Preparation and Analysis of Carbon Fiber-Silicon Carbide Thermally Conductive Asphalt Concrete

An experimental investigation into the thermal conductivity of CF-SiC two-phase composite asphalt concrete is presented.The main objective of this study was to verify the possibility of using SiC powder instead of mineral powder as the thermal conductive filler to prepare a new type of asphalt concrete and improve the efficiency of electrothermal snow and ice melting systems accordingly.The thermal conductivity of asphalt concrete prepared with different thermally conductive fillers was tested by a transient plane source method,and the related performances were measured.Then the temperature rise rate and surface temperature were studied through field heating tests.Finally,the actual ice melting efficiency of the thermally conductive asphalt concrete was evaluated using an effective electrothermal system.As shown by the experimental results,the composite made of SiC powder and carbon fiber has a high thermal conductivity.When SiC replaces mineral powder,the thermal conductivity of the asphalt mixture increases first and then decreases with the increase of carbon fiber content.In the present study,in particular,the thermal conductivity attained a peak when the carbon fiber content was 0.2%of the aggregate mass.

Research on Silicon Carbide Dispersion-Reinforced Hypereutectic Aluminum-Silicon Electronic Packaging Materials

The objective of this study is to improve the mechanical properties and machining performance of high thermal conductivity and low expansion silicon carbide dispersion-strengthened hypereutectic aluminum-silicon electronic packaging materials to meet the needs of aviation,aerospace,and electronic packaging fields.We used the powder metallurgy method and high-temperature hot pressing technology to prepare SiC/Al-Si composite materials with different SiC contents(5vol%,10vol%,15vol%,and 20vol%).The results showed that as the SiC content increased,the tensile strength of the composite material first increased and then decreased.The tensile strength was the highest when the SiC content was 15%;the sintering temperature significantly affected the composite material’s structural density and mechanical properties.Findings indicated 700℃was the optimal sintering and the optimal SiC content of SiC/Al-Si composite materials was between 10%and 15%.Besides,the sintering temperature should be strictly controlled to improve the material’s structural density and mechanical properties.

Application of silicon carbide temperature monitors in 49-2 swimming-pool test reactor

High purity SiC crystal was used as a passive monitor to measure neutron irradiation temperature in the 49-2 research reactor.The SiC monitors were irradiated with fast neutrons at elevated temperatures to 3.2×10^(20)n/cm^(2).The isochronal and isothermal annealing behaviors of the irradiated SiC were investigated by x-ray diffraction and four-point probe techniques.Invisible point defects and defect clusters are found to be the dominating defect types in the neutron-irradiated SiC.The amount of defect recovery in SiC reaches a maximum value after isothermal annealing for 30 min.Based on the annealing temperature dependences of both lattice swelling and material resistivity,the irradiation temperature of the SiC monitors is determined to be~410℃,which is much higher than the thermocouple temperature of 275℃ recorded during neutron irradiation.The possible reasons for the difference are carefully discussed.

Unveiling phonon frequency-dependent mechanism of heat transport across stacking fault in silicon carbide

Stacking faults(SFs)are often present in silicon carbide(SiC)and affect its thermal and heat-transport properties.However,it is unclear how SFs influence thermal transport.Using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics and lattice dynamics simulations,we studied phonon transport in SiC materials with an SF.Compared to perfect SiC materials,the SF can reduce thermal conductivity.This is caused by the additional interface thermal resistance(ITR)of SF,which is difficult to capture by the previous phenomenological models.By analyzing the spectral heat flux,we find that SF reduces the contribution of low-frequency(7.5 THz-12 THz)phonons to the heat flux,which can be attributed to SF reducing the phonon lifetime and group velocity,especially in the low-frequency range.The SF hinders phonon transport and results in an effective interface thermal resistance around the SF.Our results provide insight into the microscopic mechanism of the effect of defects on heat transport and have guiding significance for the regulation of the thermal conductivity of materials.

