User:TCreed88/Liquid-Cooled Driveline Brake

How the Liquid-Cooled Driveline Brake Came To Be

"John DeConti first developed Liquid Cooled Disc Brakes (LCDB) in the early 1990’s for dynamometers, racecars, and industrial applications. This development was an off-shoot of his love of racing and engine development, and the desire to build an economical means of testing racing engines. With a background in hot rods, drag racing, test engineering, machining, and fabricating, John knew that heat was the enemy of all friction brakes. The first LCDB’s were utilizing latent heat of vaporization and low coolant flow (as described in the 1991 US Patent # 5,003,829). This design creates a thermal centrifuge within the rotating brake disc, allowing cool dense water to flow radially outward and heated water and or vapor to flow radially inward. One benefit of this design is that it could absorb a great deal of energy on very little water flow. Compared to a water dynamometer which requires 10 GPM for every 100 HP, the LCDB can absorb the same power with 1 GPM, resulting in mostly steam from the outlet. Temperatures at the braking surface would remain in the 400 Deg F range without cracking brake rotors or burning pads. Brakes based on this design found their way into industrial applications, high performance cars, and dynamometers. These brakes used rotors made from cast iron and silicon carbide re-enforced aluminum. This breakthrough laid the ground work for D-Brake; proving that LCDB technology could run cool continuously, and also use materials uniquely suited for this application which were light weight and thermally conductive. In 1994, a second patent (US Patent # 5,358,077) added a water pump inside of the brake rotor. This concept utilized higher coolant flow rates to avoid: (a) reaching the boiling point of the coolant, (b) problems associated with condensing steam in a closed loop system, and (c) the use of an external water pump. This initial design was used in commercial chassis applications as a mid-mount driveline retarder. The objective was to have a more versatile product that could be installed in various types of vehicles, providing additional safety and greatly reducing brake maintenance. This product was used in motor coaches, super-duty trucks (1-ton and up), and test dynamometers. One of the major developments to come out of this design was the use of copper brake rotors. The superior conductivity of the copper rotor created a brake disc that was thermally transparent. In 2003, D-Brake, LLC was formed to take the concept from past designs and enhance everything about the product; from adding electronic controls, to improving quality and pumping flows, all while reducing the number of total components as well as the installation time. John is still at the head of Product Development, and having led the D-Brake LCDB though its entire journey, we will continue to forge into the future."

Liquid-Cooled Driveline Brake

The Liquid-Cooled Driveline Brake is one of the products offered by D-Brake LLC. This device is a liquid-cooled disc braking system (AKA driveline retarder), mounted in the driveline at the rear of the transmission or as a mid-mount configuration. It is fully integrated into the driveline using an offset, 4WD type of chain drive. This “sidewinder” style means no or minimal driveshaft alterations are required in most popular vehicles. The Liquid-Cooled Driveline Brake provides supplemental braking and is proven in the field to extend the life of the original equipment brakes by four to ten times. This device is called a "Liquid-Cooled" Driveline Brake because it has an integrated pump which circulates coolant from the driveline brake to the engine’s cooling system. This provides a virtually unlimited thermal mass (the radiator) to dissipate the driveline brakes energy and therefore the brakes will never reach brake fade. For maximum control and responsiveness over the driveline brake, there is an in-cab user interface; you can set or adjust the desired braking pressure on the go. A braking cruise control feature is integrated for downhill grades, which allows the vehicle to maintain constant speed while the grade changes.

Specs:

Weight - Approx. 75lbs

Works With - The Original transmission design mounted fits Ford E/F Series 250, 350, 450, and 550 (2WD Automatic). The new Mid-Mount design fits Chevy and Dodge and other vehicles with GVW’s under 27,000 lbs., and drivelines up to 1480 series, as long as there are no interference issues with fuel tanks or other devices that cannot be moved or modified.