Advanced research on the preparation and application of carbide ceramic fibers

Carbide ceramic fibers are of significant importance for application in the high-tech areas of advanced aircraft engines,aerospace vehicles,and the nuclear industry due to their excellent properties,such as high tensile strength and elastic modulus,excellent high-temperature resistance,and oxidation resistance.This paper reviews the preparation and application of different carbide ceramic fibers,including SiC fibers and transition metal carbide(e.g.,ZrC,HfC,and TaC)ceramic fibers.The preparation methods of carbide ceramic fibers are discussed in terms of different fiber diameters,represented by SiC fibers with variable weaving properties and functions due to their differences in diameter.Subsequently,the application of carbide ceramic fibers as high-temperature-resistant structural materials,catalyst carriers,sensors,and supercapacitors are summarized,and strategies for the future development of carbide ceramic fibers are proposed.This review aims to help researchers enhance their understanding of the preparation and utilization of carbide ceramic micro/nanofibers,advancing the development of high-performance carbide ceramic fibers.

Effect of heating rate on the properties of silicon carbide fiber with chemical-vapor-cured polycarbosilane fiber

Silicon carbide (SiC) fiber has recently received considerable attention as promising next-generation fiber because of its high strength at temperatures greater than 1300 ℃ in air.High-quality SiC fiber is primarily made through a curing and heat treatment process.In this study,the chemical vapor curing method,instead of the thermal oxidation curing method,was used to prepare cured polycarbosilane (PCS) fiber.During the high temperature heat treatment of the cured PCS fiber,varied heating rates of 10,20,30,and 40 ℃/min were applied.Throughout the process,the fiber remained in the amorphous silicon carbide phase,and the measured tensile strength was the greatest when the oxygen content in the heat-treated fiber was low,due to the rapid heating rate.The fiber produced through this method was also found to have excellent internal oxidation properties.This fast,continuous process shows a great promise for the production of SiC fiber and the development of high-quality products.

Effect of composition and structure on specific resistivity of SiC fibers

Four kinds of SiC fibers with different specific resistivities were prepared by the pyrolysis of cured polycarbosilane fiber. The results show that SiC fibers with different specific resistivities can be obtained by changing the curing and pyrolysis conditions. And the free carbon content and the ability to crystallize no longer affect the specific resistivities notably with the time when the fiber is covered with an excess carbon layer, and the fiber has a low specific resistivity. The excess carbon layer in the circular outer part is originated from the re-pyrolysis and deposition of hydrocarbon volatiles. The removal of the carbon by oxidative treatment may affect the surface property and also promote the magnitude of specific resistivity. The influence of the surface property on the specific resistivity can be considerable and should not be neglected.

Fabrication of solid-phase-sintered Si C-based composites with short carbon fibers

Solid-phase-sintered Si C-based composites with short carbon fibers（Csf/SSi C） in concentrations ranging from 0 to 10wt% were prepared by pressureless sintering at 2100°C. The phase composition, microstructure, density, and flexural strength of the composites with different Csf contents were investigated. SEM micrographs showed that the Csf distributed in the SSi C matrix homogeneously with some gaps at the fiber/matrix interfaces. The densities of the composites decreased with increasing Csf content. However, the bending strength first increased and then decreased with increasing Csf content, reaching a maximum value of 390 MPa at a Csf content of 5wt%, which was 60 MPa higher than that of SSi C because of the pull-out strengthening mechanism. Notably, Csf was graphitized and damaged during the sintering process because of the high temperature and reaction with boron derived from the sintering additive B4C; this graphitization degraded the fiber strengthening effect.

Progress on Space Materials Science in China:Debris Shielding Fibrous Materials and High Specific Energy Lithium Sulfur Batteries

The development of China’s space industry puts forward urgent requirements for high-performance debris shielding materials and high energy density rechargeable battery.In this review,the recent progress on debris shielding fibrous materials and high energy density Li-S battery are particularly summarized.According to the experimental results,basalt fibers and silicon carbide fibers were chosen as the effective filling shielding materials.The geometric structure of fabrics was also investigated.For the novel shielding materials,high-strength and flexible silicon carbide micro-nano fibrous membranes were designed and fabricated.The obtained membranes with excellent mechanical properties portend the potential applications in debris protection structure.Furthermore,the high specific energy lithium sulfur batteries have made remarkable progress in fundamental research and application research in recent years.In order to solve the key problems of polysulfides shuttle and slow redox kinetics in lithium sulfur battery,a series of transition metal compound@hollow carbon-based material as sulfur host with dual functions of catalysis and adsorption towards polysulfides were designed and constructed.The obtained Li-S pouch cells with high areal sulfur loading of 6.9 mg·cm^(-2)yield exceptional high practical energy density of 382 W·h·kg^(-1)under lean electrolyte of 3.5μL·mg^(-1),demonstrating the great potential of realistic high-energy Li-S batteries.

