Benchmark of Conventional and By-Wire Brake System Layouts for Electric Vehicle Applications by Numerical Simulations

The recently increasing global concern about sustainability and greenhouse gas emission reduction has boosted the diffusion of electric vehicles. Research on this topic mainly focuses on either re-designing or adapting most conventional vehicle subsystems, especially the propulsion motor and the braking components.In this context, the present work aims to model, analyze, and compare three-braking system layouts design alternatives focusing on their contribution to vehicle performance and efficiency: a commercial vacuum-boosted hydraulic braking system, a commercial integrated electrohydraulic braking system, and a concept distributed electrohydraulic brake system. Braking systems performance are evaluated by simulating key maneuvers adopting a full model of a battery electric vehicle (BEV), which includes all relevant components like tires, and powertrain dynamics, which is validated against real-world data. Implementation and integration of the first two systems are discussed, followed by the design and detailed modeling of the third, which includes a control strategy for pressure modulation, including antilock braking system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) functionalities. Once the simulation environment is set, simulations are performed and KPIs are defined to compare the three braking systems from both the performance and the energy consumption point of view. The results show that the distributed electrohydraulic system reduces the time to lock by 30.8%, the stopping distance by 5.89%, and the energy consumption by more than 50% in specific test cases compared to the analyzed vacuum-boosted system due to its distributed hardware and control architecture and power-on-demand operation.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.4271/2026-01-5008
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01487191
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of SAE International.
• Authors:
  • Savi, Lorenzo
  • Garosio, Damiano
  • Floros, Dimosthenis
  • Vignati, Michele
  • Travagliati, Alessandro
  • Braghin, Francesco
• Conference:
  • Automotive Technical Papers
  • Location: Warrendale Pennsylvania
  • Date: 2026-1-1
• Publication Date: 2026-2-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Serial:
  • SAE Technical Paper
  • Publisher: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
  • ISSN: 0148-7191
  • EISSN: 2688-3627
  • Serial URL: http://papers.sae.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Antilock brake systems; Brake components; Brakes; Electric vehicles; Energy consumption; Greenhouse gases; Simulation; Vehicle performance
• Subject Areas: Highways; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01979542
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: SAE International
• Report/Paper Numbers: 2026-01-5008
• Files: TRIS, SAE
• Created Date: Feb 17 2026 10:29AM