A bifurcation analysis and sensitivity study of brake creep groan

Creep groan is the undesirable vibration observed in the brake pad and disc as brakes are applied during low-speed driving. The presence of friction leads to nonlinear behavior even in simple models of this phenomenon. This paper uses tools from bifurcation theory to investigate creep groan behavior in a nonlinear 3-degrees-of-freedom mathematical model. Three areas of operational interest are identified, replicating results from previous studies: region 1 contains repelling equilibria and attracting periodic orbits (creep groan); region 2 contains both attracting equilibria and periodic orbits (creep groan and no creep groan, depending on initial conditions); region 3 contains attracting equilibria (no creep groan). The influence of several friction model parameters on these regions is presented, which identify that the transition between static and dynamic friction regimes has a large influence on the existence of creep groan. Additional investigations discover the presence of several bifurcations previously unknown to exist in this model, including Hopf, torus and period-doubling bifurcations. This insight provides valuable novel information about the nature of creep groan and indicates that complex behavior can be discovered and explored in relatively simple models.