High-pressure and high-temperature sintering of pure cubic silicon carbide:A study on stress-strain and densification

Silicon carbide(SiC)is a high-performance structural ceramic material with excellent comprehensive properties,and is unmatched by metals and other structural materials.In this paper,raw SiC powder with an average grain size of 5μm was sintered by an isothermal-compression process at 5.0 GPa and 1500?C;the maximum hardness of the sintered samples was31.3 GPa.Subsequently,scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the microscopic morphology of the recovered SiC samples treated in a temperature and extended pressure range of 0-1500?C and 0-16.0 GPa,respectively.Defects and plastic deformation in the SiC grains were further analyzed by transmission electron microscopy.Further,high-pressure in situ synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction was used to study the intergranular stress distribution and yield strength under non-hydrostatic compression.This study provides a new viewpoint for the sintering of pure phase micron-sized SiC particles.

Development and Application of Multi-phase Nitrides Bonded Silicon Carbide Lintel Blocks for Dry Quenching Furnaces

Multi-phase nitrides bonded silicon carbide lintel blocks were prepared using industrial SiC(SiC≥98 mass%,3-0.5,≤0.5 and≤0.044 mm),Si powder(Si≥98 mass%,≤0.044 mm),and SiO2 micropowder(SiO2≥96 mass%,d50=0.15 pm)as raw materials,and calcium lignosulfonate as the additive,batching,mixing,and molding on a vibration pressure molding machine,drying and then firing at 1420℃for 10 h in high-purity N2.The apparent porosity,the bulk density,the cold modulus of rupture,the hot modulus of rupture,and the linear expansion coefficient of the samples were tested.The phase composition and the microstructure of the samples at different nitriding depths(50,100,and 150 mm)were analyzed by XRD and SEM.The field application effects of the blocks were studied.The results show that:(1)the multi-phase nitrides bonded silicon carbide refractories can dynamically adjust their own phase composition and minimize structural and thermal stresses,improving the service life of key parts of dry quenching furnaces;(2)calcium lignosulfonate can improve the nitriding micro-environment of multi-phase nitrides bonded silicon carbide lintel blocks,successfully increasing the effective nitriding thickness of the blocks to 300 mm;(3)Sinosteel LI RR provides a unique concept in the design of materials and block types as well as the stable and scientific overall structure,promoting the industrialization process of dry quenching furnaces with long service life in China.

Steam Oxidation Resistance Comparison of Several Silicon Carbide Refractories at Elevated Temperatures

The oxidation tests of different SiC refractories including Si3N4-SiC bricks,Si3N4-Si2N2O-SiC bricks from China(SNO-1),Si3N4-Si2N2O-SiC bricks from overseas(SNO-2),SiAlON-SiC bricks,oxides bonded SiC bricks,self-bonded SiC bricks as well as SiC castables were carried out in the steam atmosphere(1 000 ℃,32 kg·m-3·h-1)for different durations(100,200,300,400 and 500 h).The mass,the volume,the bulk density and the apparent porosity before and after the oxidation were tested.The XRD and SEM analyses were conducted.The results indicate that:(1)under the steam atmosphere condition(1 000 ℃,32 kg·m-3·h-1),as the oxidation time increases from 0 to 500 h,the volume and the mass of the silicon carbide refractories increase,while the bulk density decreases;in terms of the apparent porosity,oxides bonded SiC bricks and SiC castables present an increasing trend,Si3N4-SiC bricks,SiAlON-SiC bricks and self-bonded SiC bricks present an increasing trend first and then a decreasing trend,and Si3N4-Si2N2O-SiC bricks present a decreasing trend or a trend of decreasing first and then increasing;(2)as for Si3N4-Si2N2O-SiC bricks,SNO-1 and SNO-2 have basically the same chemical and phase composition,SNO-2 has the lower mass change rate than SNO-1 during oxidation from 200-500 h,which indicates that SNO-2 has the better steam oxidation resistance than SNO-1.

Fabrication and Pressureless Sintering of Silicon Carbide Refractories

This work studies the fabrication and pressureless sintering of silicon carbide(SiC)refractories.SiC particles were adopted as aggregates,introducing different amounts(20%,30%,40%,50%,and 60%,by mass)of submicron SiC powder,adding resin as the binder and the carbon source,and B4C as the sintering aid.It is found that when the mass ratio of B4C to the submicron SiC powder is 3%,the optimal sintering can be obtained.With the increase of the submicron powder addition,the sintering linear shrinkage increases and the mechanical properties enhance.The optimal sintering temperature is 2050-2100℃.

