Composite Brake Disc Preform with Axial-Radial Fiber Architecture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Carbon-carbon composite materials used in aerospace applications, such as aircraft brake discs, face challenges in wear rate and thermal conductivity, leading to reduced usable life and increased peak temperatures during braking procedures.
Innovation Solution
The use of fiber preforms with a majority of fibers oriented axially to improve friction properties, shear strength, and thermal conductivity, combined with radial fibers to bind layers and enhance interlaminar shear strength, is implemented. This involves winding composite fabrics around a mandrel, introducing radial fibers through needling or tufting, and pyrolyzing the preform to densify it, which can be sectioned into disc brakes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional fiber preforms with circumferential fiber orientation are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but wear rate increases and thermal conductivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional circumferential fiber orientation to axial fiber orientation, fundamentally changing the dimensional arrangement of fibers in the preform. This dimensional change enables superior wear resistance and thermal conductivity by aligning fibers with the primary stress and heat flow directions in the brake disc, while the automated winding process maintains manufacturing feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite fiber structure combining axial fibers (≥40% of total fibers) with circumferential fibers created through radial binding. This composite arrangement leverages the complementary strengths of different fiber orientations: axial fibers provide wear resistance and thermal conductivity, while circumferential fibers provide structural integrity and layer binding
2Temperature
If axial fibers are used to improve thermal conductivity, then heat conduction increases, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes axial fiber orientation to create direct heat conduction pathways from the friction surface through the disc thickness, reducing peak temperatures. The automated winding process efficiently implements this complex three-dimensional fiber architecture without proportionally increasing manufacturing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent concentrates axial fiber orientation (≥40% of total fibers) in regions where thermal conductivity is most critical, particularly near the friction surfaces and heat generation zones. This localized optimization of fiber orientation provides maximum thermal management benefit while controlling overall manufacturing complexity
3Strength
If radial fibers are introduced to bind layers, then interlaminar shear strength increases, but manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates radial binding fibers during the preform fabrication stage itself, rather than adding them later. The automated winding process simultaneously creates both the axial fiber structure and the radial binding elements, performing multiple functions in a single preliminary operation and avoiding subsequent complex assembly steps
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite fiber architecture where radial binding fibers (forming circumferential orientation) mechanically interlock with axial fibers to create a unified three-dimensional structure. This composite arrangement provides interlaminar shear strength through the interaction between different fiber orientations, with both components being integrated during the winding process
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach decreases wear rates, increases the usable life of composite friction materials, and reduces peak temperatures by improving heat conduction and torque transfer, thereby extending the life of brake discs and their protective coatings.
Implementation Method 1
The plurality of radial fibers extending substantially in the radial direction relative to the longitudinal axis mechanically bind one or more adjacent layers of the plurality of layers
Implementation Method 2
pyrolyzing the preform to densify it
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A method that includes winding a composite fabric (406) around a mandrel (402) to form a plurality of layers defining an annulus extending along a central longitudinal axis (410), where the composite fabric (406) includes a plurality of elongate axial fibers (104) extending substantially in an axial direction (A) relative to the longitudinal axis (410) and a plurality of elongate circumferential fibers (106) extending substantially in a circumferential (C) direction relative to the longitudinal axis; and introducing, into at least a portion of the plurality of layers, a plurality of radial fibers (108) extending substantially in the radial direction (R) relative to the longitudinal axis, where the plurality of radial fibers mechanically bind one or more adjacent layers of the plurality of layers.