Microstructure and interface thermal stability of C/Mo double-coated SiC fiber reinforced γ-TiAl matrix composites

C/Mo duplex coating interfacially modified SiC fiber-reinforced γ-TiAl matrix composite （SiCf/C/Mo/γ-TiA1） was prepared by foil-fiber-foil method to investigate its interfacial modification effect. SiCf/C/TiAl composites were also prepared under the same processing condition for comparision. Both kinds of the composites were thermally exposed in vacuum at 800 and 900℃ for different durations in order to study thermal stability of the interfacial zone. With the aids of scanning electron microscope （SEM） and energy dispersive spectrometer （EDS）, the interracial microstructures of the composites were investigated. The results reveal that, although adding the Mo coating, the interfacial reaction product of the SiCf/C/Mo/TiAl composite is the same with that of the SiCf/C/TiA1 composite, which is TiC/Ti2AlC between the coating and the matrix. However, C/Mo duplex coating is more efficient in hindering interfacial reaction than C single coating at 900 ℃ and below. In addition, a new layer of interfacial reaction product was found between Ti2AlC and the matrix after 900 ℃, 200 h thermal exposure, which is rich in V and close to the chemical composition of B2 phase.

Effects of Nitridation on Properties of SiC Fiber and Interface of Ti Matrix Composite

Prenitridation of the TiBx coating surface of the Sigma SM1240 SiC fiber can form more stable compounds at the surface and obstruct the release of boron atoms into the Ti-based alloy matrix. The effect of nitridation on the tensile strength of the fiber was investigated in this work. Nitridation could degrade the tensile strength of the SiC fiber if the treating temperature and time are not optimized. The chemical reaction between the W core and SiC and the modification of fiber microstructure during the nitridation are responsible for the degradation in strength. The strength can be maintained by further optimization of the treating temperature and time. Therefore, stabilizing the surface of TiBx coating and hence the interface of the SiCf/Ti composite by the nitridation of the SiC fiber is a feasible technique for practical applications.

Microstructure Characterization of Long W Core SiC Fiber

Microstructure of SiC fiber manufactured by chemical vapor deposition （CVD） onto tungsten （W） wire core was investigated by analytical electron microscopy （AEM）. The results reveal that the fiber consists of W core, SiC sheath and C-coating. SiC sheath could be subdivided into two parts according to whether containing C rich stripe, or not. An emphasis was put on W/SiC interfacial reaction products and the transition zone between sub-layers in SiC sheath. The W/SiC interface consists of three layers of reaction production, namely, W2C, W5Si3 and WC. And there are amounts of facet faults existing in （100） face of WC crystalline and two classes of stack faults in WC have been revealed. The formation essence of different sublayers in SiC sheath was also discussed.

Mechanical properties and surface characteristics of SiC fibers irradiated by swift heavy ions

SiC fibers were irradiated by 414.4-MeV^(112)Sn^(27.3+)ions to different fluences(5.0×10^(12),6.0×10^(13),1.6×10^(14),and 1.92×10^(15)ions/cm^(2)).^(112)Sn^(27.3+)deposited its energy mainly via electron energy loss and passed through the SiC fiber.Then,the mechanical properties and surface characteristics of fibers were studied using a specific single filament tensile test and field emission scanning electron microscopy.Results revealed that the carbon concentration on the fiber surface increased while the silicon concentration decreased.Moreover,the addition of oxygen was found to correlate with an increase in ion fluence.Meanwhile,the fiber surface morphology of the least fluence(5.0×10^(12)ions/cm^(2))irradiated specimen displayed no obvious changes and its diameter was slightly reduced.With successive increases of ion fluence,large grains/bubbles on the fiber surface first appeared and then disappeared,and the diameter of fibers evidently increased.Moreover,at the highest fluence(1.92×10^(15)Sn ions/cm^(2))irradiated specimen,some fibers were brittle fractured.As a result,the mean tensile strength and the average elastic modulus of the fibers generally decreased with respect to the ion fluence.The degradation mechanisms of mechanical properties of SiC fibers under irradiation are discussed in detail.

