Constructing orthogonally structured graphene nanointerface on SiC nanowires reinforced carbon/carbon composites to boost mechanical strength and strength retention rate

Carbon/carbon composites with higher mechanical strength and better reliability at elevated tempera-tures are urgently needed to satisfy the practical applications requirements.SiC nanowires(SiCNWs)modified C/C(SC-CC)composites have attracted an abundance of attention for their excellent mechanical performance.To further boost the mechanical strengths of composites and maximize the reinforcing efficiency of SiCNWs,we introduce orthogonally structured graphene nanosheets(OGNs)into SC-CC composites,in which OGNs are grafted on the SiCNWs via chemical vapor deposition(CVD)method,forming SC-G-CC composites.Benefiting from the nano-interface effects,uniform stress distribution,strong SiCNWs/PyC interfacial bonding and elevated stress propagation efficiency in the PyC matrix are achieved,thus SC-G-CC composites accomplish brilliant mechanical properties before and after 1,600℃ heat treatment.As temperature rises to 2,100℃,SiCNWs lose efficacy,whereas OGNs with excellent thermal stability continue to play the nano-interface role in the PyC matrix.Therefore,SC-G-CC com-posites show better mechanical performance after 2,100℃ heat treatment,and the mechanical strength retention rate(MSR)of interlaminar shear strength,out-of-plane and in-plane compressive strength of SC-G-CC composites reach 61.0%,55.7%and 55.3%,respectively.This work proposes an alternative thought for maximizing the potentiality of nanomaterials and edifies the mechanical modification of composites.

Protective Graphite Coating for Two-Dimensional Carbon/Carbon Composites

Two-dimensional carbon/carbon(2D C/C)composites are a special class of carbon/carbon composites,generally obtained by combining resin-impregnated carbon fiber clothes,which are then cured and carbonized.This study deals with the preparation of a protective coating for these materials.This coating,based on graphite,was prepared by the slurry method.The effect of graphite and phenolic resin powders with different weight ratios was examined.The results have shown that the coating slurry can fill the pores and cracks of the composite surface,thereby densifying the surface layer of the material.With the increase of the graphite powder/phenolic resin weight ratio,the coating density is enhanced while the coating surface flatness decreases;moreover,the protective ability of coating against erosion first increases(from 1:3 to 2:2)and then decreases(from 2:2 to 3:1).When the weight ratio is about 1:1,the coating for 2D C/C composites exhibits the best erosion resistance,which greatly aids these materials during gas quenching.In this case,the erosion rate is decreased by approximately 41.5%at the impact angle of 30°and 52.3%at normal impact,respectively.This can be attributed to the ability of the coating slurry to infiltrate into the substrate,thereby bonding the fibers together and increasing the compactness of the 2D C/C composites.

Preparation and oxidation property of ZrB_2-MoSi_2/SiC coating on carbon/carbon composites

To improve the oxidation resistance of carbon/carbon composites,ZrB2-MoSi2/SiC coating on the carbon/carbon substrate was prepared.The inner coating of SiC was prepared by pack cementation and the outer coating of ZrB2-MoSi2 was prepared by slurry painting.The phase compositions and microstructures of the coating were characterized by XRD and SEM,respectively.The preparation and the high temperature oxidation property of the coated composites were investigated.The results show that the outer coating of carbon/carbon composites is composed of ZrB2,MoSi2 and SiC phases.The mass losses of the ZrB2-MoSi2/SiC coated samples with SiC nano-whiskers after 30 h and 10 h of oxidation at 1 273 K and 1 773 K were,respectively,5.3% and 3.0%.The ZrB2-MoSi2/SiC coated samples exhibit self-sealing performance and good oxidation resistance at high temperature.

Preparation and mechanical properties of carbon/carbon composites with high textured pyrolytic carbon matrix

Short carbon fiber felts with an initial porosity of 89.5% were deposited by isobaric, isothermal chemical vapor infiltration using natural gas as carbon source. The bulk density of the deposited carbon/carbon （C/C） composites was 1.89 g/cm3 after depositing for 150 h. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the C/C composites were studied by polarized light microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and three-point bending test. The results reveal that high textured pyrolytic carbon is deposited as the matrix of the composites, whose crystalline thickness and graphitization degree highly increase after heat treatment. A distinct decrease of the flexural strength and modulus accompanied by the increase of the toughness of the C/C composites is found to be correlated with the structural changes in the composites during the heat treatment process.

