The Design and Development of a Brake Disc for High-Speed Trains

This paper describes the demands placed on disc brakes by the modern generation of high-speed passenger trains, in particular the TGV of the French Railways (SNCF), and outlines how a new design of solid steel brake disc was developed in response to these demands. Modern engineering design and development methods such as CAD (computer aided design), FEA (finite element analysis) and large scale computer-controlled test rigs were used to refine initial design proposals to achieve a design which was substantially ‘right first time’. Prototype equipment was delivered to the customer on time for vehicle trials in the passenger-carrying service, and discs of the production design are now being supplied for use on the TGV.