Experimental Study for the Reduction of Wet-brake Squeal Noise in a Forklift

The wet brakes used in an industrial forklift often produce noise on braking. Elimination or reduction of this squeal noise is an important task for the improvement of comforts. In this paper, a test rig was developed which was possible for testing of brake noise and an experimental measurement on squeal noise was performed. The causes of the brake noise are identified by experimenting how the factors such as automatic transmission fluid, the groove of friction-plate pad and the material of friction-plate pad affect the squeal noise. In order to identify the squeal characteristics, the signal analyses for noise are performed by using frequency spectrums. Experimental results showed that the viscosity of automatic transmission fluid and the groove pattern of friction-plate pad largely affect the reduction of the wet brake squeal noise in an industrial forklift.