A brake package sized from first principles to lock all four wheels and validated thermally for repeated stops.
Component selection began with a dynamic load model in Excel. Forward weight transfer under braking requires different clamping force front to rear to reach simultaneous lockup, and that model drove the hydraulic force calculation, master cylinder sizing, caliper selection, and rotor diameter. I developed MATLAB models of rotor heat transfer to estimate energy input per stop and heat rejection between corners, which informed material selection. SolidWorks FEA evaluated drilled and slotted rotor designs under combined thermal and structural loading.
Drilled and slotted rotors present a direct tradeoff: the features that improve heat rejection also concentrate stress and reduce thermal mass. The FEA was used to identify where that tradeoff stops being favorable. FSAE rules require all four wheels to lock simultaneously, so brake bias had to be correct from the analysis rather than adjusted afterward on the bias bar.
The system passed brake test and withstood multiple test endurances and competition. Thermal and structural performance held across repeated high energy stops, confirming the rotor material selection and the drilled and slotted design evaluated in FEA.