Abstract
Biomorphic C/SiC composites were fabricated from different kinds of wood by liquid silicon infiltration (LSI) following a two-step process. In the first-step, the wood is converted into carbon preforms by pyrolysis in a nitrogen atmosphere. The carbon preforms are then infiltrated by silicon melt at 1,560°C under vacuum to fabricate C/SiC composites. The mechanical properties of the C/SiC composites were characterized by flexural tests at ambient temperature, 1,000, and 1,300°C, and the relationship between mechanical properties and microstructure was analyzed. The flexural strength of the biomorphic composites was strongly dependent on the properties of the carbon preforms and the degree of silicon infiltration. The flexural strength increased with increasing SiC content and bulk density of composite, and with decreasing porosity in the C/SiC composite. An analysis of fractographs of fractured C/SiC composites showed a cleavage type fracture, indicating brittle fracture behavior.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ASTM C 1161-02 (2003) Standard test method for flexural strength of advanced ceramics at ambient temperature
ASTM C 1211-02c (2003) Standard test method for flexural strength of advanced ceramics at elevated temperatures
Byrne CE, Nagle DC (1991) Carbonization of wood for advanced materials applications. Carbon 35(2): 259–266 doi:10.1016/S0008-6223(96)00136-4
Callister WD Jr (2007) Materials science and engineering: an introduction, 7th edn. Wiley, Inc., 452 pp
Chakrabarti O, Weisensel L, Sieber H (2005) Reactive melt infiltration processing of biomorphic Si–Mo–C ceramics from wood. J Am Ceram Soc 88(7): 1792–1798 doi:10.1111/j.1551-2916.2005.00366.x
de Arellano-López AR, Martínez-Fernández J, Varela-Feria FM, Orlova TS, Goretta KC, Gutierrez-Mora F, Chen N, Routbort JL (2004) Erosion and strength degradation of biomorphic SiC. J Eur Ceram Soc 24: 861–870
Fang H-T, Yin Z-D, Zhu J-C, Jeon J-H, Hahn Y-D (2001) Effect of Al additive in Si slurry coating on liquid Si infiltration into carbon–carbon composites. Carbon 39: 2035–2041 doi:10.1016/S0008-6223(01)00016-1
Gern F, Kochendörfer R (1997) Liquid silicon infiltration: description of the infiltration dynamics and silicon carbide formation. Compos Part A 28: 355–364
Greil P, Lifka T, Kaindl A (1998a) Biomorphic cellular silicon carbide ceramics from wood: I. Processing and microstructure. J Eur Ceram Soc 18: 1961–1973 doi:10.1016/S0955-2219(98)00156-3
Greil P, Lifka T, Kaindl A (1998b) Biomorphic cellular silicon carbide ceramics from wood: II. Mechanical properties. J Eur Ceram Soc 18: 1975–1983 doi:10.1016/S0955-2219(98)00155-1
Gutierrez-Mora F, Goretta KC, Varela-Feria FM, Arellano López AR, Martínez Fernández J (2005) Indentation hardness of biomorphic SiC. Int J Refract Metab Hard Mater 23: 369–374 doi:10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2005.05.020
Hou G, ** Z, Qian J (2007a) Effect of holding time on the basic properties of biomorphic SiC ceramic derived from beech wood. Mater Sci Eng A 452: 278–283 doi:10.1016/j.msea.2006.10.128
Hou G, ** Z, Qian J (2007b) Effect of starting Si contents on the properties and structure of biomorphic SiC ceramics. J Mater Proc Tec 182: 34–38 doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2006.07.003
Kercher AK, Nagle DC (2002) Evaluation of carbonized medium-density fiberboard for electrical applications. Carbon 40: 1321–1330 doi:10.1016/S0008-6223(01)00299-8
Lewin M, Goldstein IS (1991) Wood structure and composition. Marcel Dekker, Inc.
Martínez-Fernández J, Valera-Feria FM, Singh M (2000) High temperature compressive mechanical behavior of biomorphic silicon carbide ceramics. Scr Mater 43: 813–818 doi:10.1016/S1359-6462(00)00494-2
Presas M, Pastor JY, Llorca J, Arellano López AR, Martínez Fernández J, Sepúlveda R (2006) Microstructure and fracture properties of biomorphic SiC. Int J Refract Metab Hard Mater 24: 49–54 doi:10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2005.07.003
Rambo CR, Cao J, Rusina O, Sieber H (2005) Manufacturing of biomorphic (Si, Ti, Zr)-carbide ceramics by sol–gel processing. Carbon 43: 1174–1183 doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2004.12.009
Rice RW (1998) Porosity of ceramics. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York
Rowell RM (2005) Handbook of wood chemistry and wood composites. Taylor & Francis
Singh M, Bo-Moon Y (2004) Reactive processing of environmentally conscious, biomorphic ceramics from natural wood precursors. J Eur Ceram Soc 24: 209–217 doi:10.1016/S0955-2219(03)00244-9
Singh M, Salem JA (2002) Mechanical properties and microstructure of biomorphic silicon carbide ceramics fabricated from wood precursors. J Eur Ceram Soc 22: 2709–2717 doi:10.1016/S0955-2219(02)00136-X
Streitwieser DA, Popovska N, Gerhard H, Emig G (2005) Application of the chemical vapor infiltration and reaction (CVI-R) technique for the preparation of highly porous biomorphic SiC ceramics derived from paper. J Eur Ceram Soc 25: 817–828 doi:10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2004.04.006
Vogli E, Sieber H, Greil P (2002) Biomorphic SiC-ceramic prepared by Si-vapor phase infiltration of wood. J Eur Ceram Soc 22: 2663–2668 doi:10.1016/S0955-2219(02)00131-0
Zhou H, Singh RN (1995) Kinetics model for the growth of SiC by reaction of iiquid Si with C. J Am Ceram Soc 78(9): 2456–2462 doi:10.1111/j.1151-2916.1995.tb08685.x
Zollfrank C, Sieber H (2005) Microstructure evolution and reaction mechanism of biomorphous SiSiC ceramics. J Am Ceram Soc 88(1): 51–58
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Park, H.S., Jang, J.J., Lee, K.H. et al. Effects of microstructure on flexural strength of biomorphic C/SiC composites. Int J Fract 151, 233–245 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-008-9259-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-008-9259-6