Characterizing the Properties of a Woven SiC/SiC Composite Using W-CEMCAN Computer Code

Abstract

A micromechanics based computer code to predict the thermal and mechanical properties of woven ceramic matrix composites (CMC) is developed. This computer code, W-CEMCAN (Woven CEramic Matrix Composites ANalyzer), predicts the properties of two-dimensional woven CMC at any temperature and takes into account various constituent geometries and volume fractions. This computer code is used to predict the thermal and mechanical properties of an advanced CMC composed of 0/90 five-harness (5 HS) Sylramic fiber which had been chemically vapor infiltrated (CVI) with boron nitride (BN) and SiC interphase coatings and melt-infiltrated (MI) with SiC. The predictions, based on the bulk constituent properties from the literature, are compared with measured experimental data. Based on the comparison. improved or calibrated properties for the constituent materials are then developed for use by material developers/designers. The computer code is then used to predict the properties of a composite with the same constituents but with different fiber volume fractions. The predictions are compared with measured data and a good agreement is achieved.