AlPO4-coated mullite/alumina fiber reinforced reaction-bonded mullite composites

A precursor for reaction-bonded mullite (RBM) is formulated by premixing Al₂O₃, Si, mullite seeds and mixed-rare-earth-oxides (MREO). An ethanol suspension thereof is stabilized with polyethyleneimine protonated by acetic acid. The solid in the suspension is infiltrated into unidirectional mullite/alumina fiber-preforms by electrophoretic infiltration deposition to produce fiber-reinforced, RBM green bodies. Crack-free composites with ≤25% porosity were achieved after pressureless sintering at 1300 °C. Pre-coating the fibers with AlPO₄ as a weak intervening layer facilitates significant fiber pullout on composite fracture and confers superior damage tolerance. The bend strength is 170 MPa at 25 °C ≤ T ≤ 1100 °C. At 1200 °C, the composite fails in shear due to MREO-based, glassy phase formation. However, the AlPO₄ coating acts as a weak layer even after thermal aging at 1300 °C for 100 h.     

Synthesis of molybdenum silicide/mullite composites for high-temperature applications

Molybdenum silicide/mullite composite having about 31 wt. % MoSi₂ has been SHS-produced from a reactive blend composed of MoO₃, SiO₂, and Al. Additional amounts of silica were added to undergo mulHte formation reaction. The overall reaction involves both exothermic and endothermic ones. The endothermic mullite formation reaction is loaded onto the exothermic reaction of the reactive mixture. The effects of Al grain size (from 45 to 20 μm) and pre-heating temperature (from room temperature to 500°C) on the synthesis of the target composite were studied. Al grain size and preheating temperature were found to have decisive influence on the mullitization reaction. The sample containing 36-μm Al and ignited at 400°C was found to undergo complete mullitization reaction. The mechanism of the overall combustion reaction was postulated. In addition, oxidation resistance of this composite at 1100–1300°C in open atmosphere was determined.     

Fabrication and mechanical properties of SiC platelet reinforced mullite matrix composites

Hot-pressing of mullite and SiC–mullite matrix composites was performed at temperatures and pressures between 1500 and 1650°C and 5 and 15 MPa, respectively. Composites were produced using different precursors; sol–gel derived mullite and kaolinite/α-alumina. The precursor did not strongly affect the optimum density achieved, reaching 97·5% of theoretical for a 20 vol% SiC addition in both cases. The SiC platelet addition impaired densification kinetics in all composites compared to mullite monoliths. Fracture toughness, measured by the indentation strength in bending technique, was marginally higher for the sol–gel precursor material in both monolith and composite. Fracture toughness increased with SiC content for both materials. For example, for the sol-gel precursor material it increased from 2.9±0.1 MPa m^1/2 for the monolith to 3.9±0.1 MPa m^1/2 for the 20 vol% SiC composite. Similarly, hardness increased with SiC addition for both materials, but the hardness of the sol–gel material was greater than that of the kaolinite+α-alumina material for all compositions. The relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties is discussed.     

Weak interface dominated high temperature fracture strength of carbon fiber reinforced mullite matrix composites

Weak fiber/matrix interface dominates the toughening properties of ceramic matrix composites. This paper reports a novel sol-gel fabricated carbon fiber reinforced mullite matrix composite, in which the fiber/matrix interface was inherently weak in shear properties (∼25 MPa), measured in-situ by fiber push-in tests. The interface microstructure was chemically sharp, characterized by transmission electron microscopy. The outcome of the weak interface was the full trigger of the toughening mechanisms like crack deflection, etc., leading to significant enhancement of the fracture toughness of the composite (∼12 MPa√m), measured by single edged notch beam method. Finally, due to the weak fiber/matrix interface and large thermal expansion mismatch of the fiber and matrix, the high temperature fracture strength was enhanced in the temperature range from 25 to 1200 °C, which is attributed to the enhancement of the interfacial property at elevated temperatures that favors better load transfers between composite constituents.     

莫来石加入量对SiC-莫来石材料性能的影响

以SiC颗粒(2～1mm、≤1mm)、SiC细粉(≤0.066mm)、莫来石细粉(≤0.074mm)和SiO2微粉(≤0.045mm)为原料,在w(SiC细粉)=40%的基础配方中分别以质量分数为5%、10%、15%、20%和25%的莫来石细粉取代相应量的SiC细粉,并外加2%的SiO2微粉,成型后分别在1300℃和1500℃的大气气氛中煅烧3h,测定试样煅烧前后的质量变化率以及烧后试样的显气孔率、常温抗折强度和抗热震性,并用扫描电镜观察试样的显微结构。结果表明:在SiC自保护氧化的作用下,试样的抗氧化性较强,而且随着莫来石加入量的增大,1300℃烧后试样的氧化程度减小,1500℃烧后试样的氧化程度先减小,至15%后又增大;1300℃烧后试样比1500℃具有较高的抗热震性,并且随着试样中莫来石加入量的增大,烧后试样的抗热震性提高。     

