Influence of in-plane and out-of-plane machining on the surface topography,the removal mechanism and the flexural strength of 2D C/C-SiC composites

Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) are increasingly demanded especially for the production of structural components for several industries such as aerospace because of their excellent thermo-mechanical and fatigue properties. As one of the last production steps final machining is necessary to meet the required tolerances. From the economic point of view final machining of CMCs is highly critical and special knowledge is assumed to avoid irreparable damage, because of their heterogeneous, anisotropic and brittle nature. In this work diamond grinding and diamond milling have been applied to a 2D C/C-SiC composite at various feed rates and cutting speeds and in both main laminate directions, in-plane and out-of-plane. The microstructures of in-plane and out-of-plane machining indicate different material removal mechanisms due to different composite architecture. Increasing feed rate leads generally to more surface defects and consequently to higher roughness. Little influence on the four-point-bending strength was observed when changing the machining speed.     

Strength evolution of cyclic loaded LSI-based C/C-SiC composites

An experimental investigation was performed to study the influence of fatigue damage introduced by different loading cycles on the residual tensile strength (RTS) of plain-weave reinforced C_f/C-SiC composites (2D C/C-SiC). The specimens were subjected to the fatigue stress of 57 MPa for the preselected numbers of cycles as follows: 10², 10⁴ and 10⁵, respectively, before the static tensile test. The microstructures and fractured surfaces after the tensile test were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The results showed that the RTS of the specimens after the preselected fatigue cycles numbers of 10², 10⁴ and 10⁵ increase to 89.8, 94.1 and 82.4 MPa, respectively, which are somewhat higher compared to the virgin samples (79.7 MPa). Additionally, we found that the linear part of the tensile stress-strain curve is independent on the fatigue cycles. Finally, the increased fatigue damage in C/C-SiC composites could determine a reduction of elastic modulus in all cases of fatigue tests.     

A new strategy for high-value reutilization of recycled carbon fiber: Preparation and friction performance of recycled carbon fiber felt-based C/C-SiC brake pads

To achieve the high-value reutilization of recycled carbon fiber (rCF), a new strategy of preparing rCF-based C/C-SiC brake pads is proposed in this work. The results show that the rCF possesses crystal structure and tensile strength comparable with those of virgin CF (vCF) exception of pyrolytic char adhering to the surface of rCF after pyrolysis. The rCF was converted into C/C composites through impregnation-pyrolysis. Pyrolytic char was found to have no evident negative effect on the densification rates of the rCF C/C composites. By reactive melt infiltration, the rCF C/C-SiC composites were fabricated based upon the rCF C/C composites. The achieved rCF C/C-SiC composites do not differ markedly from the vCF group control in terms of microstructure and bending strength. Furthermore, the thermal diffusion coefficients of the rCF C/C-SiC composites are very close to those of vCF C/C-SiC composites in the temperature range 25°C-300 °C. The coefficient of friction values of the rCF C/C-SiC composites are as stable as those of vCF control group, both being maintained at approximately 0.4 during friction test, whether at 25 °C or 300 °C. The wear rate of the rCF C/C-SiC composites is 3.8 μm·min⁻¹, nearly indistinguishable from that of the vCF C/C-SiC composites, i.e., 4.5 μm·min⁻¹, further suggesting that the two materials resemble each other closely. The rCF C/C-SiC composites exhibit great potential for use as alternative brake pads to serve auto braking systems. This work opens up a new path for high-value reuse of rCF.     

Fabrication of artificial defects and their effect on the mechanical properties of C/C-SiC

Determining the effect of defects in fiber-reinforced materials, such as polymer matrix composites (PMCs), can be studied by creating artificial flaws in these materials, for example by introducing artificial PTFE foil to induce material delaminations. For fiber-reinforced ceramics (CMCs), this approach is more difficult due to the more complicated production routes of CMCs, which involve several processing steps at elevated temperatures. This work deals with the fabrication and introduction of defined defects in carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide (C/C-SiC) composites in a way, which allows their detection by non-destructive material testing methods during and after each production step of the composite. It was shown that the defects produced using boron nitride (BN) and alumina fiber roving were stable over the entire manufacturing process and could be detected by ultrasound and x-ray tomography techniques. To determine any possible effects, an initial sampling of bending samples with artificial defects was manufactured, tested and compared with defect-free reference materials. These tests showed a lower bending strength and failure strain for the defect samples compared to samples without defects.     

