Press Kit: Automotive Research and Development Centre (ARDC)

Brake Development Laboratory

  • The Brake Development lab was added to the ARDC in 2016. It consists of three main test areas in a 930 sq metre footprint
  • It is one of three of its kind in the world
  • Two brake end style dynameters – high speed (Viper cell) and heavy duty (Ram cell) have the ability to reproduce a wide range of brake noise
  • The full size chassis dynamometer, Hell Cat Dyno, can accommodate vehicles ranging from a Fiat 500 to a Ram 5500 to test vehicle level brake systems
  • The brake labs perform an average of 800,000 brake stops per year
  • The instrumentation and Data Acquisition segment of the lab identifies sources of noise and vibration in brake systems. A number of different instruments are used to perform various tasks:
    • 3D deflection scans during noise event
    • Natural frequencies of individual brake components
    • 3D pressure distribution maps
    • Measure geometric properties and wear of brake rotors and brake pads
    • Caliper performance in various environments
    • Compressibility of friction material
    • Characterizes material properties of friction material



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