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Steering and Braking

Nose Wheel Steering:
At low speeds a tiller or control wheel pivots the nose gear through 75 degrees.
On very large air transport aircraft the body gear is automatically activated beyond 20 deg of nosewheel
deflection and will steer in the opposite direction to the nose wheel to reduce the turning radius.
The rudder pedals wheel turn the nose wheel by 7 degrees.

Brake Wear:
For checking the brake wear a measurement is taken between the disc and the brake housing (while the
brakes are on).
As the disc wears down in thickness the amount of heat energy that it is able to absorb is reduced, thus
reducing its efficiency.
Brakes with steel discs work best when cold.
Carbon fibre brakes work best when hot.

Brake Fade: If the brake disc becomes so hot that it is unable to absorb further heat the braking action
ceases and is called brake fade.

Multi Disc Brake Construction:
The body of a multi disc unit is made up by a torque plate, a torque tube and thrust ring.
The torque plate is attached to the main gear leg and is designed to withstand the torque reaction of
braking.
Thrust ring is attached to the torque plate via the torque tube.
The torque plate houses a series of interlinked single acting actuators and wear adjusters.
The actuator pistons act on a pressure plate.
Between the pressure plate and the thrust ring is the disc pack.
The disc pack consists of alternate brake discs (rotors) and friction plates (stators).
The pressure plate pushes the whole disc pack across onto the thrust ring when in operation.
The heat energy absorbed by the multi disc brake is in great amount.
Thus the discs are made up of segments, linked together in jigsaw fashion, to allow for expansion and
prevent warping.

Automatic Brake Wear Adjuster:
This is used to make sure that there is adequate clearance between the rotors and the stators when the
brakes are off.
The housing is attached to the torque plate.
Inside the housing is the guide which incorporates the friction bush and the spring.
The head of the retraction pin is held by the pressure plate.
The retraction pin passes through the torque plate and friction bush to protrude out of the end of the
housing.
Distance between the torque plate and the pressure plate is indicated by how much the retraction pin
sticks out.
When the brakes are applied the pressure plate pulls the pin with it.
The friction in the bush holds the guide onto the pin and thus the guide moves with the pin, which in turn
compresses the spring.
When the brakes are released the spring's force pulls the pressure plate back, allowing the disc pack to
separate.

Anti-Skid System:
It keeps each brake unit braking and at the optimum which is a point just before the skid.
Failure of the anti-skid system can increase the landing distance by 50%.
Inoperative below 20 knots and when parking brake is set.


Maxaret System:
It is an older hydro-mechanical method of anti-skid and mechanically senses the speed of the wheel.
When the speed drops to a certain point a valve opens and allows some of the pressure in the brake to
bleed to return, thus releasing brake pressure.

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Electronic AntiSkid:
The tachogenerator (driven by wheels) produces an electric signal that varies with speed.
The anti-skid controller compares this signal to a reference signal for the aircraft's actual speed.
If a wheel is turning too slowly the anti-skid controller will electrically signal an anti-skid valve to release
the required brake pressure.
The inputs to an anti-skid computer are:
o Idle Wheel Speed (measured)
o Braked Wheel speed (measured)
o The desired wheel slip rate.

Emergency Braking Systems
According to the certification requirement, if there is any system or component failure the aircraft must be
brought to a controlled stop within 1.5 times the normal braking distance.
An accumulator in the brake circuit will provide a limited number of braking applications (about 6).
An emergency braking power source may be provided and can be supplied by compressed gas or from
dedicated electrical pumps that pressurise the wheel brake accumulators.
When an emergency brake selection is made the anti-skid system is made inoperative.