Brake disks with integrated heat sink are provided. Brake disk includes a fiber-reinforced composite material and an encapsulated heat sink material impregnated into the fiber-reinforced composite material. The encapsulated heat sink material comprises a heat sink material encapsulated within a silicon-containing encapsulation layer. Methods for manufacturing the brake disk with integrated heat sink and methods for producing the encapsulated heat sink material are also provided.

A back-plate composition of the present invention is a composition for forming a back plate of a brake pad, the brake pad having a friction material and the back plate bonded to the friction material. The back-plate composition includes a resin, a plurality of first fibers and a plurality of second fibers having an average length shorter than an average length of the first fibers. In the case where the average length of the first fibers is L1 [m] and the average length of the second fibers is L2 [m], L2/L1 is in the range of 0.001 to 0.5. This makes it possible to provide a back-plate composition having excellent moldability, as well as a back plate formed of the back-plate composition, a brake pad including the back-plate and a caliper device provided with the brake pad.

Friction material composition and associated brake pad for vehicles having a reduced or nil tendency to both stiction and creep groan, wherein the composition includes an organic binder; an inorganic filler; a lubricant; hard abrasives having a Mohs hardness of above 7 having exclusively a roundish shape, e.g. consisting in: Alumina, Corindone, Silicon carbide, Tungsten carbide, Zirconium carbide, Zirconium silicate, Boron nitride; soft abrasives having a Mohs hardness of below 7; carbon based materials; and a metal or mixture of metals except Cu, in an amount of less than 7% in volume calculated on the total volume of the composition; the ratio between the hard abrasive rounded and the carbon based materials being 1:3; the ratio between the hard abrasive rounded and the soft abrasives being 1:6; the ratio between the metal or mixture of metals and the carbon based materials being 1:6.

A metal matrix composite article that includes at least first and second regions, first and second reinforcement materials, a metal matrix composite material occupying the second region of the body and comprising a metal matrix material and the second reinforcement component, a preform positioned in the first region of the body and infiltrated by at least the metal matrix material of the metal matrix composite material. The article further includes a transition region located proximate an outer surface of the preform that includes a distribution of the second reinforcement component comprising a density increasing according to a second gradient in a direction toward the outer surface of the preform.

A universal joint or other vehicle driveline assembly includes an inner race, an outer race, and bearings positioned between the races. In some embodiments, the components of the universal joint that are in contact with the bearings are selectively processed to be harder than the other non-contact surfaces of the component.

An asbestos-free friction material includes inorganic and/or organic and/or metallic fibers, at least one binder, at least one friction modifier or lubricant, at least one filler or abrasive and a carbonaceous material constituted by a microstructure. The microstructure is in the form of flakes or scales of micrometric planar dimensions and of nanometric thickness consisting of a substantially pure graphene mono- or multilayers, preferably pre-blended with at least part of the organic binder.

An example method includes forming an interlayer on a carbon fiber fabric to form a composite fiber fabric. The interlayer comprises a binder. The method further includes winding the composite fiber fabric around a core to form a composite fiber preform comprising a plurality of layers defining an annulus extending along a central axis. The method further includes densifying the composite fiber preform.

A method of manufacturing a carbon structure can comprise: infiltrating the carbon structure with a silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) precursor sol; and densifying the carbon structure by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) to form a carbon and ceramic matrix composite material, the carbon and ceramic matrix composite material comprising between 0% and 15% by weight of a plurality of ceramic particles from the ceramic compound, densifying the carbon structure including adjusting a temperature gradient across the carbon structure.

A method for making a braking band (2) for a brake disc (1) for a disc brake, comprising the following steps: a) preparing a mold (10) having an inner cavity (11), which comprises a first portion (11a) of a shape corresponding to the braking band (2) to be made; b) preparing a band preform (20) comprising a central layer (200) made of porous ceramic material comprising silicon carbide (SiC), an upper outer layer (201) and a lower outer layer (202), said upper outer layer (201) and said lower outer layer (202) being made of porous ceramic material comprising silicon carbide (SiC) and infiltrated with silicon (SiC+Si), said upper outer layer (201) and said bottom outer layer (202) being arranged in an opposing way and on opposite sides of the central layer (200); c) placing said band preform (20) inside the mold at the first portion (11a) of said inner cavity (11); and d) injecting a liquid or semi-solid aluminum alloy inside the entire inner cavity (11) of the mold (11) so as to infiltrate only the central layer (200) of said band preform (20) made of porous ceramic material with said aluminum alloy, obtaining at the first portion (11a) an aluminum metal matrix composite reinforced by said central preform (200) which defines the braking band (2) to be made. A braking band and a brake disc are made at least with the aforesaid method.

A universal joint or other vehicle driveline assembly includes an inner race, an outer race, and bearings positioned between the races. In some embodiments, the components of the universal joint that are in contact with the bearings are selectively processed to be harder than the other non-contact surfaces of the component.