Testing Advanced SiC Fiber Tows at Elevated Temperature in Silicic Acid-Saturated Steam

Author(s):  
S. J. Robertson ◽  
K. B. Sprinkle ◽  
M. B. Ruggles-Wrenn

Investigating stressed oxidation and scale crystallization kinetics of advanced SiC fibers at elevated temperature in steam is a challenging yet essential undertaking for the assessment of the effects of oxidation on mechanical properties of SiC-SiC ceramic matrix composites (CMCs). Moisture in the oxidizing environment is known to change oxidation rates, reduce scale viscosity and lower temperatures for scale crystallization. In order to study these phenomena, a facility for testing SiC fiber tows in creep at elevated temperatures in air, in steam and in steam saturated with silicic acid was developed. The newly constructed test facility was validated through creep testing of Hi-Nicalon™-S fibers at 800°C in steam saturated with silicic acid. Testing in saturated steam resulted in formation of a uniform oxide scale. Details of the test facility design, development and experimental validation are presented.

Author(s):  
Eric P. Bouillon ◽  
Patrick C. Spriet ◽  
Georges Habarou ◽  
Thibault Arnold ◽  
Greg C. Ojard ◽  
...  

Advanced materials are targeting durability improvement in gas turbine engines. One general area of concern for durability is in the hot section components of the engine. Ceramic matrix composites offer improvements in durability at elevated temperatures with a corresponding reduction in weight for nozzles of gas turbine engines. Building on past material efforts, ceramic matrix composites using a carbon and a SiC fiber with a self-sealing matrix have been developed for gas turbine applications. Prior to ground engine testing, a reduced test matrix was undertaken to aggressively test the material in a long-term hold cycle at elevated temperatures and environments. This tensile low cycle fatigue testing was done in air and a 90% steam environment. After completion of the aggressive testing effort, six nozzle seals were fabricated and installed in an F100-PW-229 engine for accelerated mission testing. The C fiber CMC and the SiC Fiber CMC were respectively tested to 600 and 1000 hours in accelerated conditions without damage. Engine testing is continuing to gain additional time and insight with the objective of pursuing the next phase of field service evaluation. Mechanical testing and post-test characterization results of this testing will be presented. The results of the engine testing will be shown and overall conclusions drawn.


2000 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Haque ◽  
M. Rahman

This paper investigates the damage development in SiC/SiNC woven composites under tensile and cyclic loading both at room and elevated temperatures. The ultimate strength, failure strain, proportional limit, and modulus data at a temperature range of 23°C–1250°C are generated. The tensile strength of SiC/SiNC woven composites has been observed to increase with increased temperatures up to 1000°C. The stress/strain plot shows a pseudo-yield point at 25 percent of the failure strain εf, which indicates damage initiation in the form of matrix cracking. The evolution of damage above 0.25 εf both at room and elevated temperature comprises of multiple matrix cracking, interfacial debonding, and fiber pullout. Although the nature of the stress/strain plot shows damage-tolerant behavior under static loading both at room and elevated temperature, the life expectancy of SiC/SiNC composites degrades significantly under cyclic loading at elevated temperature. This is mostly due to the interactions of fatigue damage caused by the mechanically induced plastic strain and the damage developed by the creep strain. The in-situ damage evolutions are monitored by acoustic event parameters, ultrasonic C-scan, and stiffness degradation. Rate equations for modulus degradation and fatigue life prediction of ceramic matrix composites both at room and elevated temperatures are developed. These rate equations are observed to show reasonable agreement with experimental results. [S0094-4289(00)02304-5]


Author(s):  
Rabih Mansour ◽  
Yogesh P. Singh ◽  
Manigandan Kannan ◽  
Gregory N. Morscher ◽  
Frank Abdi ◽  
...  

Interlaminar fracture properties play an important role in predicting failure of structural components for CMC materials. In engine applications, components are subject to large thermal gradients which induce interlaminar stresses. One of the main challenges in evaluating interlaminar fracture toughness at room and elevated temperatures is the development of an experimental setup that provides ease for testing and allows for in-situ monitoring of the interlaminar crack growth. Therefore, a wedge-loaded DCB testing method is developed. The method utilize electrical resistance to monitor crack growth and was applied to a woven polymer infiltrated pyrolysis (PIP) SiC/SiNC composite. Post-testing inspection was carried out using optical microscopy of polished cross-sections, showing crack morphology. It was found that crack growth rate at room temperature is double the one at 815 °C for initial tests in this composite system. Estimates of Mode I energy release rate suggests flat R-curve behavior at room temperature in comparison to rising R-curve behavior at 815 °C.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-169
Author(s):  
Jian Gu ◽  
Sea-Hoon Lee ◽  
Daejong Kim ◽  
Hee-Soo Lee ◽  
Jun-Seop Kim

Improvement of the thermal stability of continuous SiC fiber reinforced SiC ceramic matrix composites (SiCf/SiC CMC) by the pre-treatment of SiC fillers and the suppression of oxidation during polymer impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP) process were investigated. Dense SiCf/SiC CMCs were fabricated using the slurry infiltration and PIP process under a purified argon atmosphere. Structure and mechanical properties of the SiCf/SiC CMC heated at different temperatures were evaluated. The flexural strength of the SiCf/SiC CMC decreased only 15.3%after heating at 1400 ?C, which exhibited a clear improvement compared with the literature data (49.5% loss), where severe thermal deterioration of SiCf/SiC composite occurred at high temperatures by the crystallization and decomposition of the precursor-derived ceramic matrix. The thermal stability of the SiCf/SiC CMC fabricated by PIP process was improved by the pre-treatment of SiC fillers for removing oxides and the strict atmosphere control to prevent oxidation.


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