Studying SiC/SiC composites by X-ray tomography

Continuous SiC fiber reinforced SiC matrix composites (SiC/SiC) have been studied and developed for high temperature applications and nuclear applications. In this study, SiC/SiC composites were fabricated via polymer impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP) process and studied by X-ray tomography. The SiC/SiC composites were first scanned using a Metris X-tek 320 kV source at the Henry Moseley X-ray Imaging Facility at the University of Manchester, the closed porosities were investigated after three dimensional (3D) imaging of the samples. Furthermore, high-resolution synchrotron X-ray tomography was applied to the SiC/SiC composite at Diamond Light Source. Digital volume correlation was employed for Hertzian indentation testing of the SiC/SiC composite, quantifying damage by measurement of the displacement fields within the material. A Cellular Automata integrated with Finite Elements (CAFE) method was developed to account for the effect of microstructure on the fracture behavior of the SiC/SiC composite. Graded microstructures, textures and multiple phases were simulated and a mesh-free framework was developed to compute the damage development through the microstructure. The results indicated that we could study the development of discontinuous cracking and damage coalescence, and its sensitivity to microstructure with this method. © (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland