ABS is an abbreviation for Anti-lock braking system. Before we get into the core of this topic anymore first we have to understand a simple phenomenon which will help us give us a better understanding on this topic.
Why ABS is Important?
Suppose a person driving a car which does not have an ABS system in it. He is driving his car a considerable high speed and suddenly something gets into his way forward on the road and he has to hit hard on the brakes with all the power he has in his legs.
This will make the brakes shoes to grasp on brake discs which will stop the wheels of the vehicles immediately bringing them into a lock position.
Thing to note here is that only the wheels will come to a full stop and not the vehicle because of the momentum and inertia of the car or in simple words the speed of the car resulting in skidding of the vehicle.
And because the wheels have been locked and forward inertia of the vehicle the driver will be unable stop the car and to make things worse we won’t even be able to steer his way through the obstacle because of the locking of the wheels.
This phenomenon of locking of wheels because of hard braking in any situation while the vehicle is moving is called Locking of Brakes.
It was discovered by automakers back in late 1920s and a solution which is called Anti-lock Braking System or ABS was introduced in 1950s but was very expensive and was in the initial stages of development.
But an effective and operational ABS was introduced in 1970s. Enough of the history now let’s get the hold of the concept how an ABS works.
Anti-lock braking system as the name says it all prevents the wheels of the vehicle from getting locked in any situation where vehicle has to be stopped with immediate effect.
How ABS works?
Now a question comes up in mind that how it works or how abs does it? ABS is a sophisticated system but to make it understandable to a 5 year old boy, here’s how it works.
A vehicle having ABS have speed sensors placed at all the wheels of the vehicle which senses and monitors the deceleration rate and the speed of the vehicle.
This data in form an electrical signal is then sent to ABS modular unit which decodes and analysis this signal which was sent in electrical form. A computer in ABS modular unit decides if the current rate of deceleration will cause the wheels to get lock or not?
Mathematical operations on signal are performed and the result is sent to ABS controller unit which controls the deceleration rate by increasing or decreasing the pressure on the brake discs.
Pressure is made by pressurized oil flowing through the brake coils and a pump and valve controls this pressure on the brake discs.
ABS controller unit controls the valve and the pump to increase or decrease the pressure on brake discs and keeps the deceleration rate at the appropriate level to bring down the vehicle to stand still while keeping the wheels of the vehicles moving and preventing them from getting in a lock position.
This system makes sure that the control of the vehicles stays in the hands of driver. Now that you have understood about ABS make sure to drop by AutoPlus Dubai to purchase genuine spare parts in case you need some for your vehicle.
