Ablation behaviour and mechanical performance of ZrB_(2)-ZrC-SiC modified carbon/carbon composites prepared by vacuum infiltration combined with reactive melt infiltration

The development of advanced aircraft relies on high performance thermal-structural materials,and carbon/carbon com-posites(C/C)composited with ultrahigh-temperature ceramics are ideal candidates.However,the traditional routes of compositing are either inefficient and expensive or lead to a non-uniform distribution of ceramics in the matrix.Compared with the traditional C/C-ZrC-SiC composites prepared by the reactive melt infiltration of ZrSi_(2),C/C-ZrB_(2)-ZrC-SiC composites prepared by the vacuum infiltration of ZrB_(2) combined with reactive melt infiltration have the higher content and more uniform distribution of the introduced ceramic phases.The mass and linear ablation rates of the C/C-ZrB_(2)-ZrC-SiC composites were respectively 68.9%and 29.7%lower than those of C/C-ZrC-SiC composites prepared by reactive melt infiltration.The ablation performance was improved because the volatilization of B_(2)O_(3),removes some of the heat,and the more uniformly distributed ZrO_(2),that helps produce a ZrO2-SiO2 continu-ous protective layer,hinders oxygen infiltration and decreases ablation.

Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Multiscale SiC_p Hybrid Reinforced 6061 Aluminum Matrix Composites

The performance of solid solution aging treatment on aluminum matrix composites prepared by powder metallurgy and reinforced with 6061 aluminum alloy powder as matrix;meanwhile, nano silicon carbide particles(nm Si Cp), submicron silicon carbide particles(1 μm Si Cp) and Ti particles were studied. The Al/Si Cp composite powder was prepared by high-energy ball milling, and then cold-pressed, sintered, hotextruded, and then heat-treated with different solution temperatures and aging times for the extruded composites. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS), X-ray diffractometer(XRD) and extrusion testing were used to analyze and test the microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminum matrix composites. The results show that after the multi-stage solid solution at 530 ℃×2 h+535 ℃×2 h+540 ℃×2 h, the particles are mainly equiaxed grains and uniformly distributed. There is no reinforcement agglomeration, and the surface is dense and the insoluble phase is basically dissolved. In the matrix, the strengthening effect is good, and the hardness and compressive strength are 179.43 HV and 680.42 MPa, respectively. Under this solution process, when the aluminum matrix composites are aged at 170 ℃ for 10 h, the hardness and compressive strength can reach their peaks and increase to 195.82 HV and 721.48 MPa, respectively.

Multi-scale Modeling and Finite Element Analyses of Thermal Conductivity of 3D C/SiC Composites Fabricating by Flexible-Oriented Woven Process

Thermal conductivity is one of the most significant criterion of three-dimensional carbon fiber-reinforced SiC matrix composites(3D C/SiC).Represent volume element(RVE)models of microscale,void/matrix and mesoscale proposed in this work are used to simulate the thermal conductivity behaviors of the 3D C/SiC composites.An entirely new process is introduced to weave the preform with three-dimensional orthogonal architecture.The 3D steady-state analysis step is created for assessing the thermal conductivity behaviors of the composites by applying periodic temperature boundary conditions.Three RVE models of cuboid,hexagonal and fiber random distribution are respectively developed to comparatively study the influence of fiber package pattern on the thermal conductivities at the microscale.Besides,the effect of void morphology on the thermal conductivity of the matrix is analyzed by the void/matrix models.The prediction results at the mesoscale correspond closely to the experimental values.The effect of the porosities and fiber volume fractions on the thermal conductivities is also taken into consideration.The multi-scale models mentioned in this paper can be used to predict the thermal conductivity behaviors of other composites with complex structures.

WC-Ni_3Al-B composites prepared through Ni+Al elemental powder route

In order to develop the liquid phase sintering process of WC-Ni3Al-B composites,the preparation process of WC＋Ni3Al prealloyed powder by reaction synthesis of carbonyl Ni,analytical purity Al and coarse WC powders was investigated.DSC and XRD were adopted to study the procedure of phase transformation for the 3Ni＋Al and 70%WC＋（3Ni＋Al） mixed powders in temperature ranges of 550-1200 °C and 25-1400 °C,respectively.The results demonstrate that the formation mechanism of Ni3Al depends on the reaction temperature.Besides WC phase,there exist Ni2Al3,NiAl and Ni3Al intermetallics in the powder mixture after heat treatment at 200-660 °C,while only NiAl and Ni3Al exist at 660-1100 °C.Homogeneous WC＋Ni3Al powder mixture can be obtained in the temperature range of 1100-1200 °C.The WC-30%（Ni3Al-B） composites prepared from the mixed powders by conventional powder metallurgy technology show nearly full density and the shape of WC is round.WC-30%（Ni3Al-B） composites exhibit higher hardness of 9.7 GPa,inferior bending strength of 1800 MPa and similar fracture toughness of 18 MPa-m1/2 compared with commercial cemented carbides YGR45（WC-30%（Co-Ni-Cr））.

