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Air Brakes

Air brakes use compressed air to actuate the braking process. It can be as simple as replacing the hydraulic line with a compressed air line. Compressed air can exert much more force than a hydraulic system but the brakes still work in the same way, applying friction to slow the vehicle. The compressed air has the added advantage of cooling down the pieces of the brakes allowing for increased braking performance.

Another type of air brake affects the aerodynamics of the vehicle to slow it down. This doesn’t work well at slow speeds, but for racing cars it is a very effective brake. Some cars alter the position of the rear wing on the car, while top fuel drag racers use a parachute to quickly slow down. The roof flaps on NASCAR cars are designed to prevent the vehicle from becoming airborne if the vehicle spins around suddenly.

Air brakes are also used on trains. They work by having reservoirs of air located in each car. The conductor controls the air pressure from the front engine. When the pressure changes it sends a signal to either apply or disengage the brakes. This way the conductor can slow the entire train at once. In the past brakemen had to scramble from car to car manually applying the brakes based off of the conductors whistles which were often misinterpreted resulting in derailed trains and runaways.

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