The Carborundum Company

Stemcor Corporation

Performance Friction Corporation

Stephen Chwastiak

Sai-Kwing Lau

Carl H McMurtry

Wolfgang D Boecker

Tadeusz M Korzekwa

Gajawalli V Srinivasan

Donald L Burgoon

Jens H Lamba

Ramesh Divakar

Sa-Kwing Lau

The invention includes a process for producing a reaction bonded silicon carbide composite reinforced with coated silicon carbide fibers which is suitable for high temperature applications. The process includes the steps of coating SiC fibers with AlN, BN or TiB.sub.2 ; treating the coated fibers with a mixture of SiC powder, water and a surfactant; preparing a slurry comprising SiC powder and water; infiltrating the coated fibers with the slurry to form a cast; drying the cast to form a green body; and reaction bonding the green body to form a dense SiC fiber reinforced reaction bonded matrix composite. The invention further includes a SiC fiber reinforced SiC composite comprising a reaction bonded SiC matrix, a SiC fiber reinforcement possessing thermal stability at high temperatures and an interface coating on the fibers having chemical and mechanical compatibility with the SiC matrix and with the SiC fibers.

Silicon carbide reinforced reaction bonded silicon carbide composite

Provided is a fast and efficient method of burnishing a brake pad. The brake pad is contacted with a heat source having a power density greater than about 270 Mw/m.sup.2. Also provided is pre-burnished brake pad having an increased coefficient of friction.

Method of burnishing brake pads

Provided is a pre-burnished brake pad that has been contacted with a heat source having a power in the range of 250 Mw/m.sup.2 to about 500 Mw/m.sup.2.

Brake pad which has been pre-burnished using a high intensity heat source

Process for manufacturing a silicon carbide composition

Silicon carbide sintered bodies having controlled porosity in the range of about 2 to 12 vol %. in which the pores are generally spherical and about 50 to 500 microns in diameter, are prepared from raw batches containing a polymer fugitive. Sintered bodies in the form of mechanical seal members exhibit lower power consumption at low PV and, in addition, lower wear rates at high PV in comparison to commercially available silicon carbide seal members.

Intermediate for producing porous silicon carbide

The invention provides silicon carbide fiber-reinforced, reaction-bonded silicon carbide composites suitable for high temperature applications in which the silicon carbide fiber is coated with AlN, BN or TiB.sub.2. The composites offer superior fracture toughness which is ascribed to fiber pullout. The invention also includes a process for making the composites.

Crystalline silicon carbide wherein at least 90 weight percent of the silicon carbide is formed from a plurality of hexagonal crystal lattices wherein at least 80 weight percent of the crystals formed from the lattices contain at least a portion of opposing parallel base faces separated by a distance of from 0.5 to 20 microns. The crystals may be in the form of separate particles, e.g. separate platelets, or may comprise an intergrown structure. The crystalline silicon carbide of the invention is produced by heating a porous alpha silicon carbide precursor composition comprising silicon and carbon in intimate contact to a temperature of from 2100.degree. C. to 2500.degree. C. in a non-reactive atmosphere. The materials are high performance materials finding use in reinforcing, high temperature thermal insulating, improvement of thermal shock resistance, and modification of electrical properties.

Growing community of inventors

Charlotte, NC, United States of America

Stephen Chwastiak