A light truck uses a hydraulic brake network in which a master-cylinder piston of…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Mechanical Properties of Fluids · Mechanical Properties of Fluids
Problem
A light truck uses a hydraulic brake network in which a master-cylinder piston of area 2.0 cm2 is connected to two front wheel pistons of area 5.0 cm2 each and two rear wheel pistons of area 3.0 cm2 each. The front calipers are 0.15 m higher than the master cylinder, while the rear calipers are 0.05 m higher. Brake fluid density may be taken as 850 kg m−3. When the driver exerts a force of 400 N on the master-cylinder piston, answer the following.
(i) Determine the pressure produced at the master cylinder.
(ii) Taking the difference in heights into account, calculate the pressure that actually reaches (a) the front calipers and (b) the rear calipers.
(iii) Hence obtain the force delivered to each (a) front piston and (b) rear piston.
(iv) Using your results, find the ratio of the total braking force on the front wheels to that on the rear wheels.