Effect of preceramic and Zr coating on impregnation behaviors of SiC ceramic composite

SiC fiber-reinforced ceramic composites were fabricated using a polymer impregnation and pyrolysis process. To develop the low temperature process, the pyrolysis was conducted at 600 °C in air. Both a microstructural observation and a mechanical test were utilized for the evaluation of the impregnation. For the impregnation, two kinds of polycarbosilane having a different degree of cross-linking were used. The level of cross-linking affected the ceramic yield of the composites. The cross-linking under oxygen containing atmosphere resulted in a dense matrix and high density of filling. However, tight bonding between the matrix and fibers in the fully dense composite samples, which was obtained using a cross-linking agent of divinylbenzene, turned out to be deteriorative on the mechanical properties. The physical isolation of fibers from matrix phase in the composites was very important to attain a mechanical ductility. The brittle fracture was alleviated by introducing an interphase coating with metallic Zr. The combination of forming the dense matrix and interphase coating should be a necessary condition for the SiCf/SiC fiber-reinforce composite, and it is practicable by controlling the process parameters.