Wheel Hub Cracks of Heavy-Duty Vehicles due to Drum Brake Shoe-Lining Wear, Friction, and Self-Lock

Wheel hubs with drum brakes of heavy-duty vehicles rarely broke, but some suddenly cracked in the 2000s. The cause of damage was said to be a lack of hub strength. However, the case was suspicious because the hubs were produced according to the design guidelines by the JSAE. In the 1990s, brake shoe-lining materials were changed from asbestos to non-asbestos for people’s health. The brake squeal and abnormal self-lock frequently occurred because of the increased friction coefficient between drum and shoe lining in the case of the leading–trailing type. The mechanical friction coefficient changes with the material and the contact angle, which varies with the wear of shoe lining and the drum temperature. In the previous report, the deformation of the wheel hub under the abnormal self-lock was verified by observing the change of hub attitude in model test equipment. In this paper, a causality between the hub crack damage and the abnormal friction increase is clarified by predicting the bending moment and fatigue life of the wheel hub, which changes with friction forces and tire load levels. It has been concluded that the abnormal increase in bending moments from brakes and tires considerably shortens the durable life of wheel hubs.