Abstract— In this work, computer software that is user-friendly for the analysis and design of brakes was developed. This was done using Microsoft Visual Basic object-oriented programming language. In designing the software, the various classes of brakes were considered. The mathematical expressions that govern the relationship between force, torque, pressure, heat generated rate and energy were assembled and carefully programmed. To enhance the ability to visually display and interpret solutions, graphical features were incorporated in the software. A spectrum of benchmark problems were used to test the software’s robustness, accuracy and efficiency. The results show that the software is highly accurate, efficient and robust. The usage of the software greatly increases the accuracy, and reduces the complexity and time spent in the analysis and design of brakes. Index Terms — Object-oriented programming, Brake, Torque, Force, Heat generation and dissipation, Computer- aided- design Notation ܣ ௖ contact area,  ଶ ܣ ௥ radiating surface area,  ଶ a 1 distance from centre of drum to pivot, m a 3 distance from F 2 to shoe pivot (hand brake), m b 1 distance from point of application of force to shoe pivot, m b 2 distance from F 1 to the shoe pivot (hand brake), m C 1 constant (external shoe brake) C 2 coefficient of heat transfer, W/m 2 k c 1 distance from point of application of normal force to the shoe pivot (external shoe brake ), m c 2 moment arm of the actuating force (external shoe brake), m c 3 distance from the point of application of force to the shoe pivot (hand brake), m E k total kinetic energy absorbed, W E p total potential energy absorbed, W e natural logarithm base F force applied to the brake shoe, N F 1 tension on the right side, N F 2 tension on the slack side F L force applied to the left block of the brake, N F R force applied to the right block of the brake H b heat generation rate,, W M f moment of frictional forces with respect to the shoe pivot (right shoe), Nm J. A.Akpobi is an Associate Professor with the Department of Production Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Benin, P.M.B 1154, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria(corresponding author to provide phone: +234 (0) 80 55010348, e-mail: alwaysjohnie@yahoo.com). . M f ’ moment of frictional force with respect to the shoe pivot,(left shoe), Nm M n moment of normal forces with respect to the shoe pivot ( right shoe), Nm M n ’ moment of normal forces with respect to the shoe pivot,(left shoe), Nm N normal force on the shoe brake, N N L normal force on the left shoe brake,, N N R normal force on the right shoe brake, N P av average pressure, N/m 2 P m maximum pressure (right shoe), N/m 2 P m ’ maximum pressure (left shoe), N/m 2 R internal radius of drum (external shoe brake), m T torque, Nm V peripheral velocity of drum, m/s ƒ coefficient of friction h distance from center of drum to the pivot, m r internal radius of drum ( internal shoe brake), m w face width of shoe, m α angle of wrap of belt, degrees Δt temperature difference between exposed radiating surface and the surrounding air( degree centigrade or Kelvin) θ angle of contact ( degrees) θ 1 center angle from shoe pivot to heel of lining (internal shoe brake), degrees θ 2 center angle from shoe brake to toe of lining (internal shoe brake), degrees θ m center angle from shoe pivot to point of maximum pressure, degrees I. INTRODUCTION The design of brakes involves evaluating the force, pressure, torque, heat-generated, heat dissipated and the coefficient of friction. When in use, the energy absorbed by brakes in the process of slowing down or stop moving part(s)) is dissipated as heat. In the area of brake design, a number of researchers have contributed towards the advancement of the process. One such contribution was from Fazekas; who significantly reduced the difficulty associated with numerical integration in the analysis of circular (Bottom or Puck) pad caliper brake, Fazekas [1]. Ferodo [2] and Neale [3] developed a table for the amount of friction material required for a given average braking power. In the area of developing software for machine design, very little documented research exists. Some of these documented machine design software include the works of Jombo and Adetona [4]; who worked on belts and pulleys. However, efforts have been made recently to develop software for the design of machine elements, using object-oriented programming technique [5, 6]. Some of these works addressed Computer-Aided Design Of Brakes John A. Akpobi Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2010 Vol II WCE 2010, June 30 - July 2, 2010, London, U.K. ISBN: 978-988-18210-7-2 ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online) WCE 2010