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Results for “Polymer Infiltration and Pyrolysis”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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Silicon carbide fiber composite receiver tubes manufactured by PIP process

The performance of SiC fiber composites made by a polymer infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP) process was investigated. Two types of tubular composites were manufactured using Hi-Nicalon and Nicalon-CG silicon carbide fibers infiltrated with SMP10 silicon carbide matrix. The fiber content in both composites was about 25 vol.% with an average density of 2.39 g/cc. The tubular SiC composites showed stable solar absorptance and emittance of 0.97 and 0.91, respectively, at 800 °C. The composites were thermally shocked at 900, 1000, and 1100 °C with a waterjet simulating raindrops. As a result, the hoop tensile strength of the composites revealed no loss of mechanical strength due to the thermal shock experiments up to 1100 °C.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Scalable, Infiltration-Free Ceramic Matrix Composite Manufacturing

Manufacturing of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) with carbon fiber and carbon matrix includes a time- and labor-intensive ceramic infiltration step that is responsible for more than half of the total manufacturing cost. To make CMCs cost-competitive in price-sensitive markets, like concentrated solar power, it is essential to develop a CMC manufacturing process that skips the ceramic infiltration process. In this work, we will show how a high-char-yield preceramic resin can eliminate the infiltration step while maintaining material density and evaluate the technoeconomic impact of our CMC manufacturing process. We monitor both morphology and porosity to determine the quality of CMCs made with different preceramic resins and evaluate the impact of polymer infiltration and pyrolyzing cycles.

matrix composite, polymer infiltration and pyrolys↗

Simplified, Infiltration-free Ceramic Matrix Composite Manufacturing

Manufacturing of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) with carbon fiber and carbon matrix includes a time- and labor-intensive ceramic infiltration step that is responsible for more than half of the total manufacturing cost. To make CMCs cost-competitive in price-sensitive markets, like concentrated solar power, it is essential to develop a CMC manufacturing process that skips the ceramic infiltration process. In this work, we will show how a high-char-yield preceramic resin can eliminate the infiltration step while maintaining material density and evaluate the technoeconomic impact of our CMC manufacturing process. Here, we monitor both morphology and porosity to determine the quality of CMCs made with different preceramic resins and evaluate the impact of polymer infiltration and pyrolyzing cycles.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Additively Manufactured Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Siliconized Silicon Carbide Composites Using Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone (PEEK) as a Precursor

Herein, we report a method to additively manufacture carbon fiber-reinforced siliconized silicon carbide composites. The process involves the pyrolysis of a 3D-printed carbon fiber-reinforced poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) composite to produce a porous carbon fiber-reinforced carbon matrix composite preform, which is subsequently infiltrated with molten silicon to obtain a carbon fiber-reinforced siliconized silicon carbide composite. A key aspect of the method is limiting polymer melt flow during pyrolysis of PEEK, which is achieved by thermally annealing the 3D-printed carbon fiber-reinforced PEEK preform in air at a temperature below PEEK’s melting temperature. Rheological and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements demonstrate that the thermal annealing treatment altered the melting behavior of PEEK, while NMR and FTIR measurements provided a mechanistic explanation for the structural changes responsible for the behavior. It was also found that dimensional changes during pyrolysis were anisotropic with greater shrinkage in the stacking direction of the material.

Yoon, Bola [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000260875373)↗

Size effects in 3D–printed polymer–derived, zirconium diboride–reinforced ceramic composites

Preceramic polymers are of interest for use in many manufacturing techniques such as injection molding, ceramic fiber infiltration, and additive manufacturing. However, off-gassing of low molecular weight oligomers occurs when these polymers cure, potentially leading to porosity in the cured part. Here to study how porosity and strength are affected by the size of the printed part, and the presence of a high surface area nano-scale filler, polycarbosilane (PCS) microrods of varying diameter were fabricated via direct ink writing (DIW), an additive manufacturing technique, with two ink formulations containing either zirconium diboride (ZrB 2 ) alone, or ZrB 2 and fumed alumina (FA). Sets of microrods were printed in a range of sizes by using print nozzles of 450, 634, 979, 1 346, or 1 702 μm in diameter, which were thermally cured, pyrolyzed to form ceramic composite microrods, and tested in 3-pt flexure. Porosity increased with increasing diameter, while failure strength decreased. For a given nozzle size, the microrods containing FA displayed lower porosity and higher strength (up to ~500 MPa) compared to the microrods containing only ZrB 2 . Weibull strength analysis was performed on each group of microrods and shows that the addition of FA increased Weibull modulus from 4.63 ± 1.56 to 9.35 ± 0.601. In conjunction with optical microscopy, this analysis indicates two distinct flaw populations in the printed materials, porosity which arises during the curing step and cracking which arises during pyrolysis of the larger specimens.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