Effect of mass transfer channels on flexural strength of C/SiC composites fabricated by femtosecond laser assisted CVI method with optimized laser power

In this study,femtosecond laser assisted-chemical vapor infiltration(LA-CVI)was employed to produce C/SiC composites with 1,3,and 5 rows of mass transfer channels.The effect of laser machining power on the quality of produced holes was investigated.The results showed that the increase in power yielded complete hole structures.The as-obtained C/SiC composites with different mass transfer channels displayed higher densification degrees with flexural strengths reaching 546±15 MPa for row mass transfer channel of 3.The strengthening mechanism of the composites was linked to the increase in densification and formation of"dense band"during LA-CVI process.Multiphysics finite element simulations of the dense band and density gradient of LA-CVI C/SiC composites revealed C/SiC composites with improved densification and lower porosity due to the formation of"dense band"during LA-CVI process.In sum,LA-CVI method is promising for future preparation of ceramic matrix composites with high densities.

Thermal conductivity and bending strength of SiC composites reinforced by pitch-based carbon fibers

In this work,pitch-based carbon fibers were utilized to reinforce silicon carbide(SiC)composites via reaction melting infiltration(RMI)method by controlling the reaction temperature and resin carbon content.Thermal conductivities and bending strengths of composites obtained under different preparation conditions were characterized by various analytical methods.Results showed the formation of SiC whiskers(SiC_(w))during RMI process according to vapor–solid(VS)mechanism.SiC_(w) played an important role in toughening the C_(pf)/SiC composites due to crack bridging,crack deflection,and SiC_(w) pull-out.Increase in reaction temperature during RMI process led to an initial increase in thermal conductivity along in-plane and thickness directions of composites,followed by a decline.At reaction temperature of 1600℃,thermal conductivities along the in-plane and thickness directions were estimated to be 203.00 and 39.59 W/(m×K),respectively.Under these conditions,bending strength was recorded as 186.15±3.95 MPa.Increase in resin carbon content before RMI process led to the generation of more SiC matrix.Thermal conductivities along in-plane and thickness directions remained stable with desirable values of 175.79 and 38.86 W/(m×K),respectively.By comparison,optimal bending strength improved to 244.62±3.07 MPa.In sum,these findings look promising for future application of pitch-based carbon fibers for reinforcement of SiC ceramic composites.

Construction of continuous heat conductive channel,a double harvest strategy to enhance thermal conductance and bending strength of C/SiC composites

The development of efficient and quick method to prepare structure-function integrative C/SiC composites is always a major challenge in this feld.Herein,the thermal conductivity and bending strength of C/SiC composites were enhanced simultaneously via continuous high heat conductive channels constructed by continuous wave laser machining and pitch-based high thermal conductivity carbon fber in thickness direction.Results revealed that the thermal conductivity of the modifed C/SiC composites is three times higher than that of referential C/SiC composites due to its highly ordered heat conducive channel in the thickness direction.Importantly,the bending strength of modifed C/SiC composites increased to 457MPa.To better understand the enhance mechanism,the micro-structure for both the composites and heat conductive channel was systematically analyzed.The results demonstrated that the rivet effect of heat conductive channel and the formed two phases structure on the fbers dispersed partial of load and fnally enhanced the property of the composites.In a word,this method holds a nice applicable future in constructing structure-function integrative C/SiC composites.