On the Strength of Silicon Carbide Particulate Reinforced Aluminium Alloy Matrix Composites

In the present study, the modified continuum model, quench strengthening and dislocation pile-up model was respectively used to estimate the yield strength of SiCp/AI composites. The experimental results showed that the modified shear lag model or quench strengthening model would underestimate the yield strength of SiCp/AI composites. However, the modified Hall-Petch correlation on the basis of the dislocation pile-up model, expressed as σcy = 244 + 371λ-1/2, fitted very well with the experimental data, which indicated that the strength increase of SiCp/AI composites might be due to the direct blocking of dislocation motion by the particulate-matrix interface. Namely, the dislocation pile-up is the most possible strengthening mechanism for SiCp/AI composites.

Diffusion Bonding of Silicon Carbide Particulate Reinforced 2024 Al Composites

A study has been made on diffusion bonding of SiCp/2024Ai composites by means of pure Al interlayer. In the condition of TB=843 K, PB=16 MPa, tB= 60 min, the diffusion bonded joint, with a shear strength of 235 MPa, was obtained when a 15 μm thick interlayer was used. The results of the shear testing and SEM indicate that fracture of the joint presented characteristics of ductile rupture.

Structural feature and electronic property of an (8, 0) carbon-silicon carbide nanotube heterojunction

A supercell of a nanotube heterojunction formed by an （8, 0） carbon nanotube （CNT） and an （8, 0） silicon carbide nanotube （SiCNT） is established, in which 96 C atoms and 32 Si atoms are included. The geometry optimization and the electronic property of the heterojunction are implemented through the first-principles calculation based on the density functional theory （DFT）. The results indicate that the structural rearrangement takes place mainly on the interface and the energy gap of the heterojunction is 0.31 eV, which is narrower than those of the isolated CNT and the isolated SiCNT. By using the average bond energy method, the valence band offset and the conduction band offset are obtained as 0.71 and -0.03 eV, respectively.

Microstructural characterization of silicon carbide reinforced dissimilar grade aluminium explosive clads

Aluminium composites are inevitable in ship building,commercial and defence aircrafts construction due to their light weight,high strength to weight ratio,admirable properties and cost affordability.In this study,the microstructural characteristics of explosive cladded dissimilar grade aluminium(Al 1100-Al 5052) clad composites reinforced with silicon carbide(SiC) particles is presented.Microstructure taken at the interface by optical and scanning electron microscopes(SEM) revealed the formation of a silicon carbide layer between the dissimilar grade aluminium sheets.Though reaction layers were witnessed at few locations along the interface,the diffusion of atoms between the participant metals is not visible as confirmed by energy dispersive spectroscopy,elemental mapping,line analysis and X-ray diffraction(XRD).The variation in microhardness at various regions of the silicon carbide reinforced dissimilar aluminium explosive clad is reported.The increase in tensile strength of the SiC laced clad is also presented.

Effect of SiO_2 on the Preparation and Properties of Pure Carbon Reaction Bonded Silicon Carbide Ceramics

Effect of SiO 2 content and sintering process on the composition and properties of Pure Carbon Reaction Bonded Silicon Carbide (PCRBSC) ceramics prepared with C-SiO 2 green body by infiltrating silicon was presented.The infiltrating mechanism of C-SiO 2 preform was also explored.The experimental results indicate that the shaping pressure increases with the addition of SiO 2 to the preform,and the pore size of the body turned finer and distributed in a narrower range,which is beneficial to decreasing the residual silicon content in the sintered materials and to avoiding shock off,thus increasing the conversion rate of SiC.SiO 2 was deoxidized by carbon at a high temperature and the gaseous SiO and CO produced are the main reason to the crack of the body at an elevated temperature.If the green body is deposited at 1800℃ in vacuum before infiltration crack will not be produced in the preform and fully dense RBSC can be obtained.The ultimate material has the following properties:a density of 3.05-3.12g/cm3,a strength of 580±32MPa and a hardness of (HRA)91-92.3.

