The regulation system controls and constantly adjusts the braking effort, avoiding locking the wheels in order to avoid skidding or tyre explosion. The physical scale used as the regulation parameter is the pressure of the oil sent to the pistons which press the discs against each other with more or less force.
In the normal operating mode, a braking computer, the BSCU (Braking and Steering Control Unit) receives the initial braking order from the pilot’s pedal. It also receives information, in the form of electrical signals, from a number of sensors is distributed throughout the aircraft, in particular supplying information about the speed of the wheels (generated by tachometers). Having analysed this information and compared it with the order received, it in turn sends its conclusions, still as electrical signals, first to the device that will activate the hydraulic energy and then to the energy distributors: this is the braking command. The constant management of all the braking data by the BSCU (and its software) involves analysing, in a few thousandths of a second, more than 250 parameters in order to generate the most accurate orders, best suited to every braking situation.
As long as the aircraft is in flight the braking system is closed. Once the aircraft has touched down, on a braking order from the pilot, the BSCU controls the solenoid valve isolating the circuit, causing it to open. Oil at high-pressure then rushes into the circuit, preparing it to operate.