Double SiC coating on carbon/carbon composites against oxidation by a two-step method

To improve the oxidation resistance of C/C composites, a double SiC protective coating was prepared by a two-step technique. Firstly, the inner SiC layer was prepared by a pack cementation technique, and then an outer uniform and compact SiC coating was obtained by low pressure chemical vapor deposition. The microstructures and phase compositions of the coatings were characterized by SEM, EDS and XRD analyses. Oxidation behaviour of the SiC coated C/C composites was also investigated. It was found that the double SiC coating could protect C/C composites against oxidation at 1773 K in air for 178 h with a mass loss of 1.25%. The coated samples also underwent thermal shocks between 1773 K and room temperature 16 times. The mass loss of the coated C/C composites was only 2.74%. Double SiC layer structures were uniform and dense, and can suppress the generation of thermal stresses, facilitating an excellent anti-oxidation coating.

Fabrication and ablation property of carbon/carbon composites with novel SiC-ZrB_2 coating

A novel SiC?ZrB2 coating was prepared using a two-step technique by slurry-sintering and chemical vapor reaction on carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. The SiC?ZrB2 coating was composed of the scattered ZrB2 phase and the continuous SiC phase. It was observed that a good adhesion was built between the coating and the C/C composites. The SiC?ZrB2 coating samples exhibited a better ablation resistance in comparison with the uncoated C/C composites. The SiO2?ZrO2 barrier layer, the heat dissipation of the gaseous products and the pinning effect of ZrO2 all contributed to the good ablation resistance of the SiC?ZrB2 coated composites.

Characterisation of wear particles from biomedical carbon/carbon composites with different preforms in hip joint simulator

A hip joint simulator was employed to predict the clinical wear behaviour of carbon/carbon （C/C） composites with needled carbon cloth preform and carbon felt preform. Wear particles generated from the two kinds of C/C composites were isolated and characterised by the size distribution and morphology. The evolvement of wear particles in the hip joint simulator was proposed. The results show that the wear particles from two kinds of C/C composites have a size ranging from submicron to tens of micrometers. The wear particles have various morphologies including broken fiber, fragment fiber, slice pyrolytic carbon and spherical pyrolytic carbon. C/C composites with needled carbon cloth preforms have larger size range and more broken fiber particles and slice pyrolytic carbon particles in comparison with C/C composites with carbon felt preforms. The evolvement of pyrolytic carbon particles is caused by surface regularization, whereas, the evolvement of carbon fiber particles is related to stress direction in the hip joint simulator.

Effect of SiC whiskers on the oxidation protective properties of SiC coatings for carbon/carbon composites

In order to effectively employ the unique high temperature mechanical properties of carbon/carbon composite substrates, SiC coatings reinforced by SiC whiskers were prepared by pack cementation method. The effect of SiC whiskers on the oxidation resistance properties of the single-layer coating and double-layer coating was investigated. SiC whiskers in the single-layer SiC coating have little effect on the anti-oxidation property but obviously improve the thermal shock property. The double-layer coating with inner-layer reinforced coating exhibits more perfect anti-oxidation ability than the double-layer coating with SiC inner-layer coating.

Improved oxidation resistance of chemical vapor reaction SiC coating modified with silica for carbon/carbon composites

To protect carbon/carbon (C/C) composites from oxidation, a SiC coating modified with SiO2 was prepared by a complex technology. The inner SiC coating with thickness varying from 150 to 300 μm was initially coated by chemical vapor reaction (CVR): a simple and cheap technique to prepare the SiC coating via siliconizing the substrate that was exposed to the mixed vapor (Si and SiO2) at high temperatures (1 923?2 273 K). Then the as-prepared coating was processed by a dipping and drying procedure with tetraethoxysilane as source materials to form SiO2 to fill the cracks and holes. Oxidation tests show that, after oxidation in air at 1 623 K for 10 h and thermal cycling between 1 623 K and room temperature 5 times, the mass loss of the CVR coated sample is up to 18.21%, while the sample coated with modified coating is only 5.96%, exhibiting an obvious improvement of oxidation and thermal shock resistance of the coating. The mass loss of the modified sample is mainly contributed to the reaction of C/C substrate with oxygen diffusing through the penetrating cracks formed in thermal shock tests.

SiC-Si-ZrSiO_4 Multiphase Oxidation Protective Coating for Carbon/Carbon Composites

In order to improve the anti-oxidation property of carbon/carbon （C/C） composites, a novel SiC-Si-ZrSiO4 multiphase oxidation protective coating was produced on the surface of C/SiC coated carbon/carbon compo ites by a pack cementation technique. The phase composition and microstructure of the as-prepared coatings were characterized by XRD （X-ray diffraction）, SEM （scanning electron microscopy） and EDS （energy dispersive spectroscopy）. Oxidation behavior of the multiphase coated C/C composites was also investigated. It showed that the as-prepared coating characterized by excellent oxidation resistance and thermal shock re- sistance could effectively protect C/C composites from oxidation at 1773 K for 57 h in air and endure the thermal cycle between 1773 K and room temperature for 12 times, whereas the corresponding weight loss is only 1.47%. The excellent oxidation protective ability of the SiC-Si-ZrSiO4 coating could be attributed to the C/SiC gradient inner layer and the multiphase microstructure of the coating.

