Assignment 1

Modern Aircraft Brakes

Materials and Manufacturing Methods

Zeashaan Akhmed 1/16/2012

Materials and Processes Used for the Manufacturing of Modern Aircraft Brakes

Man-made technologies, have, in the last one hundred years, seen rapid and substantial advancements. A prime example of this progression can be seen in the aerospace industry. Aircraft development has moved at such a speed that the wingspan of a modern Airbus A380 is longer than the first ever recorded flight. As aircraft began to increase in size, so did the need for innovative new technological ideas, which would be able to keep up with the ferocious pace of aeronautical evolution. One such problem faced by engineers then and now, was the difficult task of bringing an aircraft potentially weighing hundreds of tonnes and travelling hundreds of miles per hour to a complete stop on a runway with limited length. This of course led to engineers having to rethink and re-design the braking systems and materials used in that era. Generally in older aircraft as well as some light modern aircraft the brakes where more or less the same as modern day disk brakes on cars. Most were manufactured from gray iron or high carbon steel, with a copper core. The properties of copper allowed the core to act as a heat sink. Absorbing heat away from the outer material and therefore avoiding warping of the brake disk. With brake disks, the surface finish is of great importance. The level of tolerance needed would require expensive casting techniques to achieve producing the disk in one step. To solve this problem, sand casting, which is a relatively quick and cheap process, would be used. The surface of the part would then later be machined to the desired finish. As aircraft increased in size and speed, a transition of materials was made. Before this point engineers were busy creating new and improved brake designs that allowed them to carry on using the somewhat redundant materials on offer. They implemented methods such as multiple brake disks and segmented stators, which will later be explained in greater detail.

http://www.sglgroup.com/cms/international/products/product-groups/bd/carbon-ceramic-brakedisks/index.html?__locale=en

Modern day materials include carbon fibre and ceramics along with many slight variations. The type of braking system will differ from company to company. This difference means that each system will have its own specific requirements and therefore the materials and manufacturing methods used will also differ. The forces generated within the brake material are immense. The kinetic energy from a moving aircraft is turned into heat by friction between the brake pads and brake disks. The subsequent high temperatures and mechanical forces would expand and warp traditional cast iron or steel disks. To combat these limitations designers adopted segmented brake disks. The normally solid disk would be cut, usually using laser cutting machines, into segments. The segments would have slight gaps between them. When the disk was subject to high heat, the thermal expansion in the metal would cause the spaces in-between the segments to close. This space allowance would reduce the effects of thermal expansion. Engineers then repeated this design into what is called an Annular Multi Disk Brake. This is simply several disk brakes connected together to further enhance the performance capabilities of the current materials.

The properties of carbon fibre and ceramics mean that they are highly resistant to heat shock. They can withstand extremely high temperatures well above 10001 degrees centigrade, and have very little thermal expansion. An example of this can be seen in the NASA space shuttle. On re-entry into the Earths orbit ceramic tiles on the underside of the shuttle are used to resist the extreme temperatures experienced when colliding into the upper atmosphere. Ceramics are resistant to wear and corrosion due to their inherent hardness and are very light weight, potentially saving hundreds of pounds of weight from aircraft landing gear. This makes them ideal for aircraft brake applications. Most modern aircraft brakes are made from carbon matrix composites, or CMC materials. This simply denotes a ceramic that is re-enforced with carbon fibre, or vice versa. The reasoning behind this is to improve the properties of one material by combining it with another. Carbon fibre will reduce the brittleness of a standard ceramic brake by limiting crack propagation within the material.
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Manufacturing Methods of CMC Materials

Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) Chemical Vapour Deposition/Infiltration is the process of impregnating a matrix material in the shape of a fibrous pre-form with another material in a gaseous or vapour form. The process involves the interaction between a mixture of gasses and a heated substrate. For example, if we were to manufacture a product using SiC matrix. We begin with a chemical in vapour form called methyltrichlorosilane (CH3SiCl3). At high temperatures around 1400 degrees centigrade the vapour will undergo an isothermal decomposition reaction: CH3SiCl3 (g) SiC (s) + 3HCl (g)2 The chemical vapour infiltrates the pores of the pre-form and applies a thin layer of material over the surface of the substrate. The heat causes the remaining layers to bond together, leaving a reinforced ceramic composite. These reactions take place in a closed chamber equipped with an inlet and outlet to release excess gasses. The reactions achieved through this process result in forming oxides, nitrates and carbides. This process is widely used in the commercial industry. Large complex shapes can be achieved and can be made in large volumes in a single process. Another benefit is that if done properly the resulting composite will have a density close to 100 percent. This results in a product which has good mechanical properties. There are disadvantages however. The chemical process can be very slow and expensive. Problems can also occur during infiltration. If the vapour decomposition occurs on the surface of the substrate the pores in the material will become blocked. This prevents the vapour from properly penetrating the structure of the substrate. Other difficulties include handling of the gasses and the cost of the gasses themselves. The overall difficulty and cost of the process is high.

