Ever wondered why large trucks and trailers use air brakes instead of the hydraulic brakes found in most cars? In this video, we break down the engineering and safety reasons behind this essential ...

The air system still lies underneath, noted Dan Zula, Bendix product group director, brake control. "It's just the convention of how they're activated by the human," he said.

The OEM air brake systems are designed to meet mandated performance standards outlined in FMVSS 121. Aftermarket replacement materials, such as friction materials, can change the braking performance.

The basic principles of an air brake revolve around the system originally developed for trains by engineer George Westinghouse in 1869. The innovation here was that the air deactivates the brakes.

According to Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, a 6x4 tractor-trailer going 60 mph takes 200 ft. to stop with air disc brakes and 225 ft. with drum brakes.

Truck air brake systems have evolved continually since the early years of the 20th century, when the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (later Wabco), introduced scaled-down versions of the braking ...

ArvinMeritor's Commercial Vehicle Systems business has expanded its DiscPlus air disc brakes family to include two EX225 models — available in October 2003 throughout North America — for ...

The following was published in CCJ's Air Brake Book, 11th edition, sponsored by SilverbackHD. CCJ's Air Brake Book is a complementary industry resource, courtesy of our partnership with ...

SAE Transactions, Vol. 113, Section 2: JOURNAL OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLES (2004), pp. 261-266 (6 pages) It has been shown that one can calculate the braking deceleration capabilities of an air-braked ...

Semi trucks are heavy pieces of machinery, and using the regular brakes might not be enough. You might need the help of the jake brake or the retarder.