This study examines the friction and wear of ceramic matrix composites designed for use in automotive brake discs. The composites are produced by reinforcing a SiC matrix with carbon fibers using a liquid silicon infiltration method. C/C-SiC composites with two different compositions are fabricated to examine the compositional effect on the tribological properties. The tribological properties are evaluated using a scale dynamometer with a low-steel type friction material. The results show that the coefficient of friction is determined by the composition of the composite, which affects the propensity of friction film formation on the disc surface. A stable friction film on the disc surface also improves the wear resistance by diminishing the abrasive action of the disc. On the other hand, the friction film formation on the disc is affected by the applied pressure, and stable films are obtained at high pressures. This trend is prominent with discs with high Si content. However, both C/C/-SiC composites show superior performance in terms of the friction force oscillation, which is closely related to brake-induced vibration.

This study was performed to offer effective basic data for selection and improvement of Korean dairy cattle through identifying distributional properties among candidate genes (bovine butyrophilin, signal transducers and activators of transcription 5a, and prolactin hormone). In this study, polymorphisms of candidate genes were identified and the relationships between loci and production traits of each gene were analyzed using frozen semen of Holstein bulls (19 proven and 77 candidates). In butyrophilin (BTN) locus, polymorphisms information contents (PIC) value of BTN2 (0.372) was higher than those of others (BTN1; 0.155, BTN3; 0.254, BTN4; 0.169). As a result of analysis of genotyping STAT5a, using single stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) method and microsatellite locus, PIC values were 0.189 and 0.457, respectively. And PIC value of prolactin hormone gene was 0.176. In the relationships between genotypes and production traits, BTN3 was associated with 305-day production traits (p<0.05). PTAs for B allele were such as 110.43, 88.28 and 75.25 in BTN1, 3, 4 and these values were higher than those of A allele, but in the case of BTN2, A allele with 154.19 was higher than that of B allele. The results obtained from using candidate genes may be used as an useful index for the genetic improvement of dairy cattle population in Korea, and further studies are needed.