Impact of long-term thermal exposure on a SiC fiber-reinforced copper matrix composite

Silicon carbide long fiber-reinforced copper matrix composites offer huge potential as a heat sink material of divertor for applications at temperatures above 300 °C thanks to the beneficial combination of strong ceramic fibers and highly conductive copper. For applications at higher operation temperatures, long term thermal stability is an issue, as thermal exposure may cause a detrimental change in microstructure in terms of chemistry and integrity of the constituents leading to overall deterioration of composite strength. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of long term thermal exposure at an elevated temperature on a Cu/SiCf composite material. To this end, composite samples were fabricated and subjected to a heat treatment at 550 °C for 400 h. Extensive tensile tests were conducted for a wide range of fibers volume fractions to evaluate the strength before and after the heat treatment. Acoustic emission was detected in situ during tensile tests for tracking the failure events. Microscopic analysis was carried out to capture the chemical change and damage. It turned out that the applied heat treatment caused significant reduction of strength. Microanalysis revealed that infiltration and diffusion of copper into the fibers via the cracks of the damaged fibers are the direct cause of the embrittlement.