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Liquid Silicon Infiltration (LSI) LSI involves driving liquefied silica granules into a porous carbon/carbon pre-form. The preform is made using a technique called resin transfer moulding. During a process called pyrolysis the pre-form is heated to 900 degrees centigrade. This transforms the polymeric (plastic) matrix into a porous carbon material. Then at a temperature of around 17003 degrees centigrade the porous material is injected with liquid silicon which moves through the open channels. This new material is called silica carbide. This effectiveness of this process can be calculated using the Poissuelles equation. This manufacture process is very much like CVD. Both achieve similar results with the exception that LSI CMC materials are generally very porous. Figures of around 30 percent are to be expected. Both also have similar pros and cons. LSI manufacturing processes are however much quicker and lower in cost due to the relative ease of working with liquids compared to vapour. Both can also achieve homogeneous results. Care has to be taken to make sure that the mixture of materials has very similar thermal coefficients. A difference in the expansion and cooling rates of the two materials will result in cracking during the cooling process.

Cold Pressing and Sintering Cold pressing techniques are simpler than the first two. First, ceramic powder is mixed with water to create a slurry. An organic binder is then added to hold the mixture together. Pressure is added and the material is then heated to a temperature slightly below its melting point. The binder is burned away during the sintering process leaving closely packed particles behind. The major problem with this process is the likely hood of crack propagation. During the sintering process some material fibres may join together forming larger structures called whiskers. These whiskers then prevent other particle from achieving the surface bonding necessary for the sintering process to be a success.

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Even so this process is very easy. If care is taken in the selection of materials along with regulating the sintering temperature this process provides a cheap method to achieve specific results.

Most Common Method

Silicon Carbide Brakes Liquid Silicon Infiltration To manufacture the Carbon fibre brake disk, chopped pieces of carbon fibre are mixed with a heat moulded resin. This process is the base of many composite materials. The mixture is then deposited into an aluminium mould. Half way in-between the filling process, hollow aluminium cores are inserted into the side of the mould. The cores will form the hollow channels than will allow the disk to dissipate heat more efficiently. These cores are removed later. The mould is then compressed with twenty tonnes of force while being heated to nearly four hundred degrees Fahrenheit, compacting and fusing the mixture turning the resin into plastic. Once removed from the mould the disk ring is then machined to the desired surface finish. A number of holes are then bored into the side of the disk to further aid heat dissipation. The disk is then baked in an oven at 1800 degrees Fahrenheit; this changes the internal structure of the material turning the plastic into carbon. Silica is then added and the disk is placed into an oven for a second time at 3000 degrees Fahrenheit melting the silica. Light suction within in the oven distributes the silica throughout. After this process the carbon has reacted with the silica to produce a new even harder material called silicon carbide.4 The last step in the manufacture process includes treating the disk with anti-oxidisation paint. This protective layer greatly increases the life of the material by preventing the carbon from reacting with oxygen at high temperatures of 1400 degrees centigrade.5

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Figures from source 5 Source 4

Justification/Conclusion Modern aircraft brakes have specific requirements. These requirements can be summarised generally into a few points. They must be: Resistant to high temperatures Lightweight Resistant to corrosion and wear Long lasting Reliable Cost effective

The method of liquid silicon infiltration may not produce materials with the highest density. Neither is it the cheapest or easiest process but the results that are achieved are exactly what is required for modern aircraft braking systems. In all situations that require specific requirements to be met compromises have to be made. This process is fast and cost effective and allows companies to produce high standards of work in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Future Trends Speaking with engineers and academics within the trade I have found that companies may revert back to multi segmented braking systems in the future. The reasoning behind this seems to be the difficulty in working with carbon fibre. In the past asbestos was used within brake pads. This of course led to serious health and safety issues within the maintenance industry and thus had to be abandoned. Similarly if a person was to inhale carbon fibre dust, the damaging effects on a human being could be as great as the asbestos problems of the past. Carbon fibre then, may have to be limited to military application as more and more companies are now learning new techniques to produce variants of the iron and steel brakes using newer techniques such as hydro-forming which enhances the cutting tolerances of the individual segments. To balance out the weight difference the wheel assembly is instead becoming lighter. Most modern wheel housings are now made from titanium and magnesium alloys some even including plastics. New ideas are also being applied. Instead of relying solely on the brake material to dissipate heat into the atmosphere some systems relieve some of that pressure. For example, on a modern Typhoon Euro Fighter military Jet, an in built fan within the wheel assembly assists in the dissipation of heat. The energy to power the fan is recovered from the braking of the aircraft itself.

Reference Page

Books
1. Manufacturing Engineering and Technology- S.Schmid 2. Engineering Design-G.E.Dieter

Internet
Google book 3. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=33n6KtXtfDwC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=cm c:cold+pressing+and+sintering&source=bl&ots=tsSxojJbqO&sig=f8CZ1Ind4tMcHWyU tumWZyiaK9M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ngQTT5nWAc6r8QOb5YTPAw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAg #v=onepage&q=cmc%3Acold%20pressing%20and%20sintering&f=true 4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrhVHA-3ZBU 5. http://www.appropedia.org/Ceramic_Matrix_Composite_Disc_Brakes

Journals
6. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1744-7402.2004.tb00169.x/full

Acknowledgments All references were used to build up knowledge of said report topic.