Abstract
Carbon-fiber-reinforced SiC matrix (C/SiC) composite is one of the promising materials for the combustion chamber of satellite thrusters. The most common processing of C/SiC composite is polymer impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP) method. However, due to the low volume yield of pre-ceramic polymers after pyrolysis, repeated PIP is required to obtain high density C/SiC composite, yielding high processing cost. In this research, to reduce the processing cost, the space in a 2D carbon fiber preform is first filled with SiC powders by a vacuum assisted slurry infiltration method. The powder filled preform is further densified by PIP method. It was found that the infiltration behavior of SiC powders during a vacuum assisted slurry infiltration method successfully make it possible to densify the preforms when the slurry is infiltrated from both surfaces. It was also suggested that the slurry with higher concentration efficiently densifies the preform. Since 35 vol% of vacancy still remains at present, pressure assisted impregnation process has been also examined.
