Fabrication of SiC/SiCf composites by hot-pressing and their mechanical properties at room and elevated temperature

Continuous 2D woven SiC fiber-reinforced SiC composites were fabricated by conventional hot-pressing in Ar at 1650-1750degC under an applied pressure of 40 MPa. To obtain dense composite as lower temperature as possible to avoid degradation of SiC fiber, Al-B-C system sintering additives for matrix SiC were selected. Fabrication process of the composites, micro-structure, effect of fiber coating on fracture properties at room and elevated temperature are presented. Using BN-coated Hi-Nicalon cloths as a reinforcement, the composite with nearly full density was successfully obtained by hot-pressing, and it showed pseudo ductile fracture behavior. (author)