Microstructural Changes of T1-6A1-4V Matrix by the Incorporation of Continuous SiC Fibers

In SiC（f）/Ti-6Al-4V composites, the microstructure of the matrix close to the fiber was different from that of the fiber-less material. Microstructure observations show that a layer of fine grains was located adjacent to the fiber, and more dislocations and faults were found in this region. Higher recrystallization nucleation rate due to the undeformed SiC fiber and thermal residual stress induced during cooling from the fabrication temperature caused the microstructural changes of the matrix. Hardness measurement indicates that the matrix in the fiber neighborhood was strengthened, and the strengthening effect decreased with distance away from the fiber.

Effect of High-temperature Annealing on Mechanical Performance and Microstructures of Different Oxygen SiC Fibers

In order to explore the effect of high-temperature annealing on the mechanical performances and microstructures of different oxygen SiC fibers, two types of silicon carbide（SiC）-based fibers, specified as XD-SiC fibers（low oxygen） and Nicalon-201 fibers（high oxygen）, were annealed in Ar for 1 h at 800 ℃, 1 000 and 1 200 ℃, respectively. Mechanical properties of these fibers were characterized via a monofilament tensile method, with observation of the damaged monofilament by SEM. Also, the effects of annealing on the microstructure and chemical compositions of the fibers were studied. The experimental results indicated that the tensile strength decreased with the increase of annealing temperatures,after annealing-treatment at 1200℃, XD-SiC fibers remained 84% of its original strength, while Nicalon-201 fibers remained only 58% of its original strength. Crystallization and chemical composition of the fibers are the dominating factors for their mechanical performance at high temperatures. The microstructure changes of XD-SiC fibers are mainly composed of the growth of β-SiC, for Nicalon-201 fibers, evaporation of gases is the main change for microstructure.

CVD SiC Fiber Electrochemically Treated by AC Current

The tensile strength of CVD SiC fiber was remarkably improved by electrochemical surface treatment. SEM analyses reveal that AC current treatment could form a more compact and complete SiO2 layer than DC current on the surface of the SiC fiber, which was beneficial to the improvement of tensile strength. It was also verified that AC current was more effective for producing high performance SiC fiber with SiO2 surface layer than DC current. The frequency is a sensitive parameter for the process; but the signals of input current had relatively small effect on the tensile strength of SiC fiber. A further discussion for this phenomenon was completed. The proposed operational parameters are 0.3 A, 5 kHz of sine wave and 91 m/h of the receiving rate respectively.

Effect of properties of SiC fibers on longitudinal tensile behavior of SiC_f/Ti-6Al-4V composites

Three types of SiC fibers with different tensile strength were employed to prepare unidirectional titanium matrix composites. The strengths of the original SiC fibers and extracted fibers from the composites were measured. The results show that the mechanical properties of fibers are greatly damaged by the consolidation processing of the composite. The strength data of the extracted fibers are used to predict the strength of the composites according to two theoretic models. The Globe Load-Sharing(GLS) model overestimates the strength of the composites. If the Local Load-Sharing(LLS) model assumes that failure occurs after the formation of a cluster with three broken fibers, the model can predict the strength of the composites exactly.

Effect of oxygen content on tensile strength of polymer-derived SiC fibers

Air-curing is usually applied to the polymer-derived SiC fibers and, as a result, oxygen is embedded to the material. An effective relationship between oxygen content of the SiC fibers and mass gain of their precursor fibers was established. Results also showed that oxygen content has a great influence on the mechanical properties and excellent tensile strength is usually obtained at the oxygen content of 12%～13%, similar to the density of SiC fibers. Oxygen content has a positive effect on the ceramic yield, and thus, is good to the density and tensile strength; while, oxygen content is also negative to volume content of SiC phase and crystallization of the SiC fibers, and thus, detrimental to the density and tensile strength. Both of the two effects result in the peak behavior of the tensile strength of SiC fibers.

