Author(s): Alexander Wirtz

Presentation: poster

Silicon carbide (SiC) fibers have many notable properties such as a low density, high elastic modulus, high thermal conductivity, and has shown to have a high temperature mechanical strength. Such properties make these fibers desirable for many applications in engineering such as aerospace heat-resistant tiles, fiber optics for high speed communications, semiconductor electronics, and much more. Various processing speeds to convert carbon fibers to silicon carbide were investigated. Laser diffraction was used to measure the diameter of each fiber prior to mechanical testing to accurately determine the mechanical properties of the processed fibers. Fractography was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and phase analysis to evaluate the conversion process was assessed with x-ray diffraction (XRD). Fracture strength and modulus of elasticity were taken from the results of the mechanical testing and evaluated using Weibull statistics relative to processing parameters of the fibers. Details concerning the processing parameters’ relationship to the diameter, fracture strength, Weibull statistics, and fractography will be discussed.

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