Rapid, High Throughput Production of SiC Yarn from Discontinuous Fibers

Texas Research Institute Austin, Inc. will demonstrate that the coupling of centrifugal spinning and microwave irradiation followed by mechanical sonication will yield short fibers of sufficient diameter, length, and thermomechanical performance to be spun into a high quality yarn in the Phase I Effort. The quality and performance of the proposed beta silicon carbide (ß-SiC) yarns will be compared to commercially available fibers from COI Ceramics and Specialty Materials. The fibers, which have been previously fabricated and tested in-lab are currently considered to have a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3 and a Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) of 3 and are ready to be further developed into high quality yarns. The equipment that will be used has a TRL and MRL of 5-6. This approach offers uniform volumetric and localized heating, and thus better and more uniform mechanical properties of the final products, while at the same time lowering the cost of SiC fiber production and ceramic matrix composite manufacturing and reducing processing time, energy consumption, and carbon footprint. Since this approach can be carried out in an out-of-oven setup, the prospect for repeatable, high throughput, low-cost manufacturing of ß-SiC fiber and yarns is obtainable.