Fiber strength utilization in carbon/carbon composites

The utilization of tensile strength of carbon fibers in unidirectional carbon/carbon (C/C) composites was studied for a series of four mesophase-pitch-based carbon fibers in a carbon matrix derived from a polyarylacetylene (PAA) resin. The fibers had moduli of 35, 75, 105, and 130 Mpsi. Composite processing conditions ranged from the cured-resin state to various heat-treatment temperatures (HTT's) from 1100 to 2750 °C for the C/C's. Room-temperature tensile strength and modulus were measured for the various processing conditions, and were correlated with SEM observations of fracture surfaces, fiber and matrix microstructures, and fiber/matrix interphase structures. Fiber tensile strength utilization (FSU) is defined as the ratio of apparent fiber strength in the C/C to the fiber strength in an epoxy-resin-matrix composite. Carbonization heat treatment to 1100 °C results in a brittle carbon matrix that bonds strongly with the three lower modulus fibers, resulting in matrix-dominated failure at FSU values of 24 to 35%. However, the composite with the 130-Mpsi-modulus filament had an FSU of 79%. It is attributed to a combination of tough fracture within the filament itself and a weaker fiber/matrix interface. Both factors lead to crack deflection and blunting rather than to crack propagation. The presence of a weakened interface is inferred from observations of fiber pullout. Much of the FSU of the three lower modulus fibers is recovered by HTT to 2100 or 2400 °C, principally as a result of interface weakening, which works to prevent matrix-dominated fracture. With HTT to 2750 °C, there is a drop in FSU for all the composites; it is apparently the result of a combination of fiber degradation and reduced matrix stress-transfer capability.