A brake shoe is the part of a braking system which carries the brake lining in the

drum brake A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of shoes or pads that press outward against a rotating cylinder-shaped part called a brake drum. The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press on the inner surfac ...

s used on

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

s, or the brake block in

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often k ...

brakes and

bicycle brake A bicycle brake reduces the speed of a bicycle or prevents it from moving. The three main types are: rim brakes, disc brakes, and drum brakes. Most bicycle brake systems consist of three main components: a mechanism for the rider to apply the ...

s. A device that is put on a track to slow down

railroad car A railroad car, railcar ( American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...

s is also called brake shoe.

Automobile drum brake

The brake shoe carries the brake lining, which is

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...

ed or glued to the shoe. When the brake is applied, the shoe moves and presses the lining against the inside of the drum. The

friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding (motion), sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative la ...

between lining and drum provides the braking effort. Energy is dissipated as heat. Modern cars have disc brakes all round, or discs at the front and drums at the rear. An advantage of discs is that they can dissipate heat more quickly than drums so there is less risk of overheating. The reason for retaining drums at the rear is that a drum is more effective than a disc as a

parking brake In road vehicles, the parking brake, also known as a handbrake or emergency brake (e-brake), is a mechanism used to keep the vehicle securely motionless when parked. Parking brakes often consist of a cable connected to two wheel brakes, which i ...

Railway tread brake

The brake shoe carries the brake block. The block was originally made of wood, then usage of cast iron (particularly grey iron) appear to be later replaced nowadays by high friction composite material. When the brake is applied, the shoe moves and presses the block against the tread of the wheel. As well as providing braking effort this also "scrubs" the wheel and keeps it clean. This scrubbing causes

wear and tear Wear and tear is damage that naturally and inevitably occurs as a result of normal wear or aging. It is used in a legal context for such areas as warranty contracts from manufacturers, which usually stipulate that damage from ''wear and tear'' ...

on the wheel tread and often causes brake squeal. Tread brakes on passenger trains have now largely been superseded by

disc brakes A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to ho ...

. Some operators of heavy goods trains have begun to use brake shoes (and pads) using various kinds of plastic (like kevlar). One of those is DB Cargo, and cites less wear and especially less noise, which is important when driving in built-up areas.

Bicycle rim brake

This comprises a pair of rectangular open boxes which are mounted on the

brake caliper A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hold ...

s of a bicycle and that hold the brake blocks which rub on the rim of a bicycle wheel to slow the bicycle down or stop it.

Cataloguing

There are different systems for the cataloguing of brake shoes. The most frequently used system in Europe is the WVA numbering system.WVA numbering system
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Brake shoe for railroad cars

A brake shoe can be put on the track to stop a moving car. The wheel rolls up to the tongue and then the brake shoe glides with the car on the track until it stops. They are also called ''rail skids'' or ''rail skates''.

References

External links

* Brakes Vehicle braking technologies {{Engineering-stub it:Freno#Numero di ceppi del tamburo