Insights into the flow behaviour of the AR24 mesophase pitch and nanoparticle-doped AR24 mesophase pitch during infiltration into particulate porous preforms

Synthetic mesophase pitches, extensively used as graphite precursors, manifest particular fluid-dynamic properties given their liquid crystal nature. Their recent use in infiltration processes to manufacture graphite-based monolithic and porous materials demands the study of their physical properties, mainly viscosity and contact angle, under dynamic conditions. In this work a new infiltration device was conceived and constructed to measure the infiltration kinetics of the AR24 naphthalene-based mesophase pitch and TiC nanoparticle-doped AR24 mesophase pitch into preforms of packed NaCl particles. The experiments allowed activation energies for viscosity to be obtained, along with pseudo-equilibrium and advancing contact angles.