Appropriate thickness of pyrolytic carbon coating on SiC fiber reinforcement to secure reasonable quasi-ductility on NITE SiC/SiC composites

Abstract Pyrolytic carbon (PyC) coating of silicon carbide (SiC) fibers is an important technology that creates quasi-ductility to SiC/SiC composites. Nano-infiltration and transient eutectic-phase (NITE) process is appealing for the fabrication of SiC/SiC composites for use in high temperature system structures. However, the appropriate conditions for the PyC coating of the composites have not been sufficiently tested. In this research, SiC fibers, with several thick PyC coatings prepared using a chemical vapor infiltration continuous furnace, were used in the fabrication of NITE SiC/SiC composites. Three point bending tests of the composites revealed that the thickness of the PyC coating affected the quasi-ductility of the composites. The composites reinforced by 300 nm thick coated SiC fibers showed a brittle fracture behavior; the composites reinforced 500 and 1200 nm thick PyC coated SiC fibers exhibited a better quasi-ductility. Transmission electron microscope research revealed that the surface of the as-coated PyC coating on a SiC fiber was almost smooth, but the interface between the PyC coating and SiC matrix in a NITE SiC/SiC composite was very rough. The thickness of the PyC coating was considered to be reduced maximum 400 nm during the composite fabrication procedure. The interface was possibly damaged during the composite fabrication procedure, and therefore, the thickness of the PyC coating on the SiC fibers should be thicker than 500 nm to ensure quasi-ductility of the NITE SiC/SiC composites.