Elevated Temperature Properties of Commercially Available NITE-SiC/SiC Composites

Full text of publication follows: Continuous fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) have been expected as a new type of material having high fracture resistance up to a high temperature. In recent years, there have been extensive efforts in our research group to develop high performance SiC/SiC composites for energy applications, where improvements in mechanical properties and damage resistance by innovative new fabrication process with emphasis on interface improvement have been greatly accomplished. One of the most outstanding accomplishments is the Nano-powder Infiltration and Transient Eutectic (NITE) process using PyC coated Tyranno-SA fibers. For making SiC/SiC composites more attractive and competitive for high temperature structural components and for other industrial applications, one of the key issues is to demonstrate its reliability and safety under severe environments. Also to demonstrate the potential to produce SiC/SiC by NITE process from large scale production line at industries is very important. This paper provides fundamental database of mechanical properties and microstructure of Cera-NITE, the trade name of NITE-SiC/SiC composites. The mechanical properties were evaluated by uni-axial tensile test from room temperature to high temperatures. The tensile properties, including elastic modulus, PLS and ultimate tensile strength, are superior to those of other conventional SiC/SiC composites. The macroscopic observation of Cera-NITE indicated high density as planned with almost no-porosity and cracks. Furthermore, Cera-NITE showed outstanding microstructural uniformity. The characteristic variation coming from the sampling location was hardly observed.. Further information about database of properties and microstructure at evaluated temperature will be provided. (authors)