The fabrication of nickel silicide ohmic contacts to n-type 6H-silicon carbide

This paper reports that the nickel silicide ohmic contacts to n-type 6H-SiC have been fabricated. Transfer length method test patterns with NiSi/SiC and NiSi2/SiC structure axe formed on N-wells created by N^＋ ion implantation into Si-faced p-type 6H-SiC epilayer respectively. NiSi and NiSi2 films are prepared by annealing the Ni and Si films separately deposited. A two-step annealing technology is performed for decreasing of oxidation problems occurred during high temperature processes. The specific contact resistance Pc of NiSi contact to n-type 6H-SiC as low as 1.78× 10^-6Ωcm^2 is achieved after a two-step annealing at 350 ℃for 20 min and 950℃ for 3 min in N2. And 3.84×10-6Ωcm^2 for NiSi2 contact is achieved. The result for sheet resistance Rsh of the N＋ implanted layers is about 1210Ω/□. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the formation of nickel silicide phases at the metal/n-SiC interface after thermal annealing. The surfaces of the nickel silicide after thermal annealing are analysed by scanning electron microscope.

Separation of methane from different gas mixtures using modified silicon carbide nanosheet: Micro and macro scale numerical studies

This research discusses the separation of methane gas from three different gas mixtures,CH4/H2 S,CH4/N2 and CH4/CO2,using a modified silicon carbide nanosheet(Si CNS)membrane using both molecular dynamics(MD)and computational fluid dynamics(CFD)methods.The research examines the effects of different structures of the Si CNSs on the separation of these gas mixtures.Various parameters including the potential of the mean force,separation factor,permeation rate,selectivity and diffusivity are discussed in detail.Our MD simulations showed that the separation of CH4/H2 S,and CH4/CO2 mixtures was successful,while simulation demonstrated a poor result for the CH4/N2 mixture.The effect of temperature on the diffusivity of gas is also discussed,and a correlation is introduced for diffusivity as a function of temperature.The evaluated value for diffusivity is then used in the CFD method to investigate the permeation rate of gas mixtures.

Temperature Fluctuation Synthesis/Simultaneous Densification and Microstructure Control of Titanium Silicon Carbide (Ti_3SiC_2) Ceramics

A novel temperature fluctuation synthesis/simultaneous densification process was developed for the preparation of Ti3SiC2 bulk ceramics. In this process. Si is used as an in-situ liquid forming phase and it is favorable for both the solid-liquid synthesis and the densification of Ti3SiC2 rainies. The present work demonstrated that the temperature fluctuation synthesis/simultaneous densification process is one of the most effective and simple methods for the preparation of Ti3SiC2 bulk materials providing relatively low synthesis temperature. short reaction time; and simultaneous synthesis and densification. This work also showed the capability to control the microstructure, e.g., the preferred orientation, of the bulk Ti3SiC2 materials simply by applying the hot pressing pressure at different Stages of the temperature fluctuation process. And textured Ti3SiC2 bulk materials with {002} faces of laminated Ti3SiC2 grains normal to the hot pressing axis were prepared.

Surface plasmon enhanced photoluminescence in amorphous silicon carbide films by adjusting Ag island film sizes

Ag island films with different sizes are deposited on hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide （a-SiC：H） films, and the influences of Ag island films on the optical properties of the tx-SiC：H films are investigated. Atomic force microscope images show that Ag nanoislands are formed after Ag coating, and the size of the Ag islands increases with increasing Ag deposition time. The extinction spectra indicate that two resonance absorption peaks which correspond to out-of-plane and in-plane surface plasmon modes of the Ag island films are obtained, and the resonance peak shifts toward longer wavelength with increasing Ag island size. The photoluminescence （PL） enhancement or quenching depends on the size of Ag islands, and PL enhancement by 1.6 times on the main PL band is obtained when the sputtering time is 10 min. Analyses show that the influence of surface plasmons on the PL of a-SiC：H is determined by the competition between the scattering and absorption of Ag islands, and PL enhancement is obtained when scattering is the main interaction between the Ag islands and incident light.

