Silicon carbide whiskers for composites: growth and properties

Silicon carbide (SiC) whiskers have great potential as reinforcements for structural ceramic matrix composites with significantly improved fracture toughness and strength. Such whiskers, synthesized at Los Alamos by a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process, are single crystal fibers with diameters in the range of 0.1 to 10 ..mu..m and lengths presently as long as 100 mm. They possess superb mechanical properties, with an average strength of 8.4 GPa (1,220,000 psi) and an average elastic modules of 580 GPa (84,000,000 psi), as well as excellent elevated temperature stability. Future possibilities include the synthesis of long SiC whiskers for continuous fiber composites, and other types of whisker materials to extend the range of new ceramic composite systems