A review of third generation SiC fibers and SiC_f/SiC composites

Compared with the first and second generations SiC fibers, the third generation SiC fibers have obvious improvement in heat-resistance, oxidation-resistance and creep-resistance, which promote the development of SiCf/SiC composite materials. Therefore, the third generation SiC fibers have more advantages and broader prospects in engineering applications. In this paper, the fabrication and properties of the third generation SiC fibers are compared and discussed. The preparation processes of the third generation SiC fibers reinforced SiC matrix composites and their application in aeroengine and nuclear energy fields are summarized, while their future development is prospected as well.

Improved mechanical properties of SiC fiber reinforced silica-based ceramic cores fabricated by stereolithography

Silica-based ceramic cores have been widely used to fabricate aero-engine hollow blades due to their moderate high temperature mechanical properties and excellent leachability.In this study,silica-based ceramics with SiC fiber addition were prepared via stereolithography,and the influence of SiC fiber content on mechanical properties of the obtained silica-based ceramics was investigated.With the increase of SiC fiber content,linear shrinkage gradually decreased,while room temperature flexural strength and high temperature flexural strength first increased and then decreased.As SiC fiber content increased to 4.0 wt%,linear shrinkage was reduced to 0.62%resulting from the oxidation of SiC.Furthermore,room temperature flexural strength was improved from 11.79 MPa to 23.83 MPa and high temperature flexural strength was enhanced from 15.64 MPa to 34.62 MPa with 4.0 wt%SiC fiber addition due to the reinforcement of fibers and the enhancedβ-cristobalite content,which meets the need of ceramic cores.Therefore,it demonstrates the capability of fabricating high-performance and high-precision silica-based ceramic cores reinforced by SiC fibers via stereolithography for rapid manufacturing of hollow blades.

An effective strategy towards construction of CVD SiC fiber-reinforced superalloy matrix composite

In this work,a modified approach for preparing CVD SiC fiber-reinforced superalloy matrix composites was rationally developed.The composites were fabricated by vacuum hot pressing(VHP)process using precursor wires coated with(Al+Al2O3)diffusion barrier layers and GH4169 superalloy coatings.BNi-7 brazing filler metals were introduced on the surface of precursor wires in order to decrease the temperature of the VHP process.It was found that the VHP temperature was reduced by about 100℃,and the melting,diffusion,nucleation and growth processes of BNi-7 fillers at 900?C motivated the recrystallization and plastic flow of the matrix under the increasing pressure,thereby a compact composite composed of intact SiC fibers and fine equiaxial grain structure superalloy matrix was achieved.Meanwhile,the elements were distributed homogeneously among the fibers in the composite and no interfacial reactions occurred.This method provides a new insight for designing and manufacturing high-quality composites in practical engineering.

Effects of Cr and Al Contents on the Preparation of SiC Fiber-Reinforced NiCrAl Alloy Matrix Composite

In this work,the effects of Cr and Al contents on the preparation of SiC fiber-reinforced NiCrAl alloy matrix composites(SiCf/Ni-20Cr-5Al,SiCf/Ni-15Cr-5Al,SiCf/Ni-10Cr-5Al and SiCf/Ni-10Cr-3Al)were thoroughly discussed.The composites were prepared by vacuum hot pressing process using matrix-coated fibers.It was found that Cr solute atoms played a significant role in retarding the recrystallization of NiCrAl alloy matrix,and the Al elements in the form of γ'-Ni3Al phase had a suppression effect on the plastic flow of the matrix.Therefore,the reduction in Cr and Al contents was conductive to the recrystallization and plastic flow of NiCrAl alloy matrix,thereby reduced the size and number of micro-voids in the composite.In addition,this work provides some guidance for designing and manufacturing reasonable SiC fiber-reinforced Ni alloy matrix composites.

