Open Access

ARTICLE

Design, Fabrication, Characterization and Simulation of PIP-SiC/SiC Composites

S. Zhao¹, Zichun Yang^1,2, X. G. Zhou³, X. Z. Ling⁴, L. S. Mora⁵, D. Khoshkhou⁶, J. Marrow⁵

1 Laboratory of Marine High-temperature Structural Composites, Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan, China.
2 Corresponding author. Address: College of Power Engineering, Naval University of Engineering, Jiefang Ave. 717, Wuhan 430033, China. Tel.: +86-27-83635194; fax: +86-27-83638709. E-mail:yangzichun11@sina.com
3 Science and Technology on Advanced Ceramic Fibers and Composites Laboratory, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China.
4 Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.
5 Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
6 Department of Metallurgy and Materials, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

Computers, Materials & Continua 2014, 42(2), 103-124. https://doi.org/10.3970/cmc.2014.042.103

Abstract

Continuous SiC fiber reinforced SiC matrix composites (SiC/SiC) have been studied and developed for high temperature and fusion applications. Polymer impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP) is a conventional technique for fabricating SiC/SiC composites. In this research, KD-1 SiC fibers were employed as reinforcements, a series of coatings such as pyrocarbon (PyC), SiC and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized as interphases, PCS and LPVCS were used as precursors and SiC/SiC composites were prepared via the PIP method. The mechanical properties of the SiC/SiC composites were characterized. Relationship between the interphase shear strength and the fracture toughness of the composites was established. X-ray tomographic scans of the SiC/SiC composites were performed and the closed porosities of the composites were calculated. The compatibility of the SiC/SiC composites with liquid LiPb at 800 °C and 1000 °C was investigated. High-resolution synchrotron X-ray tomography was applied to the SiC/SiC composite and digital volume correlation was employed for Hertzian indentation testing of the SiC/SiC composite. A Cellular Automata integrated with Finite Elements (CAFE) method was developed to account for the effect of microstructure on the fracture behavior of the SiC/SiC composite.

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Keywords

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