Bending properties and fracture mechanism of C/C composites with high density preform

C/C composites with banded structure pyrocarbon were fabricated by fast chemical vapor infiltration（CVI）,with C3H6 as carbon source,N2 as carrier gas,and three-dimensional（3D） 12K PAN-based carbon fabric with high density of 0.94 g/cm3 as preform.Experimental results indicated that the fracture characteristics of C/C composites were closely related to the frequency of high-temperature treatment（HTT） at the break of CVI process.According to the load？displacement curves,C/C composites showed a pseudoplastic fracture after twice of HTT.After three times of HTT,load？displacement curves tended to be stable with a decreasing bending strength at 177.5 MPa.Delamination failure and intrastratal fiber fracture were observed at the cross-section of C/C composites by scanning electronic microscope.Because the content of pyrocarbon and fibers has a different distribution in layers,the C/C composites show different fracture characteristics at various regions,which leads to good toughness and bending strength.

Microstructures,mechanical and oxidation behaviors of C/C composites modified by NiAl alloy

Carbon/carbon composites modified by NiAl alloy were prepared using vacuum reactive melt infiltration methods with NiAl and titanium mixed powders as raw materials. The microstructures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The fracture behavior, infiltration and oxidation mechanism were further discussed. The results indicated that NiAl alloy exhibited good wettability on the C/C preform because a TiC reaction layer formed at the interface. Multi-layer（PyC/TiC/NiAl＋TiC） coating evenly and compactly distributed on the surface of the carbon fiber in tubular form. The penetration depth of molten NiAl alloys depended on the reaction between the PyC and titanium. The impact fracture was inclined to along the interface between the NiAl permeability layer and C/C matrix. Al_2TiO_5 and TiO_2 formed on the surface, while the interior multi-layer tubular structure partially remained after oxidation at 1773 K for 30 min.

Pyrolysis mechanism of ZrC precursor and fabrication of C/C-ZrC composites by precursor infiltration and pyrolysis

C/C-ZrC composites were prepared by precursor infiltration and pyrolysis using the organic zirconium as precursor.The conversion mechanisms of the precursors such as the thermal behavior,structural evolution,phase composition,microstructure,composition of the precursors and products were analyzed by thermal gravimetric analyzer,Fourier transform infrared spectrometer,X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope.The results indicate that the ZrC precursor transforms to inorganic ZrO2 from room temperature to 1200 ℃,then reduces to ZrC at 1600 ℃ through the carbothermal reduction reaction.The microstructure of the C/C-ZrC composites was also investigated.The composites exhibit an interesting structure,a coating composed of ZrC ceramic covers the exterior of the composite,and the ZrC ceramic is embedded in the pores of the matrix inside the composite.

Flexural destructive process of unidirectional carbon/carbon composites reinforced with in situ grown carbon nanofibers

Unidirectional carbon/carbon（C/C） composites modified with in situ grown carbon nanofibers（CNFs） were prepared by catalysis chemical vapor deposition. The effect of in situ grown CNFs on the flexural properties of the C/C composites was investigated by detailed analyses of destructive process. The results show that there is a sharp increase in the flexural load-displacement curve in the axial direction of the CNF-C/C composites, followed by a serrated yielding phenomenon similar to the plastic materials. The failure mode of the C/C composites modified with in situ grown CNFs is changed from the pull-out of single fiber to the breaking of fiber bundles. The existence of interfacial layer composed by middle-textured pyrocarbon, CNFs and high-textured pyrocarbon can block the crack propagation and change the propagation direction of the main crack, which leads to the higher flexural strength and modulus of C/C composites.

Fracture mechanism of 2D-C/C composites with pure smooth laminar pyrocarbon matrix under flexural loading

Using natural gas as carbon source, 2D needle felt as preform, 2D-C/C composites were prepared by thermal gradient chemical vapor infiltration. Their microstructures were observed under polarized light microscope （PLM） and scanning electron microscope （SEM）, and the flexural behaviors before and after heat-treatment were studied with a universal mechanical testing machine. The fracture mechanism of the composites was discussed in detail. The results show that, carbon matrix exhibits pure smooth laminar （SL） characteristic including numerous wrinkled layered structures and some inter-laminar micro-cracks. With the decreasing density, the strength of the composites decreases and the toughness increases slightly; after 2500 °C heat-treatment, the inter-laminar micro-cracks in matrix increase, the strength decreases, and the toughness obviously increases. The fracture mode of the composites changes from brittle to pseudo-plastic characteristic due to more crack deflections in SL matrix.

