C/C-SiC composites, namely carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide and pyrocarbon
matrices, were fabricated in two steps in this study. Firstly, C/C composites were prepared by a rapid
economical densification process of chemical liquid-vaporized infiltration. PAN based felt and
2-Dimensional carbon fibers were chosen as preform, respectively. A liquid hydrocarbon, kerosene,
was used as a precursor. The C/C composites were processed in a temperature range of 900-1100°C
for 150 minutes. Subsequently, C/C-SiC composites were fabricated from the C/C composites and
silicon powder by reactive melt infiltration method. Densities, open porosities of the C/C and the
C/C-SiC composites were investigated. Structural properties of the C/C-SiC composites were studied
by optical microscopy. X-ray diffraction was used to identify the element and the crystal phase of the
composites. It was shown that the density of C/C composite reached to 1.72 g/cm3 based on the 2D
carbon fibers by CLVI method. Microstructure observation of the C/C composite revealed that the
pyrocarbon is layer concentric around the fibers. It was found that during the RMI processing β-SiC
was formed through the reaction only between liquid silicon and pyrocarbon, while carbon fiber was
not damaged. Free silicon remains in the C/C-SiC composites because of insufficient reaction with
the pyrocarbon.
124 Rapid fabrication process for C/SiC composites with dispersed SiC slurry infiltration method