Process, microstructure and flexural properties of reaction sintered Tyranno SA/SiC composites

The preparation routes of fiber preform for the fabrication of RS-SiC/SiC composites have been investigated, based on the mechanical property–microstructure correlations. Tyranno SA SiC fiber reinforced SiC composites have been fabricated by a reaction sintering process, which is associated with the consecutive slurry infiltration process of low pressure slurry impregnation with various filler particles and with the magnitudes of the cold pressures. The characterization of RS-Tyranno SA/SiC composites was evaluated by means of SEM, EDS and three point bending test. The consecutive slurry infiltration process of low impregnation pressure and cold pressure for the preparation of fiber preform provided the required density for RS-Tyranno SA/SiC composites (>2.9 mg/m3), even if there was a large amount of Si rich SiC phases in the matrix of the intra-fiber bundle. The flexural properties of RS-Tyranno SA/SiC composites depended on the magnitudes of cold pressure used for the preparation of the fiber preform.