Abstract
Polymer-derived silicon carbide has been regarded to be susceptible to radiation damage, because of severe radiation damage associated with radiation-induced crystallization of amorphous structure. However, recent advancement of highly heat-resistant silicon carbide fiber allows pyrolysis of matrix precursors at higher temperatures and expectedly the production of polymer impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP)-SiC/SiC composites with improved radiation resistance. In this work, characterization of microstructure, mechanical properties, and radiation stability of a developmental high-temperature pyrolyzed PIP-SiC/SiC composite was carried out. Although mechanical properties of TyrannoTM-SA-reinforced composite pyrolyzed at 2023-2073 K were not very encouraging due to insufficient matrix densification, Tyranno-SA fiber appeared to retain its strength after repeated pyrolysis at temperatures ≥2023 K. Carbon coating on the fiber fabric worked effectively as a fiber-matrix (F-M) interlayer in this system. Superior radiation stability was demonstrated by microstructural examination following dual-beam ion irradiation to 10 dpa at 873 K.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 42-47 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
| Volume | 289 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2001 |
Funding
The authors are grateful to Drs. T. Noda and H. Araki at the National Research Institute of Metals, Drs. M. Sato and T. Yamamura at Ube Industries Limited, Prof. K. Okamura at Osaka Prefectural University and Prof. H. Shibata and Dr. T. Iwai at the University of Tokyo for their assistance and helpful discussion. This work was performed as a part of Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST) program operated by Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST) for the Science and Technology Agency (STA), Japan.