Abstract: Provided are novel devices and methods for making a variable density preform, the methods comprising obtaining a slurry comprising a reinforcement particle component and a liquid component; obtaining a die cavity having at least one inlet opening and at least one exit opening defining at least one die cavity flow path therebetween directed toward the exit opening, the at least one exit opening suitably sized or configured to provide for exit of the at least one liquid component while impeding or blocking exit of the at least one reinforcement particle component; and introducing the slurry under pressure, and for a sufficient time period, through the inlet orifice into the die cavity flow path to provide for a decreasing pressure gradient along the flow path direction, to provide for a variable density of the at least one particle component, the particle density increasing in the at least one flow path direction.

Abstract: Provided are novel devices and methods for making a variable density preform, the methods comprising obtaining a slurry comprising a reinforcement particle component and a liquid component; obtaining a die cavity having at least one inlet opening and at least one exit opening defining at least one die cavity flow path therebetween directed toward the exit opening, the at least one exit opening suitably sized or configured to provide for exit of the at least one liquid component while impeding or blocking exit of the at least one reinforcement particle component; and introducing the slurry under pressure, and for a sufficient time period, through the inlet orifice into the die cavity flow path to provide for a decreasing pressure gradient along the flow path direction, to provide for a variable density of the at least one particle component, the particle density increasing in the at least one flow path direction.

Abstract: Provided are novel devices and methods for making a variable density preform, the methods comprising obtaining a slurry comprising a reinforcement particle component and a liquid component; obtaining a die cavity having at least one inlet opening and at least one exit opening defining at least one die cavity flow path therebetween directed toward the exit opening, the at least one exit opening suitably sized or configured to provide for exit of the at least one liquid component while impeding or blocking exit of the at least one reinforcement particle component; and introducing the slurry under pressure, and for a sufficient time period, through the inlet orifice into the die cavity flow path to provide for a decreasing pressure gradient along the flow path direction, to provide for a variable density of the at least one particle component, the particle density increasing in the at least one flow path direction.

Abstract: In the trucking industry, a wheel stud having a recess at either end to accommodate a sacrificial insert of metal higher in the electromotive series of metals than the metals of the wheel stud assembly, the lug and the components joined thereby and being of sufficient difference in color from the surrounding materials so as to be readily visible without disassembling the combination, and a method for its use.

Abstract: Particular embodiments of the present invention provide novel fluid-cooled cylinder liners. Preferred liners are annular cylinders containing a plurality of passages, arranged generally parallel to the axis of the cylinders, and integrated between the inner and outer surfaces of the cylinders. Preferably, the integral passages are arranged so that they are typically closer to the outer surface of the liner than the inner surface. Each passage has at least two openings. A passage with two openings on opposite end of the cylinder runs the entire length of the liner, while a passage with a opening at one end of the liner and a second opening along a surface of the liner runs only for a fraction of the liner length. In preferred embodiments, openings on the outer surface of the liner will be arranged in a circle lying on a plane perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder, and near either end of the cylinder; ensuring that each passage traverses the majority of the length of the liner.