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Mechanical and ablation properties of 3D orthogonal woven C/C-SiC composite based on high-solid-loading slurry impregnation

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A three-dimensional orthogonal woven C/C-SiC composite was successfully prepared by high-solid-loading slurry impregnation combined with precursor infiltration and pyrolysis. The microstructure, mechanical properties and ablation behavior of the C/C-SiC composite were investigated. The slurry impregnation and the precursor infiltration and pyrolysis acted as fast filling and supplementary densification, respectively. Based on a three-dimensional orthogonal woven C/C preform, the C/C-SiC composite had excellent mechanical properties with bending strength and fracture toughness of 364.46 and 22.86 MPa·m1/2. The mass and linear ablation rates of the C/C-SiC composite were 3.21 mg/s and 4.93 μm/s, respectively, after ablation under an oxyacetylene flame for 300 s. The good ablation performance was attributed to the passive oxidation of SiC at high temperature and high oxygen partial pressure, and the pitting caused by SiO2 accelerated the failure of carbon fibers.
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COMPOSITES & NANOCOMPOSITES
Mechanical and ablation properties of 3D orthogonal
woven C/C-SiC composite based on high-solid-loading
slurry impregnation
Zhen-xiao Tang
1
, Mao-zhong Yi
1
, Yuan-ming Zhou
1
, Rui-zhi Liu
1
, and Ke Peng
1,
*
1
Powder Metallurgy Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Received: 10 March 2023
Accepted: 18 May 2023
Published online:
1 June 2023
ÓThe Author(s), under
exclusive licence to Springer
Science+Business Media, LLC,
part of Springer Nature 2023
ABSTRACT
A three-dimensional orthogonal woven C/C-SiC composite was successfully
prepared by high-solid-loading slurry impregnation combined with precursor
infiltration and pyrolysis. The microstructure, mechanical properties and abla-
tion behavior of the C/C-SiC composite were investigated. The slurry impreg-
nation and the precursor infiltration and pyrolysis acted as fast filling and
supplementary densification, respectively. Based on a three-dimensional
orthogonal woven C/C preform, the C/C-SiC composite had excellent
mechanical properties with bending strength and fracture toughness of 364.46
and 22.86 MPam
1/2
. The mass and linear ablation rates of the C/C-SiC com-
posite were 3.21 mg/s and 4.93 lm/s, respectively, after ablation under an
oxyacetylene flame for 300 s. The good ablation performance was attributed to
the passive oxidation of SiC at high temperature and high oxygen partial
pressure, and the pitting caused by SiO
2
accelerated the failure of carbon fibers.
Introduction
Continuous carbon fiber-reinforced silicon carbide
matrix (C/SiC) composites are highly valued in the
aerospace field (e.g. Nozzle extensions, heat shields,
nose caps) due to their excellent properties such as
high specific strength, excellent high-temperature
mechanical properties, low coefficient of thermal
expansion, ablation resistance, etc. [14].
The C/SiC composites can be manufactured based
on different preform structures prepared by stitching,
weaving, braiding, knitting, and needle punching
[410], including two-dimensional (2D) laminated
composites and three-dimensional (3D) composites.
Different carbon fiber (C
f
) weaving methods make
the properties of these composites significantly dif-
ferent. The 2D carbon fiber preform has excellent
mechanical properties, but the weak interfacial per-
formance limits the range of their applications
Handling Editor: Stephen Eichhorn.
Address correspondence to E-mail: pengkecsu@csu.edu.cn
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-08616-y
J Mater Sci (2023) 58:9196–9209
Composites & nanocomposites
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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