Mechanical properties improvement of carbon/carbon composites by two different matrixes

Carbon/carbon (C/C) composites with two different matrixes of pitch carbon and pyrolytic carbon were fabricated using 2-dimensional (2D) carbon felts preform. In order to study the effects of matrixes on mechanical properties, C/C composites with single matrix of pitch carbon were prepared. The mechanical properties were tested on CMT5304-30KN universal testing machine. Polarization microscope and scanning electron microscope were used to investigate the microstructures and fracture surface of C/C composites. It was resulted that the flexural strength of C/C composites with two matrixes was improved by 96% compared with that of C/C composites with single matrix. Meanwhile, better toughness was also obtained with two matrixes. For the composites, multilayer microstructures were generated after filling up of voids caused during carbonization of mesophase pitch by pyrolytic carbon. The multilayer microstructures were beneficial to the improvement of mechanical properties of C/C composites, especially the toughness. More energy could be dissipated during mechanical tests while cracks might extend along multiple paths, such as the interface between fiber and matrix or the interface between different matrixes.