Search Results

There is a quite a wide range of brake fluid performance parameters affecting the lifetime of a brake fluid while in service in a car. However, in particular a high boiling point stands out as one of the most important product characteristics, in order to provide adequate protection against vapor lock in a car's brake system. Using laboratory experiments and on the road car trials, we have investigated a number of key parameters that affect brake fluid service life. In particular we have compared the boiling performance of DOT 3 versus DOT 4 brake fluid types, i.e. non-borated versus borated glycol ether based types. The results lead us to the conclusion that DOT 4 compared to DOT 3 brake fluid offers consistently better boiling point performance; i.e. up to several years DOT 4 offers a considerable better margin against vapor lock.

The Dutch are the tallest measured people in the world. One third of the Dutch male drivers population is not properly considered in SAE standards. The potential ‘matching-problem’ between Dutch drivers and present-day's driver workspaces is being investigated by the VIMS project team. A large amount of driver workspaces in passenger cars has been measured. The measurements have been converted to 3D CAD models to be able to evaluate them with RAMSIS. RAMSIS proved to be a helpful tool to investigate the influence of package design on the driving posture of Dutch drivers and to determine areas in the package design that may not be suitable for tall drivers.