Fabrication method and microstructural characteristics of coal-tar-pitchbased 2D carbon/carbon composites

The lignin-cellulosic texture of wood was used to produce two-dimensional （2D） carbon/carbon （C/C） composites using coal tar pitch. Ash content tests were conducted to select two samples among the different kinds of woods present in lran, including walnut, white poplar, cherry, willow, buttonwood, apricots, berry, and blue wood. Walnut and white poplar with ash contents of 1.994wt% and 0.35 lwt%, respectively, were selected. The behavior of these woods during pyrolysis was investigated by differential thermal analysis （DTA） and thermo gravimetric （TG） analysis. The bulk density and open porosity were measured after carbonization and densification. The mierostruc- tural characteristics of samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, and Fourier-transform infrared （FT-IR） spectroscopy. The results indicate that the density of both the walnut and white poplar is increased, and the open porosity is decreased with the increasing number of carbonization cycles. The XRD patterns of the wood charcoal change gradually with increasing py- rolysis temperature, possibly as a result of the ultra-structural changes in the charcoal or the presence of carbonized coal tar pitch in the composite＇s body.

Si-Al-Ir Oxidation Resistant Coating for Carbon/Carbon Composites by Slurry Dipping

A Si-Al-lr oxidation resistant coating was prepared for SiC coated carbon/carbon composites by slurry dipping. The phase composition, microstructure and oxidation resistance of the as-prepared Si-Al-lr coating were studied by XRD （X-ray diffraction）, SEM （scanning electron microscopy）, and isothermal oxidation test at 1773 K in air, respectively. The surface of the as-prepared Si-Al-lr coating was dense and the thickness was approximately 100 um. Its anti-oxidation property was superior to that of the inner SiC coating. The weight loss of SiC/Si- Al-lr coated carbon/carbon composites was less than 5 wt. pct after oxidation at 1773 K in air for 79 h. The local oxidation defects in the coating may result in the failure of the SiC/Si-Al-Ir coating.

INFLUENCE OF HEAT TREATMENT ON OXIDATION PROPERTIES OF C/C COMPOSITES FABRICATED BY HIGH PRESSURE IMPREGNATION CARBONIZATION

Felt base carbon/carbon composites fabricated by super-high pressure impregnation carbonization process (SPIC) were heat treated at high temperature 2773K. The oxidation properties of felt base carbon/carbon composites were investigated at different temperatures (773-1173K), and the microstructures of carbon/carbon composites were studied by SEM and X-ray diffraction. The experimental results showed that the inter-laminar distance of (002) plane (d002) deceased while the microcrystalline stack height (Lc) increased. The oxidation rate of felt base carbon/carbon composites was invari-able at certain temperatures. The oxidation mechanism of carbon/carbon composites changed remarkably at the oxidation temperature 973K. At the initial oxidation stage of carbon/carbon composites, carbon matrix was oxidized much more rapidly than carbon felt.

Preparation and Microstructure of a Si-Mo Fused Slurry Coating on Carbon/Carbon Composites for Oxidation Protection

A coating of composition Si-40Mo (wt pct) was prepared by fused slurry coating method on the two-dimensional carbon/carbon (2D-C/C) composite to improve oxidation resistance. In the procedure of the fabrication, pure St slurry inner layer in the pre-coating was necessary to apply because of infiltration of liquid Si into the substrate during the sintering. The coating consists of Si continuous phase and MoSi2 particles. In addition, the infiltration of Si into the substrate and the SiC reaction layer between the coating and the C/C composite were observed. Oxidation behavior of coated and uncoated C/C composites was studied in cyclic mode. The oxidation resistance and the thermal shock resistance of the Si-Mo fused slurry coating were quite excellent at 1370℃.

Effects of Preform and Pyrolytic Carbon Structure on Thermophysical Properties of 2D Carbon／Carbon Composites

Four kinds of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites, including the needled carbon fiber felt/the pyrolytic carbon (two different pyrolytic carbon microstructures), the chopped carbon fiber/the resin + pyrolytic carbon (PyrC), and the carbon cloth/PyrC, named as the composites 1#, 4#, 2#, and 3#, are prepared respectively. Effects of the preform and pyrolytic carbon structure on the thermophysical properties of 2D C/C composites are studied. The C/C composites possess low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). In a range of some temperatures, the negative expansion emerges in x-y direction for four C/C composites. From 0 to 900℃, the CTE is small and almost linear with the temperatures. The C/C composites have high thermal conductivities (TCs). As a function of temperature, TCs of the C/C composites are varied with the structures of preform and pyrc as well as the direction of heat transfer. In x-y and z direction, TCs differ greatly and that in x-y direction (25.6-174 W/m·K) is several times larger than that in z direction(3.5-50 W/m·K).

