Fabrication and resistance heating properties of flexible SiC fiber rope as heating elements

Silicon carbide (SiC) fibers mainly fabricated from polycarbosilane, a ceramic precursor, are applied as reinforcing materials for ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) because of their high temperature oxidation resistance, tensile strength, and light weight. In this study, continuous SiC fibers used to fabricate rope-type flexible heating elements capable of generating high-temperature heat (> 650 degrees C). For high-efficiency heating elements, the resistance of SiC fiber rope was measured by 2-point probe method according to the cross-sectional area and length. In addition, the fabrication conditions of rope-type SiC fiber heating elements were optimized by controlling the oxygen impurities and the size of crystal grains present in the amorphous SiC fiber. As a result, the SiC fiber heating element having a resistance range of about 100 similar to 200 Omega exhibited an excellent power consumption efficiency of 1.5 times compared to that of the carbon fiber heating element.