Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Truck air-actuated disc brake. An air brake or, more formally, a compressed-air-brake system, is a type of friction brake for vehicles in which compressed air pressing on a piston is used to both release the parking/emergency brakes in order to move the vehicle, and also to apply pressure to the brake pads or brake shoes to slow and stop the vehicle.
A railway air brake is a railway brake power braking system with compressed air as the operating medium. [1] Modern trains rely upon a fail-safe air brake system that is based upon a design patented by George Westinghouse on April 13, 1869. [2] The Westinghouse Air Brake Company was subsequently organized to manufacture and sell Westinghouse's ...
Air brake (aeronautics), a type of flight control system used on aircraft to reduce speed; On ground vehicles, (more formally, specified as) compressed-air-actuated braking systems: Air brake (road vehicle), friction-mediated type of brake used on large road vehicles in place of hydraulic brakes; Railway air brake (used on both locomotives, and ...
Often, characteristics of both spoilers and air brakes are desirable and are combined - most modern airliner jets feature combined spoiler and air brake controls. On landing, the deployment of these spoilers ("lift dumpers") causes a significant reduction in wing lift, so the weight of the aircraft is transferred from the wings to the undercarriage.
It consists of a shaft, usually around 4 to 25 inches long, turned at one end by means of an air-powered brake booster and lever with an S-shaped cam at the wheel end. Turning the shaft pushes the brake shoes against the drum, producing friction. The design allows bulky air cylinders to be located outside of the wheel.
Also, since the brake pipe is typically used for control and supply of air to the cars, if an engineer is not careful, the air supply can be depleted. Further, since the engineer is only aware of the brake pipe pressure and flow of air into the brake pipe, it is not easy to know the state of the train brakes at any given time.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Air brakes are used to increase drag. Spoilers might act as air brakes, but are not pure air brakes as they also function as lift-dumpers or in some cases as roll control surfaces. Air brakes are usually surfaces that deflect outwards from the fuselage (in most cases symmetrically on opposing sides) into the airstream in order to increase form ...