Effect of different fiber orientations on compressive creep behavior of siC fiber-reinforced mullite matrix composites

The compressive creep behavior of monolithic mullite and a composite made of mullite reinforced by 40 vol% SiC fiber were investigated at temperatures from 1100 to 1200°C and under stresses from 5 to 55 MPa in air with a loading direction parallel and perpendicular to the fiber direction. For both situations the composite exhibits better creep resistance than monolithic mullite, although there is a creep anisotropy. The improvement in creep resistance when the fibers are parallel to the loading directions is due to the shedding of the applied stress on the SiC fibers, and the improvement in creep resistance when the fibers are perpendicular to the loading direction occurs because the fibers inhibit the lateral deformation of the mullite matrix along the fibers. The improvement mechanisms of the composites were confirmed further by their creep-recovery study, which indicated that the two types of composite specimens exhibit both an apparent creep-recovery behavior on load removal, due to the relaxation of the residual stress state between the mullite matrix and the SiC fibers after unloading. ©     

Preparation and properties of hierarchical structural alumina/mullite composites

Hierarchical structural alumina/mullite composites constructed by alumina platelets inter-locked porous matrices and mullite whiskers secondary structures had been designed and prepared based on the fluorine-catalyzed gas-phase process. In the composites, mullite whiskers grew on the alumina platelets of the matrices to form cactus-like structures, before that, topaz rods as transitional secondary structures formed at lower temperature. The fluorine-etching effects on secondary structures’ nucleation were discussed. The alumina/mullite composites (1300 °C) had low bulk density (1.10 g/cm³), high porosity (71.4%), and proper compression strength (～14.2 MPa), meanwhile, the average filtration efficiencies of PM2.5 and PM10 during the filtration tests were 78% and 76%, respectively. The introduced mullite whiskers with length of ～1 µm had not induced obvious changes on the structural parameters, hence, the alumina/mullite composites (1300 °C) possessed similar particle filtration performances compared with the alumina porous matrices, and both of the two species materials could be applied for hot gas filtration.     

High-temperature mechanical properties of NextelTM 610 fiber reinforced silica matrix composites

Novel Nextel? 610 fiber reinforced silica (N610f/SiO₂) composites were fabricated via sol-gel process at a sintering temperature range of 800–1200?°C. The sintering-temperature dependent microstructures and mechanical properties of the N610f/SiO₂ composites were investigated comprehensively by X-ray diffraction, nanoindentation, three-point bending etc. The results suggested a thermally stable Nextel? 610 fiber whose properties were barely degraded after the harsh sol-gel process. A phase transition in the silica matrix was observed at a critical sintering temperature of 1200?°C, which led to a significant increase in the Young's modulus and hardness. Due to the weak fiber/matrix interfacial interaction, the 800?°C and 1000?°C fabricated N610f/SiO₂ composites exhibited quasi-ductile fracture behaviors. Specially, the latter possessed the highest flexural strength of ≈ 164.5?MPa among current SiO₂-matrix composites reinforced by fibers. The higher sintering-temperature at 1200?°C intensified the SiO₂ matrix, but strengthened the interface, thus resulting in a brittle fracture behavior of the N610f/SiO₂ composite. Finally, the mechanical properties of this novel composite presented good thermal stability at high temperatures up to 1000?°C.     

Fabrication and properties of mullite fiber matrix porous ceramics by a TBA-based gel-casting process

A bird nest-like structure was designed by using the mullite fiber as the matrix and SiO₂ as the high temperature binder. This special material was successfully prepared by a TBA-based gel-casting process. The randomly arranged fiber laps bonded by SiO₂ binder was the most important structure characteristic of this porous material. The effect of sintering temperature on the properties, i.e. porosity, bulk density, linear shrinkage, compressive strength, thermal conductivity and the microstructure was studied. The composite exhibited significant pseudoductility. The fracture mechanism of this composite under compression was discussed. The results indicated that the sintering temperature ranging from 1500 to 1600 °C was suitable for yielding mullite fiber matrix porous ceramics which had a low thermal conductivity (0.19–0.22 W/m K), a relatively high compressive strength (3–13 MPa) and a high resilience (66–70%) for applications in the thermal insulators and high-temperature elastic seal field.     