MG63 Osteoblast-like Cells Growth Behaviour on Carbon/Carbon Composites with Different Carbon Matrixes

During the process that implant materials are used for bone replacement,the cell responses to implant materials determine the long-term stability of bone replacement.The microstructure of implant materials is considered as a critical factor that influences the cell responses.Carbon/Carbon composites（C/C composites） are novel implant materials,but there are few reports on the effect of their microstructure,especially the carbon matrixes and holes,on cell behavior.In this paper,C/C composites with different carbon matrixes are prepared by chemical vapor infiltration and pressure impregnation carbonization technique,respectively.The structure of holes is analyzed.The cell responses to C/C composites with different carbon matrixes are evaluated with MG63 osteoblast-like cells.The morphologies of MG63 osteoblast-like cells on the surface of C/C composites,especially in the holes are assessed by scanning electron microscope,and cell proliferation behavior is evaluated by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiozol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide（MTT） assay. The results show that MG63 osteoblast-like cells have a lamellar morphology with similar sizes and spreading areas as well as the same proliferation behaviors for C/C composites with different carbon matrixes.Carbon matrix shows unapparent influence on the cell growth behavior.Besides,MG63 osteoblast-like cells have various interactions with the holes of C/C composites.The cells stride over the holes with 6～8μm in size,and connect with each other or grow along the curvature wall of the holes with a size of 30-40μm;the cells present three-dimensional morphologies inside the holes and display circular shapes along the ridge of the holes.Diverse cell-material interactions are found according to the size and position of the holes,which provides theoretical foundation for the microstructure design of clinical C/C composites.

FINITE DIFFERENCE MODEL FOR SIMULATION OF DENSIFYING CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITES BY CHEMICAL VAPOR INFILTRATIONP ROCESSES

A finite difference (FD) model is proposed to simulate the chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) processes for fabrication of carbon carbon composites. With iterative operation of many discrete values, the FD based model can be used to describe and analyze the real, continuous densification processing quantitatively. Many densification characteristics of carbon carbon composites can be predicated by modeling. The prediction results can be compared with experiment value directly, which shows its good ability for practical application. Special verification experiments are designed with Iso thermal CVI processing and slender cylindroid unidirectional C/C composites are prepared to verify the accuracy of the model. The modeling curve of density versus infiltration time is in good agreement with experiment values. According to modeling analysis, the effects of infiltration temperature and fiber volume fraction on densification are also discussed preliminarily. The conclusion obtained also accords with experiment or results in other literature, further approving the accuracy of the FD based model.

Influence of Thermal Shock on the Mechanical Behavior of Si-SiC Coated Carbon/Carbon Composites

Si-SiC coating was prepared on the surface of carbon/carbon （C/C） composites by a two-step technique of pack cementation, and the influences of thermal shock between 1773 K and room temperature in air on the mechanical property and fracture behavior of the coated C/C were studied. The results show that, after thermal shock between !773 K and room temperature for 5, 10 and 15 times, the flexural strength of coated composites increases by 4.29%, 15.00% and 24.20%, respectively. The toughness of the coated C/C enhances gradually during the thermal shock test. The improvement of the mechanical property after the thermal shock test is primarily caused by the weakening of the fiber-matrix interface and the reduction of residual thermal stresses by thermal shock.

Behavior of pure and modified carbon/carbon composites in atomic oxygen environment

Atomic oxygen （AO） is considered the most erosive particle to spacecraft materials in low earth orbit （LEO）. Carbon fiber, car-bon/carbon （C/C）, and some modified C/C composites were exposed to a simulated AO environment to investigate their behaviors in LEO. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, AO erosion rate calculation, and mechanical property testing were used to characterize the material properties. Results show that the carbon fiber and C/C specimens undergo significant degradation under the AO bombing. According to the effects of AO on C/C-SiC and CVD-SiC-coated C/C, a condensed CVD-SiC coat is a feasible approach to protect C/C composites from AO degradation.

MoSi_2-SiC-Si-B Anti-oxidation Coating on Carbon/Carbon Composites by Fused Slurry

A simple and low cost method was used to fabricate a MoSi2-SiC-Si-B anti-oxidation coating on Carbon/Carbon composites.The microstructures and crystalline structures of the as-obtained coating were characterized by optical microscopy,X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy.The results indicate that the coating with 200-250 μm in thickness has two-layer structures,which composed of SiC bonding-layer and MoSi2-Si main-layer containing boron and SiC particles.The MoSi2-SiC-Si-B coating has excellent oxidation resistance at temperature range of 1200-1400 ℃ and the maximum cumulative weight loss per unit area is only 0.01 g/cm2 for 20-hours of isothermal cyclic oxidation.