Abstract
Brake creep groan is a low frequency vibration that occurs when a vehicle is starting to move
from a stopped condition. As the brake pressure is reduced, motion can result from the drag
torque in automatic vehicles or from the negative gradient in manual vehicles when being on
a slope. This situation can induce brake vibrations that reach the driver with a pronounced
acoustic annoyance.
Brake creep groan is commonly thought to result from the stick-slip motion between the
friction material and the rotor surface. This paper recognizes the importance of this local
effect as a necessary condition to trigger the creep groan, but expands the focus and explores
the mechanism of interaction between this incipient vibration caused precisely by low level
stick-slip events and the final harmonic response that shakes the whole vehicle.
KEYWORDS Brake creep groan, Low frequency vibration, Resonance, Positive feedback loop