The main advantage of self-energizing brakes is that they are able to generate a lot of braking force with a relatively small amount of applied force. This makes them ideal for use on heavy vehicles or vehicles that need to stop quickly, such as race cars or motorcycles.
There are two main types of self-energizing brakes: leading-shoe and trailing-shoe brakes.
* Leading-shoe brakes have the brake shoes positioned in front of the rotating drum or disc. As the wheel rotates, the shoes are forced into contact with the drum or disc, creating friction that slows the vehicle down.
* Trailing-shoe brakes have the brake shoes positioned behind the rotating drum or disc. As the wheel rotates, the shoes are forced down onto the drum or disc, creating friction that slows the vehicle down.
Trailing-shoe brakes are more common than leading-shoe brakes because they are less likely to lock up the wheels, which can cause the vehicle to skid.
Self-energizing brakes are still commonly used today on trucks, buses, and other heavy vehicles, in which the high friction required can create more heat buildup, thus creating heatfade as a disadvantage