Mullite Coating on Recrytallized Silicon Carbide and Its Cycling Oxidation Behavior

Mullite coating on recrystallized silicon carbide was successfully prepared by the sol-gel route. The cycling oxidation of coated recrystallized silicon carbide was performed at 1500℃. For comparison, the oxidation of uncoated recrystallized silicon carbide was also carried out at the same condition. The results in- dicated that a layer of compact, adhesive and crack free mullite coating was found on the recrystallized silicon carbide. After oxidation, the new coatings exhibit adherence and crack resistance under thermal cycling between room temperature and 1500℃, therefore the oxidation resistance capability of silicon carbide was enhanced. With the increase of the dipping frequencies, namely, the increase of the thickness of mullite coating, the oxidation resistance of silicon carbide would be futher improved. The formation mechanism of mullite coating was analyzed and discussed and the oxidation dynamics model of coatedmullite silicon carbide has been also proposed.

Steam Oxidation Resistance of Silicon Carbide Castables at Elevated Temperatures

Silicon carbide castables of different SiC contents(86%and 71%,by mass)were prepared using white fused corundum,silicon carbide particles and fines,activated alumina powder,silica fume and pure calcium aluminate cement as main starting materials,heat treating at 1000℃ for 3 h,and oxidizing in steam atmosphere at 1000℃ for different durations(100,200,300,400 and 500 h).The mass and volume before and after oxidation,the bulk density,the apparent porosity and the cold compressive strength were tested.The phase composition and the microstructure before and after oxidation were analyzed by XRD and SEM.The results indicate that:(1)within 300 h of oxidation duration,silicon carbide shows an increasing oxidation rate;however,the oxidation rate is low during 300-500 h of oxidation duration;2)the oxidation rate of the specimen with 71%SiC is slightly higher than the one with 86%SiC;3)with the increasing oxidation degree of silicon carbide,the apparent porosity of the specimens tends to increase,followed by the declining bulk density and cold compressive strength.

Atomistic Simulations of the Mechanical Deformation of Irradiation-amorphized Silicon Carbide

Irradiation-induced atomic-scale defects and lattice disorder in Silicon Carbide （SIC） can significantly affect the material＇s mechanical properties. Currently there lacks a unified physical model capable of describing the law in which the properties of SiC scale with the accumulation of defects, especially in terms of the underlying physical mechanism. To develop fundamental models that are capable of describing the various physical properties of SiC as a function of microstructural change, molecular dynamics simulations of uniaxial tension were performed on a series of irradiation-amorphized SiC （a-SiC） samples with a range of imposed chemical disorder, which is defined as the ratio between the number of homonuclear bonds and heteronuclear bonds （x = Nc-c / Nsi-c）. With increasing chemical disorder, significant alternation of mechanical response of a-SiC has been detected in terms of increasingly pronounced plastic flow. Meanwhile relevant mechanical properties, including Young＇s modulus, strength, yield stress and strain, as well as failure strain scale monotonically with chemical disorder while in distinct manners. Specifically slight chemical disorder （x = 0.045） could induce substantial reduction of Young＇s modulus up to -2%, whereas strength basically linearly varies with chemical disorder until x≈0.5 upon which the variations in mechanical properties tend to saturate. Further examination of the evolution of atomic structure of a-SiC reveals a crossover of deformation mechanisms from homogeneous elastic deformation to localized plastic flow, which accounts for the strong chemical disorder dependence of the mechanical properties as well as mechanical responses of amorphous SiC. This crossover is also manifested in switching of fracture mode from brittle failure dominated by lattice instability in the ligaments between topological disordered clusters to nanoductile failure preceded by percolation of nanocavities. Employing chemical disorder to measure the defect concentration of a-SiC could contribute to the quantification of the correlation between mechanical properties and the corresponding defective a-SiC structure. Moreover the distinct scale laws shown by Young＇s modulus and strength with chemical disorder and the proposed critical chemical disorder threshold could benefit the quantitative evaluations of the mechanical performances of SiC components in different irradiation environments.