Advantages of air brakes

In a car, heat energy from the engine is converted into kinetic energy to set it in motion. During parking, the same method needs to be reversed—converting kinetic energy into heat to bring the vehicle to a stop. This is accomplished by friction devices called brakes. Today, most light vehicles use hydraulic hydraulic brakes, while in most heavy vehicles, compressed air brakes are used.

Safety

Hydraulic brakes contain special brake fluid in cylinders that are compressed when the brake pedal is depressed, transferring pressure to the friction parts near the wheels, which then squeeze against each other to bring the vehicle to a stop. This process has a serious disadvantage: if the brake system leaks, resulting in a partial or complete loss of brake fluid, the efficiency of the brake system will be significantly reduced or even completely lost. Air brakes solve this problem by using air instead of any special brake fluid to provide pressure to the brake components. Since air is free everywhere on the surface of the earth, this greatly reduces the chance of brake failure due to a leak in the brake system. This is the main reason why government regulations mandate the use of air brakes on vehicles over a certain size or vehicles carrying passengers for commercial purposes.

reliability

Air brakes are much more reliable than hydraulic brakes. First, as explained in SDRM.org's Train Air Brakes Description and History article, the principle behind most modern air brakes is a three-valve system, which is designed in the same way as hydraulic brakes or even air brakes used previously The movement type is reversed. In a conventional braking system, the brakes are in the released position by default and are only activated when the brake fluid is compressed. However, the three-valve system air brake is activated by default and only releases when compressed air pressure is applied. Compression begins when the vehicle is started, and the brakes are released when the vehicle is in motion. So in the event of a leak, or even if the compression mechanism fails completely, the brakes revert to their default activated position and the vehicle stops.

Cost-effectiveness

The special brake fluid used in hydraulic brakes is expensive. Air, on the other hand, is free. While this doesn't make a huge difference for small vehicles that require very little hydraulic brake fluid, it makes a big difference for larger vehicles like heavy trucks and locomotives that require a lot of hydraulic brake fluid.