounded by Studebakers at car shows across Quebec and the northeastern United States.