Effects of sintering temperature on mechanical properties of 3D mullite fiber (ALF FB3) reinforced mullite composites

A new method to weaken the interfacial bonding and increase the strength of 3D mullite fiber reinforced mullite matrix (Mu_f/Mu) composites is proposed and tested in this paper. Firstly, Mu_f/Mu composites were fabricated through sol–gel process with varied sintering temperature. Then, the effects of sintering temperature on mechanical properties of the composites were tested. As sintering temperature was raised from 1000 °C to 1300 °C, the three-point flexural strength of the composites firstly decreased from 66.17 MPa to 41.83 MPa, and then increased to 63.17 MPa. In order to explain the relationship between composite strength and sintering temperature, morphology and structure of the mullite fibers and mullite matrix after the same heat-treatment as in the fabrication conditions of the composites were also investigated. Finally, it is concluded that this strength variation results from the combined effects of matrix densification, interfacial bonding and fiber degradation under different sintering temperatures.     

A high-temperature structural and wave-absorbing SiC fiber reinforced Si3N4 matrix composites

The SiC_f/Si₃N₄ composite with low–high–low permittivity sandwich structure was designed for high-temperature electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption and mechanical stability. The SiC_f/Si₃N₄ possessed the remarkable mechanical properties at room temperature (the flexural strength is 357 ± 16 MPa and the fracture toughness is 10.8 ± 1.7 MPa m^1/2) for the strong fiber strength, moderate interface bonding strength and uniform matrix. Furthermore, the retention rate is as high as 80% at 800 °C. The A/B/C nanostructure and the sandwich meta-structure endowed the SiC_f/Si₃N₄ with an excellent EM absorbing property at room temperature. The SiC_f/Si₃N₄ still absorbed 75% of the incident EM waves energy in X and Ku bands when the temperature increases up to 600 °C, which is only 6% lower than that at room temperature, for the partial compensation of the decreased interfacial polarization loss for the increased conductivity loss and dipole polarization loss.     

Mechanical properties of ceramic matrix composites with siloxane matrix and liquid phase coated carbon fiber reinforcement

In order to evaluate the benefits of continuous liquid phase coating (CLPC) for carbon fibers, coated fibers as well as uncoated fibers were applied in the preparation of unidirectionally reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) with polysiloxane based matrix. Fibers coated with precursor based ceramic or carbon coatings were transferred into prepregs by continuous fiber impregnation with liquid polysiloxane and filament winding. The wet prepregs were cut to shape, laminated and then pressed and cured in the mold at 150 °C for 1 h. The cured polymeric matrix composites were calcined and densified by subsequent precursor infiltration/calcination cycles. The flexural strength of the CMCs was measured by 4-point bending tests, the microstructure was determined by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The application of CLPC coated fibers led to a significant improvement in composite strength and young's modulus compared to identical reference samples with uncoated carbon fibers.     

Effect of preparation conditions on mechanical,dielectric and microwave absorption properties of SiC fiber/mullite matrix composite

Silicon carbide fiber-reinforced mullite matrix (SiC_f/Mu) composites were fabricated via an infiltration and sintering method. Effects of sintering parameters on microstructure, mechanical, dielectric and microwave absorption properties of SiC_f/Mu composites have been investigated. The flexural strength is significantly improved with increasing sintering temperature, and the highest flexural strength of 213?MPa is obtained in vacuum at 1000?°C for 2?h. The performances of composites with different holding time are further studied at 1000?°C. The flexural strengths of composites sintered at 1000?°C for 2 and 4?h reach 213 and 219?MPa, respectively. The failure displacement of the composite sintered at 1000?°C for 4?h reaches 0.39?mm. The excellent microwave absorption properties are achieved for the composite sintered at 1000?°C for 2?h. The minimum reflection loss (RL) reaches ?38?dB with a thickness of 2.9?mm?at 12?GHz and the effective absorbing bandwidth (RL?≤??10?dB) with a thickness of 3.4?mm covers the whole X?band, which indicate that SiC_f/Mu composite is a good candidate for microwave absorbing materials. These results provide valuable solutions to obtaining structural-functional materials for microwave absorption applications in civil and military areas.     

Enhanced high-temperature dielectric and microwave absorption properties of SiC fiber-reinforced oxide matrix composites

Because of outstanding performances of the SiC fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites in aircraft/aerospace systems, two silicon carbide fiber-reinforced oxide matrices (SiC_f/oxides) composites have been prepared by a precursor infiltration and sintering method. Results indicate that the flexural strength of the SiC_f/Al₂O₃–SiO₂ composite reaches 159 MPa, whereas that of the SiC_f/Al₂O₃ composite is only 50 MPa. The high-temperature microwave absorption properties of the composite are significantly enhanced due to choosing Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ as the hybrid matrices. Particularly, the minimum reflection loss (RL) value of the SiC_f/Al₂O₃–SiO₂ composite reaches −37 dB in the temperature of 200 °C at 8.6 GHz, and the effective absorption bandwidth (RL ≤ −5 dB) is 4.2 GHz (8.2–12.4 GHz) below 400 °C. The superior microwave absorption properties at high temperatures indicate that the SiC_f/Al₂O₃–SiO₂ composite has promising applications in civil and military areas. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47097.     

