High-temperature oxidation behavior of SiBN fibers in air

SiBN fibers are one of the most admirable microwave-transparent reinforced materials for high Mach number aircrafts.Currently,the detailed high-temperature oxidation behavior of SiBN fibers has not been studied yet.In this work,we studied the high-temperature oxidation behavior of SiBN fibers with different boron contents at the temperature range of 1000-1400℃in air.SiBN fibers started to be oxidized at 1100℃,with Si_(3)N_(4) and BN phase oxidized to SiO2 and B_(2)O_(3),respectively.Due to the gasification and the escape of molten B_(2)O_(3) at high temperatures,amorphous SiO_(2) could be remained at the fiber surface.As the fiber further oxidized,the molten B_(2)O_(3) at the inside may infiltrate into the fiber interior to react with Si_(3)N_(4),causing the precipitation of hexagonal boron nitride(h-BN)nanoparticles and the formation of SiO_(2)/BN layer.Finally,complex oxidation layers with two distinct concentric sublayers accompanied with two transition sublayers could be formed after the oxidizing treatment.