Effects of heat treatment on phase contents and mechanical properties of infiltrated B_4C/2024Al composites

The B4C/2024Al composites were successfully produced by pressureless infiltration method, and the effects of heat treatment on phase content and mechanical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and mechanical properties testing. The results show that phases of BnC/2024Al composites include B4C, Al, Al3BC, AlB2 and Al2Cu. The phase species remain unchanged; however, the phase content of the composites changes significantly after heat treatment at the temperature of 660, 700, 800 or 900 ℃ for 12, 24 or 36 h. It is found that the heat treatment results in not only considerable enhancement in hardness, but also reduction in bending strength of the composites. Heat treatment at 800 ℃ for 36 h does best to hardness of the composites, while at 700 ℃ for 36 h it is the most beneficial to their comprehensive mechanical properties.

Wear behavior and mechanism of B_4C reinforced Mg-matrix composites fabricated by metal-assisted pressureless infiltration technique

The B4C/Mg composites fabricated by metal-assisted pressureless infiltration technique were used as experimental material, and the wear behavior and mechanism of this material were studied. A pin-on-disc apparatus was used to evaluate the wear behavior where loads of 20, 40, 60 and 80 N, and a sliding velocity of 250 r/min were exerted. The results show that B4C/Mg composites possess superior wear resistance than pure Mg under various applied loads, and the content of Ti, as infiltration inducer, has an influence on the wear resistance of B4C/Mg composites. The dominant wear mechanism for pure Mg is abrasion, while that for B4C/Mg composites under low loads is adhesion and delamination. Under high loads, the wear mechanism of B4C/Mg composites can be attributed to thermal softening and melting or plastic deformation.

Experimental Investigation of the Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity of C/SiC Composite Thin Slab

Fiber-reinforced composites possess anisotropic mechanical and heat transfer properties due to their anisotropic fibers and structure distribution.In C/Si C composites,the out-of-plane thermal conductivity has mainly been studied,whereas the in-plane thermal conductivity has received less attention due to their limited thickness.

Effects of intermediate Ni layer on mechanical properties of Al–Cu layered composites fabricated through cold roll bonding

Layered composites have attracted considerable interest in the recent literature on metal composites. Their mechanical properties depend on the quality of the bonding provided by the intermediate layers. In this study, we analyzed the mechanical properties and bond strengths provided by the nickel layer with respect to its thickness and nature(either powder or coating). The results suggest that bond strength decreases with an increase in the content of nickel powder. At 0.3 vol% of nickel coating, we found the nature of nickel to be less efficient in terms of bond strength. A different picture arose when the content of nickel was increased and the bond strength increased in nickel coated samples. In addition, the results demonstrate that mechanical properties such as bend strength are strongly dependent on bond strength.

Three-Dimensional Reconstructed Finite Element Model for C/C Composites by Micro-CT

The precise microscopic feature of carbon-carbon（C/C） composites is essential {or an accurate predic tion of their mechanical behavior. After fabrication, actual microscopic feature differs from simple ideal spatial model. Micro computed lomography（CT） scan can well describe internal microstruetures of composites. Therefore, a reconstructed model is developed based on mireo-CT, by a series of prodcedures including extrac tlng components, generating new binary images and establishing a finite element （FE） model. Compared with the model designed by reconstructed commercial software MIMICS. the presented reconstructed FE model is superior in terms of high mesh quality and eontrollable mesh cluantity. The precision of the model is verified by experiment.

Preparation of TiC/Ni_3Al Composites by Upward Melt Infiltration

TiC/Ni_3Al composites have been prepared using upward infiltration method. The densification was performed by both Ni_3Al melt filling and TiC sintering during the infiltration. The dissolution of TiC in liquid Ni_3Al has been evidenced by finding Ni_3(Al,Ti)C after fast cooling in the TiC/Ni_3Al composites. The dissolution may be responsible for the infiltration and sintering. Compared with downward infiltration, the upward infiltration brought about higher strength and fracture toughness and shorter infiltration time. TiC/20 vol. pct Ni_3Al composite processed by upward infiltration had a flexural strength of 1476 MPa with a statistic Weibull modulus of 20.2 and a fracture toughness of 20.4 MPa . Better mechanical properties may be attributed to melt unidirectional movement in upward infiltration.

