Erosive Wear Mechanism of New SiC/SiC Composites by Solid Particles

A solid-particle erosive wear test by impinging silicon carbide (SiC) powders was carried out at room temperature over a range of median particle sizes of 425–600 μm, speed of 100 m/s and impact angle of 90° and assessed by wear measurements and scanning electron microscopy. Erosive wear behaviour was examined on newly fabricated nano-powder infiltration and transient eutectoid (NITE) SiC/SiC composites and two commercial composites by the chemical vapour infiltration (CVI) and NITE fabrication route. Microstructural observation was performed to examine the correlation between erosive wear behaviours and fabrication impurities. Conspicuous defects were observed in the prototype materials as the forms of porosity, fibre deformation, residual oxide, pyrolytic carbon (PyC) deformation, PyC cleavage, among others. Erosive wear behaviour was rather serious in the prototype of fabricated composites, which employ pre-SiC fibre and phenolic resin. Two dominant erosive wear mechanisms were observed: delamination of constituents, mainly caused by erosive crack propagation, and fragmentation and detachment of constituents, which usually resulted from erosive impact. A unit size of delamination was the most decisive factor affecting wear volume. The bonding strength of each constituent was mostly affected by various forms of porosities. Therefore, the fundamental cause and subsequent results must be carefully elucidated. The correlation of microstructural defect and wear behaviour was investigated with the aim of reducing dominant wear by improving fabrication conditions. The final product of the cost-effective composite had a 2.5-fold higher resistance than the commercial CVI composite. Consequently, by controlling fabrication impurities, we have been successful in developing and improving a new fabrication technique; consequently, the known defects are rarely observed in final product. A schematic wear model of erosive wear mechanisms is proposed for the newly fabricated SiC/SiC composites under particle erosion.