Abstract: Method of making a carbon-carbon composite brake disc or pad by: needling a plurality of layers of fibrous fabric segments to one another to form a brake disc or pad preform; carbonizing the fibrous preform to provide a carbon fiber brake disc or pad preform having a fiber volume fraction in the range 17% to 30% in the brake disc or pad preform; densifying the resulting carbonized needled fibrous fabric preform with pitch (isotropic or anisotropic) or with pitch and CVD/CVI; carbonizing the resulting pitch-infiltrated carbon fiber disk to carbonize the pitch therein; heat-treating the resulting pitch-densified carbon brake disc or pad; and subjecting the carbon brake disc or pad to a final cycle of CVD/CVI processing in order to produce a carbon-carbon composite brake disc or pad having a density of at least 1.70 g/cc and having a uniform through-thickness density.

Abstract: Economically attractive method of making carbon-carbon composite brake disc or pad. The manufacturing method herein provides lowered manufacturing cycle time and reduced cost of manufacturing while enabling increased density of the final composite. The method includes: providing a fibrous nonwoven fabric segment produced from high basis weight fabric; optionally needling sequential layers of the fabric segments together to construct a brake disc or pad preform; carbonizing the fibrous preform to obtain a carbon-carbon preform; and infiltrating the resulting carbonized needled fibrous fabric preform via pitch or pitch and CVD/CVI processing in order to produce a carbon-carbon composite brake disc or pad which has a final density of 1.60 to 1.90 grams per cubic centimeter.

Abstract: Method of making a carbon-carbon composite brake disc or pad by: needling a plurality of layers of fibrous fabric segments to one another to form a brake disc or pad preform; carbonizing the fibrous preform to provide a carbon fiber brake disc or pad preform having a fiber volume fraction in the range 17% to 30% in the brake disc or pad preform; densifying the resulting carbonized needled fibrous fabric preform with pitch (isotropic or anisotropic) or with pitch and CVD/CVI; carbonizing the resulting pitch-infiltrated carbon fiber disk to carbonize the pitch therein; heat-treating the resulting pitch-densified carbon brake disc or pad; and subjecting the carbon brake disc or pad to a final cycle of CVD/CVI processing in order to produce a carbon-carbon composite brake disc or pad having a density of at least 1.70 g/cc and having a uniform through-thickness density.

Abstract: Method of making carbon-carbon composite brake disc or pad. The manufacturing method herein benefits from lowered manufacturing cycle time, reduced cost of manufacturing, and at the same time increased density of the final composite. The method includes: providing a fibrous nonwoven fabric segment comprised of OPAN fibers, the segment being produced from high basis weight fabric; providing a needler to needle layers of the fabric segments to one another; needling two layers of the fabric segments to one another and then needling sequential layers of the fabric segments on top of the layers thereof which have previously been needled together, to construct a brake disc or pad preform; carbonizing the fibrous preform to obtain a carbon-carbon preform; and infiltrating the resulting carbonized needled fibrous fabric preform via CVD/CVI processing in order to produce a carbon-carbon composite brake disc or pad which has a density of at least 1.70 grams per cubic centimeter.

Abstract: A wireless communication system includes a system backbone, a host computer coupled to the system backbone, at least one base station coupled to the system backbone, the at least one base station including a base station transceiver for communicating wirelessly with mobile devices within the system, and at least one mobile device having a mobile device transceiver for communicating wirelessly with the host computer on the system backbone via the at least one base station. A method of operation includes the steps determining whether a version of operating software stored in the at least one mobile device is a current version of the operating software, and wirelessly updating the operating software stored in the at least one mobile device if it is determined that the operating software stored in the at least one mobile device is not the current version.