Patent ID: 8282756

Claim:
A method of making a brake disk of carbon/carbon composite material incorporating ceramic particles, the brake disk having a friction first portion and a second portion adjacent the friction first portion and mechanically transmitting braking torque, the method comprising the steps of: a) impregnating one or more two-dimensional fiber fabrics of carbon or carbon precursor fibers in a colloidal suspension or a sol-gel solution containing ceramic particles or a precursor of ceramic particles; b) superposing together first fiber plies formed of a two-dimensional fiber fabric impregnated with said colloidal suspension or sol-gel solution in a first portion of a fiber preform corresponding to the friction portion of the brake disk and second fiber plies of a two-dimensional fiber fabric not impregnated with said colloidal suspension or sol-gel solution in a second portion of the fiber preform corresponding to the second portion of the brake disk; c) drying the impregnated fiber fabric to leave on the fibers of said first fiber plies a dispersion of discrete ceramic particles; d) bonding together the first and second fiber plies to obtain a brake disk fiber preform having said first portion formed of fiber plies and ceramic particles dispersed on the fiber plies of the first portion and a second portion formed of fiber plies free or practically free of ceramic particles, said fiber plies being bonded together progressively as they are superposed; and e) subsequently densifying the brake disk fiber preform with an added carbon matrix.