Preparation of SiC Fiber Reinforced Nickel Matrix Composite

A method of preparing continuous（Al＋Al2O3）-coated SiC fiber reinforced nickel matrix composite was presented,in which the diffusion between SiC fiber and nickel matrix could be prevented.Magnetron sputtering is used to deposit Ni coating on the surface of the（Al＋Al2O3）-coated SiC fiber in preparation of the precursor wires.It is shown that the deposited Ni coating combines well with the（Al＋Al2O3） coating and has little negative effect on the tensile strength of（Al＋Al2O3）-coated SiC fiber.Solid-state diffusion bonding process is employed to prepare the（Al＋Al2O3）-coated SiC fiber reinforced nickel matrix with 37% fibers in volume.The solid-state diffusion bonding process is optimized and the optimum parameters are temperature of 870,pressure of 50 MPa and holding time of 2 h.Under this condition,the precursor wires can diffuse well,composite of full density can be formed and the（Al＋Al2O3） coating is effective to restrict the reaction between SiC fiber and nickel matrix.

SiC_(f)/Ti65复合材料的拉伸行为研究

采用磁控溅射先驱丝法结合热等静压工艺制备SiC_(f)/Ti65复合材料,研究了SiC_(f)/Ti65复合材料室温、高温拉伸行为,揭示了SiC_(f)/Ti65复合材料拉伸断裂机制。研究结果表明:SiC_(f)/Ti65复合材料的室温、高温抗拉强度相比于Ti65合金的抗拉强度分别提升29%和164%,验证了复合材料的增强效果。SiC_(f)/Ti65复合材料的室温拉伸断裂机制为反应层断裂、纤维/基体界面脱粘、基体脆性断裂、纤维断裂、包套韧性断裂;高温断裂机制为反应层断裂、纤维/基体界面脱粘、纤维断裂、W/SiC界面脱粘、基体和包套韧性断裂。

Measurement of interfacial residual stress in SiC fiber reinforced Ni-Cr-Al alloy composites by Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy was used to measure Raman spectra of the inner SiC fibers and surface C-rich layers of SiC fibers, composite precursors and SiCf/Ni-Cr-Al composites. The residual stresses of the inner SiC fibers and surface C-rich layers were calculated, and the effect of the(Al + Al_2O_3) diffusion barrier layer on the interfacial residual stress in the composites was analyzed in combination with the interface microstructure and energy disperse spectroscopy(EDS) elements lining maps. The results show that the existence of(Al + Al_2O_3) diffusion barrier improves the compatibility of the SiCf/Ni-Cr-Al interface,inhibits the adverse interfacial reaction, and relieves the residual stress inside SiC fibers and at the interface of composite material. Heat treatment can reduce the residual stress at the interface. As the heat treatment time increases, the residual stress at the interface decreases.

Kinetics and mechanism of interfacial reaction in SCS-6 SiC continuous fiber-reinforced Ti-Al intermetallic matrix composites

SCS-6 SiC continuous fiber-reinforced Ti-Al intermetallics-matrix composites were fabricated by HIP method and then heat-treated in vacuum under different conditions. The interfacial reaction kinetics and mechanism were studied by using SEM, EDS and XRD. The results show that the content fluctuation of reactive elements such as C, Ti and Si appears in interfacial reaction layers, and multi-layer interfacial reaction compounds form. Alloying element Nb in matrix remarkably diffuses into interfacial reaction zone and changes the activation energy for the interfacial reaction layer growth following a role of parabolic rate. The activation energy (Qk) and (k0) of SCS-6 SiC/super α2 and SCS-6 SiC/Ti2AlNb are 317.664 kJ/mol, 175.709 kJ/mol and 5.4438×10-2 m/s1/2, 1.44×10-5 m/s1/2; respectively, and the diffusion coefficient (DC) is about 10-18—10-20 m2/s. It is confirmed that the SCS-6 SiC/Ti-Al intermetallic composites have higher interface compatibility and stability. Furthermore, compared with SCS-6 SiC/super α2, the interface compatibility and stability of SCS-6 SiC/Ti2AlNb are even higher.