Manufacture and thermomechanical characterization of wet filament wound C/C-SiC composites

The paper presents manufacture of C/C-SiC composite materials by wet filament winding of C fibers with a water-based phenolic resin with subsequent curing via autoclave as well as pyrolysis and liquid silicon infiltration (LSI). Almost dense C/C-SiC composite materials with different winding angles ranging from ±15° to ±75° could be obtained with porosities lower than 3% and densities in the range of 2 g/cm³. Thermomechanical characterization via tensile testing at room temperature and at 1300°C revealed higher tensile strength at elevated temperature than at room temperature. Thus, C/C-SiC material obtained by wet filament winding and LSI-processing has excellent high-temperature strength for high-temperature applications. Crack patterns during pyrolysis, microstructure after siliconization, and tensile strength strongly depend on the fiber/matrix interface strength and winding angle. Moreover, calculation tools for composites, such as classical laminate and inverse laminate theory, can be applied for structural evaluation and prediction of mechanical performance of C/C-SiC structures.     

Tribological behavior of carbon fiber reinforced ZrB2 based ultra high temperature ceramics

The tribological behavior of ultra-high temperature ceramic matrix composites (UHTCMCs) was investigated to understand these materials in friction applications. Samples consisting of pitch-based randomly orientated chopped carbon fiber (CF) reinforced ZrB₂-10 vol% SiC were prepared (ZS). The tribological behavior was tested on a self-designed dynamometer, coupling the UHTCMC pads with either carbon fiber reinforced carbon−silicon carbide (C/C-SiC) or steel disks, with two applied contact pressures (1 and 3 MPa) and the surface microstructures were analyzed to unravel the wear mechanisms. Even at high mechanical stresses, tests against the C/C-SiC disk showed stable braking performance and wear. The abraded material from a steel disk formed a stable friction film by fusing together harder pad particles with abraded steel, which reduced wear and stabilized the braking performance. The high values of coefficient of friction obtained (0.5–0.7), their stability during the braking and the acceptable wear rate make these materials appealing for automotive brake applications.     

Oxidation behavior of fine-grained SiC-B4C/C composites up to 1400 °C

Fine-grained B₄C-SiC/C composites were fabricated using a ball-milling dispersion process. The oxidation behaviors of both fine-grained B₄C-SiC/C composites and coarse-grained B₄C-SiC/C composites at temperatures of up to 1400 °C were analyzed by the differential thermal analysis technique, and the surface morphology of the composites after isothermal oxidation at 800, 1200 and 1400 °C was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that fine-grained B₄C-SiC/C composites had excellent oxidation resistance with self-healing properties at 1400 °C. A general model and mechanism for self-protection against oxidation of carbon materials were proposed.     

Electrical properties of C/C and C/C-SiC ceramic fibre composites

The electrical properties of carbon/carbon (C/C) and carbon/carbon-silicon carbide (C/C-SiC) ceramic composites were measured. The results show that the capacitance decreases rapidly with an increase in frequency and it becomes constant above a frequency of 500 kHz, whereas the dissipation factor increases with increasing frequency. C/C-SiC composites give higher value than C/C composites due to the presence of microcracks.     

Delayed failure of ceramic matrix composites in tension at elevated temperatures

Ultimate tensile strength of five different continuous fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), including SiC_f/BSAS (two dimensional (2D), 2 types), SiC_f/MAS (2D), SiC_f/SiC (2D), and C_f/SiC (2D, 2 types), was determined as a function of test rate at 1100–1200 °C in air. All five CMCs exhibited a significant dependency of ultimate tensile strength on test rate such that the ultimate tensile strength decreased with decreasing test rate. The dependency of ultimate tensile strength on test rate, the applicability of preload technique, and the predictability of life from one loading configuration (constant stress-rate loading) to another (constant stress loading) all suggested that the overall, phenomenological delayed failure of the CMCs would be governed by a power-law type of slow crack growth.     

Effect of high-temperature heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of PIP-based C/C-SiC composites with SiC filler

C/C-SiC composites were fabricated by a combined process of chemical vapor deposition (CVD), slurry infiltration(SI), and precursor infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP). The microstructure and mechanical behavior were investigated for the dense C/C-SiC composites before and after high-temperature heat treatment. The results indicated that the sintering of the SiC matrix and the migration of the SiC matrix/fiber bundles weak interface occurred after high-temperature heat treatment at 1900 ℃. The SiC sintering resulted in an increase in the flexural strength of the C/C-SiC composites from 298.9 ± 35.0 MPa to 411.1 ± 57.3 MPa. The migration of the weak interface changed the direction of crack propagation, making the fracture toughness of the C/C-SiC composites decrease from 13.3 ± 1.7 MPa⋅m ^1/2 to 9.02 ± 1.5 MPa⋅m ^1/2.     