Mechanical properties of 3D carbon/carbon composites by nanoindentation technique

Nanoindentation tests were conducted to investigate the near-surface mechanical properties of the individual components(fiber and matrix) for three-dimensional reinforced carbon/carbon composites(3D C/C).Optical microscope and polarizing light microscope were used to characterize the microstructure of 3D C/C.The microscopy results show that large number of pores and cracks exist at both bundle/matrix interface and pitch carbon matrix.These defects have important effect on the mechanical behavior of 3D C/C.The in situ properties for components of 3D C/C were acquired by nanoindentation technique.Relative to the matrix sample,the fiber samples have more larger values for modulus,stiffness and hardness.However,there is no significant difference of modulus and stiffness among fiber samples with different directions.

Microstructural and mechanical behavior of blended powder semisolid formed Al7075/B_4C composites under different experimental conditions

This work aimed to fabricate B4C reinforced aluminum matrix composites via blended powder semisolid forming that is an implementation of the benefits of semisolid forming to the powder metallurgy. Al7075 elements were incrementally added to ethanol solution under mechanical mixing. Al7075 constituents and B4C particles were blended in a high energy ball mill. Cold compacted Al7075/B4C blends were pressed at semisolid state. The effects of the size of the matrix（20, 45 and 63 μm）, reinforcing volume fraction（5%, 10% and 20%） and semisolid compaction pressure（50 and 100 MPa） on the morphology, microstructure, density, hardness, compression and bending strength were thoroughly analyzed. Experimental results revealed that the highest microstructural uniformity was achieved when large B4C particles（45 μm） were distributed within the small particles（20 μm） of the matrix phase. Composites with matrix particles larger than reinforcing phase indicated agglomerations in loadings more than 10%（volume fraction）. Agglomerated regions resisted against penetration of the liquid phase to the pores and lowered the density and strength of these composites. Composites with 20 μm Al7075 and 20%（volume fraction） 45 μm B4C powder pressed under 100 MPa exhibited the highest values of hardness（HV 190） and compressive strength（336 MPa）.

Improving Densification and Mechanical Properties of FeAl/TiC Composites by Addition of Ni

FeAl/TiC composites were fabricated by hot pressing blended elemental powders. The effects of Ni-doping on thedensification and mechanical properties of the composites were studied. Results show that the density of the composites decreases with the content of TiC increasing, and the addition of Ni significantly improves the densificationprocess by enhancing mass transfer in the bonding phase. The mechanical properties of the composites are closelyrelated with their porosity. Besides increasing the density of the composites, the addition of Ni improves the mechanical properties by other three effects: solution-strengthening the bonding phase, strengthening the FeAI-TiC interfaceand increasing ductile fracture in FeAl phase.

Interfacial reactions between Sn-2.5Ag-2.0Ni solder and electroless Ni(P) deposited on SiC_p/Al composites

A novel Sn-2.5Ag-2.0Ni alloy was used for soldering SiCp/Al composites substrate deposited with electroless Ni(5%P) (mass fraction)and Ni(10%P)(mass fraction)layers.It is observed that variation of P contents in the electroless Ni(P)layer results in different types of microstructures of SnAgNi/Ni(P)solder joint.The morphology of Ni3Sn4 intermetallic compounds(IMCs)formed between the solder and Ni(10%P)layer is observed to be needle-like and this shape provides high speed diffusion channels for Ni to diffuse into solder that culminates in high growth rate of Ni3Sn4.The diffusion of Ni into solder furthermore results in the formation of Kirkendall voids at the interface of Ni(P)layer and SiCp/Al composites substrate.It is observed that solder reliability is degraded by the formation of Ni2SnP,P rich Ni layer and Kirkendall voids.The compact Ni3Sn4 IMC layer in Ni(5%P)solder joint prevents Ni element from diffusing into solder,resulting in a low growth rate of Ni3Sn4 layer.Meanwhile,the formation of Ni2SnP that significantly affects the reliability of solder joints is suppressed by the low P content Ni(5%P)layer.Thus,shear strength of Ni(5%P) solder joint is concluded to be higher than that of Ni(10%P)solder joint.Growth of Ni3Sn4 IMC layer and formation of crack are accounted to be the major sources of the failure of Ni(5%P)solder joint.

Effect of porous structure on mechanical properties of C/PLA/nano-HA composites scaffold

Nonporous and porous C/PLA/nano-HA composites were fabricated by the process of solvent blending and freeze-drying technique, and the effect of porous structure on the mechanical properties of C/PLA/nano-HA composites scaffold was investigated and analyzed. The results show that the effects of porous structure on the bending strength, modulus and curves of stress and strain were obvious. Compared with nonporous sample, the curves of stress and strain of porous sample show more rough, and alternative phenomenon of stress increase and stress relaxation appears. It is strongly suggested that the fracture model of C/PLA/nano-HA composites scaffold transforms from the local to global load due to the porous structure.