SiC fiber with low electrical resistivity and oxygen content

A new SiC fiber was prepared by the pyrolysis of polycarbosilane(PCS) fiber cured with unsaturated hydrocarbons.The fiber,with oxygen content of 4-6 wt%,offers high tensile strength of 2.5-2.8 GPa.The electrical resistivity of the fiber is only about 0.5 Ω·cm,much lower than general SiC fiber obtained from traditional air curing process.Degradation of mechanical property in argon and air at high temperature is retarded by 200-300℃ with respect to the Nicalon NL-202 fiber.The low electrical resistivity of the fiber exhibits excellent thermal stability,it almost remains 0.4-0.8 Ω·cm after thermal exposure test from the room temperature to 1600℃ in argon.The low electrical resistivity mainly attribute to an excess carbon layer which is about 50 nm in the circular outer part.

SiC纤维预制体结构对SiC_(f)/BN/SiC复合材料致密化和力学性能的影响

为了研究碳化硅(SiC)纤维预制体的结构对SiC基体的化学气相渗透(CVI)工艺致密化过程的影响,利用模拟计算方法分析了2D叠层、2.5D和3D正交三种编织结构SiC预制体在SiC致密化过程中的孔隙结构演变规律,并采用三氯化硼-氨气-氢气-氮气(BCl_(3)-NH_(3)-H_(2)-N_(2))混合气体和三氯甲基硅烷-氢气-氮气(MTS-H_(2)-N_(2))混合气体作为前驱体,利用CVI致密化工艺制备出三种预制体结构的SiC_(f)/BN/SiC复合材料。结果表明,SiC纤维预制体结构不同,SiC_(f)/BN/SiC复合材料的致密化效率不同,其中2.5D纤维预制体的致密化速率最快,3D正交预制体的致密化速率最慢。致密化120 h后,三种预制体结构的复合材料密度均达到2.3 g/cm~3以上,开孔率为10%左右。三种结构的SiC_(f)/BN/SiC复合材料拉伸强度为130~170 MPa。在层间剪切过程中,2D结构SiC_(f)/BN/SiC复合材料与2.5D结构SiC_(f)/BN/SiC复合材料样品都出现了XY面的纤维剥离现象,而3D结构SiC_(f)/BN/SiC复合材料样品发生了正交Z向纤维的断裂。由此可知,SiC纤维预制体结构影响了所形成复合材料的致密化过程和力学性能。

Effects of Ni catalyzer on growth velocity and morphology of SiC nano-fibers

Composite felts reinforced by both SiC nano-fibers(SiC-NFs)and carbon fibers were prepared at 1 273 K using Ni granules as catalyzers with different deposition time.SiC-NFs were deposited on the surface of the carbon fibers in situ by catalytic chemical vapor deposition(CCVD).The phase,microstructure and morphology of the fibers after electroplating and deposition were characterized by XRD,SEM and TEM.The results show that the SiC-NFs produced by CCVD are composed of single crystal of β-SiC.It is found that smaller nano-granules are more active as catalyzers.The resulting SiC-NFs appear more spindle-like and have a more homogeneous dispersion.The mass change of the samples before and after deposition shows that using more Ni granules results in a faster growth velocity of SiC-NFs.With the same electroplating time,the growth velocity of the SiC-NFs first increases and then decreases.At around 4 h,it reaches the maximum growth velocity,and it becomes nearly constant at around 8 h.After 8 h, the stable growth velocity of the electroplated Ni samples is faster than that of the conventional sample produced without catalyzers, because the SiC-NFs can improve the specific surface area and the activity of the surface.