Influence of the carbonization temperature on the mechanical properties of thermoplastic polymer derived C/C-SiC composites

Carbon/Carbon (C/C) composites derived from the thermoplastic polymer polyetherimide (PEI) were pyrolized up to 1000 °C, subsequently carbonized in inert atmosphere up to 2200 °C and afterwards infiltrated with liquid silicon. The investigation of fibers and matrix with Raman microspectroscopy revealed, that an increased carbonization temperature leads to an increased carbon order as well as an incipient stress-induced graphitization of the carbon matrix close to the fiber surfaces at 2200 °C. The derived C/C-SiC samples show a maximum flexural strength of 180 MPa with C/C composites treated at 2000 °C and monotonically increasing Young’s moduli ranging from 49 GPa with C/C preforms treated at 1600 °C up to 59 GPa after carbonization at 2200 °C. The carbon fiber strength was evaluated with a single fiber tensile test, which showed a monotonically increased Young’s modulus and a decrease of the strength after carbonization at 2200 °C.     

Microstructure characterization and compressive performance of 3D needle-punched C/C–SiC composites fabricated by gaseous silicon infiltration

3D needle-punched C/C-SiC composites were fabricated from carbon fiber reinforced carbon (C/C) preforms, with densities of 1.05?g/cm³ and 1.28?g/cm³, by the gaseous silicon infiltration (GSI) method at fabrication temperatures from 1500?°C to 1800?°C. The compressive strengths and elastic moduli in transverse direction are larger than those measured under longitudinal compression except that samples fabricated from 1.28?g/cm³ density exhibit lower elastic moduli in transverse direction than in longitudinal direction. The compressive strength and modulus increase with fabrication temperature at 1500?°C and 1600?°C, and then decrease with higher fabrication temperature. Samples fabricated from the lower density C/C preforms have greater compressive strength and modulus. X-ray tomography was applied before and after the mechanical tests to characterize the microstructure and damage patterns, and the results indicated that for C/C-SiC composites fabricated at 1700?°C from 1.28?g/cm³ density C/C preform the matrix has a volume fraction (vol%) of 36.9%, and the initial intra-bundle cracks (0.6?vol%) display a space crossing structure while the inter-bundle pores (6.0?vol%) are special irregularly distributed.     

Preloading Technique in Dynamic Fatigue Testing of Glass and Ceramics with an Indentation Flaw System

The solution of fatigue strength as a function of preloading in dynamic fatigue testing was obtained numerically for an indentation flaw system. The dynamic fatigue strength is dependent on preloading and fatigue parameter (K). The effect of preloading on dynamic fatigue strength decreases with increasing fatigue parameter: for n 20 the effect is negligible up to a preloading of 90%. The solution was verified by dynamic fatigue experiments conducted with soda-lime glass and alumina specimens with as-indented flaws in room-temperature distilled water. The result indicates that one can apply a preloading corresponding up to 90% of fatigue strength for most glass and ceramic materials with no change in fatigue strength, resulting in a dramatic saving of testing time.     

Influence of oxidation on fatigue life of a carbon/silicon carbide composite in water vapor containing environments

The influence of oxidation on the fatigue life of two-dimensional carbon/silicon carbide composites in water vapor containing environments at 1300 °C was investigated. Tension–tension fatigue experiments were conducted at sinusoidal frequency of 3 Hz. Using a stress ratio (σ_min/σ_max) of 0.1, specimens were subjected to peak fatigue stresses of 90, 120 and 150 MPa. The mean residual strength of the specimens after survived 100,000 cycles with a peak stress of 90 MPa was 83.9% of that of the as-received composite. The mean fatigue lives of the specimens subjected to peak fatigue stresses of 120 and 150 MPa were 42,048 and 13,514 cycles, respectively. Oxidation was the dominant damage mechanism, which remarkably decreased the fatigue life. Oxidizing species diffusion within the composite defects was discussed. The higher the applied stresses, the larger the equivalent radius of the defect and the shorter the fatigue life.     

Microstructures and properties of Si-Zr alloy based CMCs reinforced by various porous C/C performs

C/C-SiC composites were fabricated via Si-Zr reactive alloyed melt infiltration using various C/C preforms with different porosities as reinforcements. The influence of preform porosities on the microstructure, mechanical strength and ablation resistance of the as-prepared composites were investigated. The results indicated that microstructure and properties of the C/C-SiC composites seriously depended on C/C preform porosities. The composites were mainly composed of carbon, SiC and ZrSi₂ phases, while some residual silicon still existed in the composites prepared with very large porosity preforms. Flexural strength of the composites firstly increased with increasing C/C preform porosities, then reached the highest value, 307?MPa, and finally turned to decrease with the further increasing of preform porosities. Densities of the composites increased with increasing preform porosities, while open porosities were generally small below 7%. Linear ablation rates of the composites firstly sharply decreased with increasing preform porosities and then slightly decreased to reach a balance value. In a word, C/C preform porosity was of great significance for reactive melt infiltration of C/C-SiC composites. Densities, microstructure, mechanical strength and ablation resistance of the resulting composites should be comprehensively taken into consideration to choose an optimal preform porosity for fabrication of C/C-SiC composites.     

