Sic Structures Of Arbitrary Shape

A PROCESS THAT CONVERTS CARBON INTO SILICON CARBIDE HAS BEEN OBSERVED AND USED TO CLAD VARIOUS CARBOON SHAPES. THIS PROCESS CAN BE APPLIED TO ANY CARBON SHAPE INCLUDING COMPLEX SHAPES SUCH AS THREADED PARTS, HELIXES, WINDOWS AND BALLISTIC SHAPES. THE RESULTANT PARTS CAN BE SUBJECTED TO TEMPERATURES GREATER THT 1300 DEGREE C IN AIR WITHOUT PHYSICAL DEGRADATION. THE PROCESS CAN BE APPLIED TO THE MANUFACTURE OF CONVENTIONAL SILICON CARBIDE HEATING ELEMENTS AS WELL AS UNCONVENTIONAL HIGH TEMPERATURE REQUIREMENTS, SUCH AS THREADED FASTENERS. THE PROCESS INVOLVED UTILIZES CAD/CAM THUS ALLOWING FOR HIGHER VOLUME AND LOWER MANUFACTURING COSTS.THE PROCESS UTILIZES A FLUX SYSTEM SIMILAR TO FLUX CRYSTAL GROWTH TO FORM THE SiC LAYERS. GRAPHITE PARTS, MACHINED INTO THE DESIRED SHAPE, ARE INTRODUCED INTO THE FLUX CONTAINING SILICON AND SILICON CARBIDE. BY VARYING THE FLUX COMPOSITION AND TEMPERATURE THE OUTER PORTION OF THE GRAPHITE IS CONVERTED INTO SILICON CARBIDE. ADDITIONAL SILICON CARBIDE CAN BE ADDED BY COOLING THE SYSTEM BELOW THE SYSTEM SATURATION TEMPERATURE.