The improvement in the mechanical and thermal properties of SiC/SiC composites by introducing CNTs into the PyC interface

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were introduced into the interface of SiC/SiC composites via electrophoretic deposition to improve their mechanical and thermal properties. SiC/SiC composites with pyrocarbon (PyC) and CNTs-PyC interfaces were denoted as SiC/SiC-P and SiC/SiC-CP, respectively. The results show that the flexural strength, fracture energy, interfacial shear strength and thermal conductivity increased upon the introduction of CNTs (SiC/SiC-CP) and were 1.174, 1.257, more than 2, and 2.158 times those of SiC/SiC-P, respectively. It was demonstrated that meshed CNTs on SiC fibres can strengthen the interfacial bonding between the fibre and matrix and improve the thermal conductivity of the interface. The meshed CNTs had positive effects on the mechanical and thermal properties of the SiC/SiC composites. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.