Thermal Shock Behavior of Two‐Dimensional Woven Fiber‐Reinforced Ceramic Composites

Abstract

The thermal shock behavior of three types of two‐dimensional woven, continuous fiber‐reinforced (NextelTM 312 (3M Co., St. Paul, MN) or NicalonTM (Nippon Carbon, Tokyo, Japan)) ceramic matrix (silicon carbide matrix that had been processed by chemical vapor infiltration or polymer impregnation and pyrolysis) composites was studied using the water‐quench technique. Thermal‐shock‐induced damage was characterized by a destructive technique of four‐point flexure and a nondestructive technique of Young's modulus measurement by the dynamic resonance method. Compared with monolithic ceramics, the continuous fiber‐reinforced ceramic composites were capable of preventing catastrophic failure that was caused by thermal shock. Analysis of the results that were based on the stresses that were generated by thermal shock and the mismatch of thermal expansion between fibers and matrices suggested possible mechanisms of the thermal shock damage. Preliminary results showed evidence of matrix cracking and delamination because of the thermal shock damage. The feasibility of using the nondestructive technique to detect thermal shock damage also was demonstrated.

Thermal shock fracture in cross-ply fibre-reinforced ceramic–matrix composites

“…when subjected to an abrupt temperature change (∆T), than their monolithic and particulate-or whisker-reinforced counterparts [1,2]. However, although failure is avoided and damage can be accommodated, there is significant damage accumulation in the form of matrix cracks of various orientations that can lead to property degradation and may affect long-term material behaviour, especially under the presence of oxidative conditions [3][4][5][6].…”

Damage characterisation of thermally shocked cross-ply ceramic composite laminates

“…Large-scale porosity affected the behaviour of 2-D SiC/SiC, as the pores acted as crack initiation sites at shocks of moderate severity [11][12][13]. Information on the thermal shock behaviour of CMCs of other configurations has been limited [14,15].…”

Continuous Fiber Ceramic Composite (CFCC) Program: Gaseous Nitridation

“…It consisted of water quench test for inducing thermal shock damage and characterization of the thermal shock-induced damage by destructive and non-destructive techniques [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. The destructive technique of mechanical property measurements was used to characterize changes in mechanical response because of the thermal shock damage.…”

“…In addition, CFCCs damaged by thermal shock were shown to be more susceptible to further degradation by fatigue and environmental effects [17]. Therefore, a comprehensive experimental study combined with non-destructive analyses were developed to assess the behavior of CFCCs in thermal transients [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

“…A methodology for inducing thermal shock damage and characterizing the damage has been developed in support of the CFCC Program [1,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. It consisted of water quench test for inducing thermal shock damage and characterization of the thermal shock-induced damage by destructive and non-destructive techniques [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”