Driven5 introduced me to the AdamsBrake Calculator located here:
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtop ... f=5&t=4090 where it is attributed to Mike Polan and reference is made to a book about brakes by Herb Adams.
I really liked the AdamsBrake Calculator as a tool for brake system design, but as I dug into it a few things became apparent. First, the pages noted in the spreadsheet correlate instead with those of the "
Brake Handbook" by Fred Puhn. Also, there were a couple of things that would make it easier to use and more accurate in the general case. So I modified the spreadsheet and for clarity renamed it the Brake Components Calculator. A zipped version is attached below.
The changes made in the modified version include:
(1) Re-formating for ease of reading and printing,
(2) Additions and clarifications to line item notes,
(3) Addition of Nominal Tire Radius and Brake Effective Radius inline calculations,
(4) Corrections to the cylinder and piston motion calculations and to balance bar calculations to better address the general case, and
(5) Removal of the "Protect Sheet" constraint so user changes to the spreadsheet can made.
Many thanks to the author(s) of the original. I'm open to any and all feedback.
It is highly recommended the user read Puhn's book before using the spreadsheet.
And don't let your Rears get locked up!