Piezoelectric-based dither control for automobile brake squeal suppression under various braking conditions

Automobile brake squeal noise, which is nonlinear, friction-induced vibration in the frequency range 1-16 kHz, still remains a major problem for the automotive industry. This article presents analytical and experimental investigations into the application of dither control for active suppression of automobile disc brake squeal. Dither is a concept of active control that introduces high-frequency actuation into a system to suppress a much lower frequency disturbance. In this study, a specially designed brake system is built, in which a piezoelectric stack actuator in the piston of a floating caliper brake applies the dither input. In the experiments, squeal noise generated under the drag mode and various dynamic modes are considered. The results indicate that this piezoelectric-based dither control could effectively suppress the brake squeal noise by 5-10 dB and the squeal occurrence by up to 60% under various braking conditions.