Interaction of fiber matrix bonding in SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites

Non-oxide ceramic matrix composites (CMC) based on SiC fibers with SiC matrix were fabricated by polymer infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP) and characterized regarding their microstructural features and their mechanical properties. The fiber preform was made using winding technology. During the winding process, the SiC fiber roving was impregnated by a slurry containing SiC powder and sintering additives (Y₂O_3, Al₂O₃ and SiO₂). This already helped to achieve a partial matrix formation during the preform fabrication. In this way, the number of PIP cycles to achieve composites with less than 10% open porosity could be reduced significantly. Additionally, damage-tolerant properties of the composites were obtained by an optimal design of the matrix properties although only uncoated fibers were used. Finally, composites with a strength level of about 500 MPa and a damage-tolerant fracture behavior with about 0.4% strain to failure were obtained.     

Tensile strength and fiber/matrix interfacial properties of 2D- and 3D-carbon/carbon composites

The tensile and fiber/matrix interfacial properties of 2D and 3D carbon/carbon composites (C/C) were compared. To elucidate the effect of three-dimensional reinforcement, both C/Cs were composed of the same constituents and prepared via. the same process route. The tensile fracture strain of both C/Cs degraded with increasing bulk density, and the fracture strain of the 3D-C/Cs were larger than that of the 2D-C/Cs at the same bulk density. The interfacial bonding strength of the 3D-C/Cs were found to be much lower than that of the 2D-C/Cs. From the comparison of the interfacial and tensile fracture behavior, high tensile fracture strains of 3D-C/Cs were concluded to be attributed to the weak interfacial bonding. This low interfacial strength of the 3D-C/Cs was suggested to be caused by the residual stresses induced during processing in the 3D-C/Cs due to three-dimensional restriction of the fibers.     

Stiffness and strength of flax fiber/polymer matrix composites

Flax fiber composites with thermoset and thermoplastic polymer matrices have been manufactured and tested for stiffness and strength under uniaxial tension. Flax/polypropylene and flax/maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene composites are produced from compound obtained by coextrusion of granulated polypropylene and flax fibers, while flax fiber mat/vinylester and modified acrylic resin composites are manufactured by resin transfer molding. The applicability of rule‐of‐mixtures and orientational averaging based models, developed for short fiber composites, to flax reinforced polymers is considered. POLYM. COMPOS. 27:221–229, 2006. © 2006 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Rheological properties of polypropylene/hemp fiber composites

This study investigates the effect of hemp fibres on the shear and elongational rheology of polypropylene (PP). The parameters studied were hemp content (0‐30%) and maleic anhydride polypropylene (MAPP) addition (0‐0.6%). Shear rheology revealed that fibre content mainly influences low shear rate properties like yield stress and zero‐shear‐viscosity while coupling agent addition mainly influences intermediate to high shear rate parameters like relaxation time, power‐law index and Yasuda parameter. On the other hand, elongational rheology results showed a strain softening behaviour of the composites with increasing consistency and decreasing strain at break as fibre concentration increases. MAPP addition is also shown to improve the fibre‐polymer compatibility, but at the same time produces a plasticizing effect having a significant effect on rheological properties. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Mechanical properties of biorenewable fiber/plastic composites

Plastic fiber composites, consisting of polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE), and pinewood, big blue stem (BBS), soybean hulls, or distillers dried grain and solubles (DDGS), were prepared by extrusion. Young's modulus, tensile and flexural strengths, melt flow, shrinkage, and impact energy, with respect to the type, amount, and size of fiber on composites, were evaluated. Young's moduli under tensile load of wood, BBS, and soybean‐hull fiber composites, compared with those of pure plastic controls, were either comparable or higher. Tensile strength significantly decreased for all the PP/fiber composites when compared with that of the control. Strength of BBS fiber composites was higher than or comparable to that of wood. When natural fibers were added there was a significant decrease in the melt flow index for both plastic/fiber composites. There was no significant difference in the shrinkage of all fiber/plastic composites compared to that of controls. BBS/PE plastic composites resulted in higher notched impact strength than that of wood or soybean‐hull fiber composites. There was significant reduction in the unnotched impact strength compared to that of controls. BBS has the potential to be used as reinforcing materials for low‐cost composites. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 2484–2493, 2004