Effect of heat treatment on the microstructure and properties of CVD SiC fiber

In this study, the effect of heat treatment on the room temperature strength of W-core Si C fiber produced by chemical vapor deposition（CVD） was investigated. Thermal exposure in the temperature range of 900–1000？C decreases the strength of the Si C fiber. Fracture morphology analysis indicates that failure initiations predominantly take place at the W-core/Si C interface. A reaction layer that formed at the W-core/Si C interface during thermal exposure degraded the fiber strength and an empirical linear relationship of strength vs thickness of the reaction layer can be obtained. The kinetics of the growth of the W-core/Si C reaction layer were determined.

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.

Enhancing thermal conductivity of silicone rubber composites by insitu constructing SiC networks:A finite-element study based on first principles calculation

Polymer composites as thermal interface materials have been widely used in modern electronic equipment.In this work,we report a novel method to prepare highly through-plane thermally conductive silicone rubber(SR)composites with vertically aligned silicon carbide fibers(VA-SiCFs)entangled by SiC nanowires(SiCNWs)networks.First,a series of carbon fibers(CFs)skeletons were fabricated in sequence of coating poor thermally conductive polyacrylonitrile-based CFs with polydopamine,icetemplated assembly,and freeze-drying processes.Furthermore,VA-SiCFs networks,i.e.,long-range continuous SiCFs-SiCNWs networks,based on the prepared CFs skeletons,were in-situ obtained via template-assisted chemical vapor deposition method.The thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism of VA-SiCFs networks on its SR composites was also intensively studied by finite element simulation,based on the first principles investigation of SiC,and Foygel’s theory.The in-situ grown VA-SiCFs networks possess high intrinsic thermal conductivity without the thermal interface between fillers,acting as the high-efficiency through-plane long-range continuous thermal conduction path,in which the SiCNWs were the in-plane“thermal spreader”.The VA-SiCFs/SR composites reached a high through-plane thermal conductivity,2.13 W/(m·K),at the filler loading of 15 vol.%,which is 868.2%,and 249.2%higher than that of pure SR sample,and random-CFs@polydopamine(PDA)/SR composites at the same content,respectively.The VA-SiCFs/SR composites also exhibited good electrical insulation performance and excellent dimensional stability,which guaranteed the stable interfacial heat transfer of high-power density electronic devices.

Rare earth monosilicates as oxidation resistant interphase for SiCf/SiC CMC:Investigation of SiC_(f)/Yb_(2)SiO_(5)model composites

Model composites consisting of SiC fiber and Yb_(2)SiO_(5)were processed by the spark plasma sintering(SPS)method.The mechanical compatibility and chemical stability between Yb_(2)SiO_(5)and SiC fiber were studied to evaluate the potential application of Yb monosilicate as the interphase of silicon carbide fiber reinforced silicon carbide ceramic matrix composite(SiC_(f)/SiC CMC).Two kinds of interfaces,namely mechanical and chemical bonding interfaces,were achieved by adjusting sintering temperature.SiC_(f)/Yb_(2)SiO_(5)interfaces prepared at 1450 and 1500℃exhibit high interface strength and debond energy,which do not satisfy the crack deflection criteria based on He-Hutchison diagram.Raman spectrum analyzation indicates that the thermal expansion mismatch between Yb_(2)SiO_(5)and SiC contributes to high compressive thermal stress at interface,and leads to high interfacial parameters.Amorphous layer at interface in model composite sintered at 1550℃is related to the diffusion promoted by high temperature and DC electric filed during SPS.It is inspired that the interfacial parameters could be adjusted by introducing Yb_(2)Si_(2)O_(7)-Yb_(2)SiO_(5)interphase with controlled composition to optimize the mechanical fuse mechanism in SiC_(f)/SiC CMC.