Processing and performance of SiC/Blackglas^TM CFCCs using filament winding

Silicon carbide/silicon-carboxide (SiC/SiCO) Continuous Fiber Ceramic Composite (CFCC) tubes with good quality have been manufactured using filament winding and preceramic polymer pyrolysis. The preceramic polymer used in this work is Blackglas^TM (a siloxane polymer). A filament winding machine is designed to adapt to the brittle nature of the silicon carbide fibers and the relatively low temperature cure of the polymer. Seven reinfiltration/pyrolysis steps were necessary to reach a convergence by weight. CFCC parts have been successfully manufactured with processing times of about 8 days and densities of about 2.4 gm/cm³. Effects of infrared cure-on-the-fly and carbon coating of the ceramic fiber on the processing and performance of the manufactured CFCCs are studied, and is found that they greatly improve the quality and performance of the parts. Manufacturing guidelines for this processing technique are presented. The quality of manufactured parts were examined both microscopically and macroscopically. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to study the microstructure of the finished parts. Both room and high temperature C-ring tests in air were employed to assess the mechanical performance.