Silicon carbide fibers are fibers ranging from 5 to 150

micrometres The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

in diameter and composed primarily of

silicon carbide Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder and crystal s ...

molecules. Depending on manufacturing process, they may have some excess silicon or carbon, or have a small amount of oxygen. Relative to organic fibers and some ceramic fibers, silicon carbide fibers have high stiffness, high tensile strength, low weight, high chemical resistance, high temperature tolerance and low thermal expansion. (refs) These properties have made silicon carbide fiber the choice for hot section components in the next generation of gas turbines, e.g. the LEAP engine from GE (General Electric).

Manufacture

There are several manufacturing approaches to making silicon carbide fibers. The one with the longest historical experience, invented in 1975 and called the Yajima process, uses a pre-ceramic liquid polymer that is injected through a spinneret to produce solidified green (unfired) fibers that go through a series of processing steps, including significant time in high temperature furnaces to convert the polymer to the desired SiC chemistry. These fibers are typically smaller than 20 microns in diameter and supplied as twisted tows containing 300+ fibers. Several companies employ some variation of this technique, including Nippon Carbon (Japan), Ube Industries (Japan), and the NGS consortium (USA). A second approach utilizes chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to form silicon carbide on a central core of a dissimilar material as the core traverses a high temperature reactor. Developed by Textron (now Specialty Materials Inc located in Massachusetts) over 40 years ago, the silicon carbide deposit resulting from the gas-phase CVD reaction builds up on a carbon core with a columnar microstructure. The fiber, sold as the SCS product family, is relatively large in diameter, measuring from approximately 80 to 140 microns. Laser-driven CVD (LCVD) is a related approach using multiple laser beams as the energy source to incite the gas phase reaction, with the significant difference that the fibers are grown as-formed and not on any core structure, The LCVD fibers are fabricated in a parallel array as each laser beam corresponds to a deposited fiber, with growth rates ranging from 100 microns to over 1 millimeter per second and fiber diameters ranging from 20 to 80 microns. Free Form Fibers, based in upstate New York, has developed the LCVD technology for the past 10 years.

Usage

Almost all silicon carbide fiber produced is used as a fiber reinforcement material in ceramic composites. The majority are used to produce

metal matrix composites In materials science, a metal matrix composite (MMC) is a composite material with fibers or particles dispersed in a metallic matrix, such as copper, aluminum, or steel. The secondary phase is typically a ceramic (such as alumina or silicon carb ...

, such as aluminum, titanium, or molybdenum composites. They can also be used to make various ceramic matrix composites such as SiC/SiC, a high temperature composite used in aerospace.

References

{{Reflist, refs= Composite Materials Handbook (CMH-17) Volume 5, Ceramic Matrix Composites; published by SAE International, 2017 (from chapter 3.2) https://www.library.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/HDBK17-5.pdf https://www.library.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/HDBK17-3F.pdf section 2.4.1.6 {{cite web, url=https://www.ornl.gov/news/ceramic-matrix-composites-take-flight-leap-jet-engine , title=Ceramic matrix composites take flight in LEAP jet engine | ORNL , publisher=Ornl.gov , date=2017-01-03 , accessdate=2018-03-30 {{cite patent , inventor1-last = Yajima , inventor1-first = Seishi , inventor2-last = Hayashi , inventor2-first = Josaburo , inventor3-last = Omori , inventor3-first = Mamoru , title = Method for producing organosilicon high molecular weight compounds having silicon and carbon as main skeleton components and said organosilicon high molecular weight compounds , issue-date = 1977-10-04 , patent-number = 4,052,430 , country-code = US Website of CFM, the joint venture manufacturer (between GE and Saffran Aircraft Engines) of the LEAP engine, https://www.cfmaeroengines.com/engines/leap/ {{cite web, url=http://accuratus.com/silicar.html , title=Silicon Carbide SiC Material Properties , publisher=Accuratus.com , date= , accessdate=2018-03-30 {{cite web, url=http://specmaterials.com/companyhistory.htm , title=Specialty Materials, Inc. - History , publisher=Specmaterials.com , date= , accessdate=2018-03-30 {{cite journal, url=http://ceramics.org/ceramic-tech-today/how-to-knit-silicon-carbide-fibers , title=How to knit silicon carbide fibers | The American Ceramic Society , doi=10.1002/adem.201100192 , publisher=Ceramics.org , date=2012-07-03 , s2cid=135924275 , accessdate=2018-03-30 Maxwell, James & Chavez, Craig & W. Springer, Robert & Maskaly, Karlene & Goodin, Dan. (2007). “Preparation of superhard BxCy fibers by microvortex-flow hyperbaric laser chemical vapor deposition”, Diamond and Related Materials v 16. pp. 1557-1564 T. Wallenberger, Frederick & C. Nordine, Paul & Boman, Mats. (1994). “Inorganic fibers and microstructures directly from the vapor phase”. Composites Science and Technology v 51. pp. 193-212. Maxwell, James & Boman, Mats & W Springer, Robert & Narayan, Jaikumar & Gnanavelu, Saiprasanna. (2006). “Hyperbaric Laser Chemical Vapor Deposition of Carbon Fibers from the 1-Alkenes, 1-Alkynes, and Benzene”. Journal of the American Chemical Society v 128. pp. 4405-4413 Carbides

Manufacture

Usage

See also

References