基体改性对碳纤维增韧碳化硅复合材料结构与性能的影响

采用化学气相浸渗法对2D C/SiC复合材料进行基体改性,制备了二维碳纤维增韧碳-碳化硅二元基复合材料(two dimensional carbon fiber reinforced C-SiC binary matrix composites,2D C/C-SiC).2D C/C-SiC复合材料的基体为热解碳和碳化硅交替叠层的多层基体.研究了2D C/C-SiC复合材料的微观结构,比较了2DC/SiC复合材料和2DC/C-SiC复合材料的力学性能及断口形貌.结果表明:2DC/C-SiC复合材料可在基本保持2DC/SiC复合材料抗弯强度的基础上,其断裂韧性得到显著提高.基体改性的效果明显.纤维的逐级拔出是断裂韧性提高的原因.     

Boron Modified Phenol Formaldehyde Derived C<Subscript>f</Subscript>/SiBOC Composites with Improved Mechanical Strength for High Temperature Applications

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are potential thermo-structural materials for use in space applications. Fiber/matrix (F/M) interface plays a key role in determining the mechanical properties of CMCs. Present study focuses on the optimization of F/M volume ratio and the influence of Pyrocarbon (PyC) interphase coating on the mechanical properties of CMCs derived from precursor route. CMCs are fabricated using phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin and boron modified PF (BPF) resin as precursor slurries, 2D carbon fabric (Toray, T300 3K, 8H, satin weave) as reinforcement and PyC as interphase. The deposition of PyC interphase was done by chemical vapor infiltration on the carbon fabric followed by densification of the matrix using reaction bonded silicon carbide method. In CMCs prepared from PF resin, without interphase the flexural strength improves from 25 ± 3.9 MPa (fiber content-40) to 63 ± 9.9 MPa (fiber content-60) on increasing the fiber vol%. In the second part of the investigation, the effect of PyC interphase was studied using CMCs prepared from BPF resin with fiber volume ratio of 60 %. The CMCs with PyC interphase shows an improvement in flexural strength (102 ± 11.5 MPa) compared to that of CMCs prepared without interphase (38 ± 4.4 MPa). The fractography of CMCs with and without interphase was closely evaluated under a scanning electron microscope. CMCs without interphase show no fiber pull-out, indicating the strong fiber-matrix bonding. While CMCs with interphase show fiber pull-out phenomenon and hence fails in a ductile manner.     

Strengthening of Zirconia–Alumina During Cyclic Fatigue Testing

Recent fatigue results of advanced ceramics are reviewed. It is pointed out that current statements of fatigue properties often relate to specimens with long artificial cracks; in this study, a Y-ZrO₂+Al₂O₃ ceramic is tested under cyclic stresses using specimens with natural flaws. Cyclic fatigue is restricted to a narrow range of stresses near the ultimate strength. Survivor specimens reveal increased residual strength, possibly resulting from a higher ZrO₂ phase transformation encouraged by long-term cyclic stresses.     

Characterization and modeling of tensile properties of continuous fiber reinforced C/C-SiC composite at high temperatures

In order to study the effects of temperature on the material behavior of Liquid Silicon Infiltration (LSI) based continuous carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide (C/C-SiC), the mechanical properties at room temperature (RT) in in-plane and out-of-plane directions are summarized and the tensile properties of C/C-SiC were then determined at high temperature (HT) 1200 °C and 1400 °C under quasi static and compliance loading. The stress-strain response of both HT tests is similar and almost no permanent strain can be observed compared to the RT, which can be explained through the relaxation of residual thermal stresses and the crack distribution under various states. The different fracture mechanisms are confirmed by the analysis of fracture surface. Furthermore, based on the analysis of hysteresis measurements at RT, a modeling approach for the prediction of material behavior at HT has been developed and a good agreement between test and modeling results can be observed.     

Influence of graphitization temperature on microstructure and mechanical property of C/C-SiC composites with highly textured pyrolytic carbon

C/C-SiC composites with highly textured pyrolytic carbon (HT PyC) were prepared by a combining chemical vapor infiltration and liquid silicon infiltration. The effect of HT PyC graphitization before and after 2327 and 2723 K on C/C-SiC composites was investigated. The mechanical properties decreased with increasing graphitization temperature, but graphitization treatment changed the fracture behavior from brittle like to pseudo-ductile. The decrease in bending strength from 306.21 to 243.69 MPa resulted from the weak interfacial bonding between HT PyC and fiber, and the good orientation of graphite layers. The crack at border of fiber bundle and longitudinal crack in HT PyC shortened the path of crack propagation, resulting in fracture toughness decrease from 21.11 to 14.72 MPa·m^1/2. A more pseudo-ductile behavior was due to the longer pull-out of fibers, the better orientation of graphite layers, the sliding of sublayers, and the deflection and propagation caused by the transverse cracks.