Patent ID: 7858187

Claim:
A method of joining carbon-carbon composite pieces together to form an aircraft brake disc, the method comprising: providing a first carbon-carbon composite piece and a second carbon-carbon composite piece, wherein said second carbon-carbon composite piece has a surface that is complementary to a surface of said first carbon-carbon composite piece, and wherein said first and second carbon-carbon composite pieces together form an aircraft brake disc; providing a layer of a mixture of titanium powder having an average particle diameter of from 25 to 250 microns and carbon powder on said first complementary mating surface; arranging said second carbon-carbon composite piece on the powder layer such that said second complementary mating surface is matched to said first complementary mating surface, thereby forming a construct of said first carbon-carbon composite piece, said powder layer, and said second carbon-carbon composite piece; placing the construct into a press and applying pressure to the construct to press together said two pieces joined at their complementary surfaces; and applying an electrical current of from 400 to 1200 Amps to the powder in said construct to initiate an oxidation-reduction reaction and produce an adiabatic temperature therein of over 3000° C., thereby bonding the carbon-carbon composite pieces together.