LOW COST HIGH PERFORMANCE CONTINUOUS FIBER CERAMIC COMPOSITES: 3-D BRAIDED PREFORMS AS SIC MATRIX COMPOSITES USING CVI

3-D BRAIDED PREFORMS SHOULD INCREASE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CERAMIC COMPOSITES IN ALL DIRECTIONS; ITS INTERLOCKING FIBER ARCHITECTURE SHOULD BE EFFECTIVE IN ARRESTING CRACKS, AND REMOVING CATASTROPIC FAILURE. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE ISUES OF MERGING AN EFFECTIVE REINFORCEMENT SYSTEM WITH AN INEXPENSIVE CERAMIC MATRIX PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY TO DISCOVER A LOW COST MANUFACTURING ROUTE TO HIGH PERFORMANCE CERAMIC COMPOSITE SHAPES. CVI IS AN INFILTRATION TECHNOLOGY THAT PROVIDES HIGH QUALITY CERAMIC MATRICES IN COMPOSITES. ITS USE WITH THE 3-D BRAIDED PREFORMS IS EXPECTED TO MEET AND EXCEED REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS PROJECT. THE ULTIMATE COST TO FABRICATE SUCH COMPOSITES WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN SOME APPLICATIONS; ONCE THE PERFORMANCE LEVEL HAS BEEN DEFINED, REDUCTIONS IN MANUMANUFACTURING COSTS CAN FOLLOW, OPTIMIZING THE EFFICIENCY OF THIS SYSTEM; ALTERNATE SYSTEMS MAY ULTIMATELY PROVE ATTRACTIVE, COST WISE. IN THIS PHASE I, ENOUGH PROCESSING TRIALS WILL BE MADE TO PRODUCE A REPRESENTATIVE MATRIX TO HOST THE PREFORM. PREDICTION OF OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES BASED ON BRAID GEOMETRY AND FIBER PROPERTIES WILL DETERMINE THE VALIDITY OF THE APPROACH TO CERAMIC COMPOSITES.