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Carbon carbon brake disks were introduced on the Concorde years ago because
they are light, can tolerate high temperatures while retaining strength and
stiffness, and store large amounts of heat because of high specific heat and
high temperature capability. The high thermal conductivity also carries
head from the surface into depth very well making carbon carbon particularly
well suited for brakes.
So how about carbon carbon brake disks to replace those boat anchors, er,
steel brake disks we all have attached to our wheels? It could save a lot
of weight and add a bit of high tech exotica to our aircraft. :-)
All it takes is cubic quantities of money, but think of the hangar flying
that would result!
Fred Moreno
-----Original Message-----
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Carbon (graphite fiber) retains its strength and stiffness well
up to about 2000 C. Yes... that's about 3600 degrees Fahrenheit.
It does start to oxidize at about 600 C (~1100 F) in air though,
so it is difficult to test to its full temperature range...
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