ON THE OXIDATION-KINETICS AND MECHANISMS OF VARIOUS SIC-COATED CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITES

SiC coatings on the surface of C-C were produced by either silicone resin impregnation/pyrolysis or reaction sintering. Cycles of resin impregnation/pyrolysis produced an SiC coating, on the walls of fine open pores, which was effective in reducing the oxidation rate of C-C and in shifting the transition temperature to a higher value. Unless it is pre-coated with a pyrocarbon layer before sintering, plain reaction sintered SiC has oxidation behaviors similar to those of the above-mentioned SiC. The dense pyrocarbon film deposition on the surface of C-C could form a better SiC film than others. The carbon film homogenized the surface of C-C, and a dense SiC film was established. The oxidation of the coated C-C can be modelled by a set of "oxidation resistors" in series and/or in parallel, with each resistor corresponding to an oxidation element. The controlling mechanism can be resolved from the activation energy. A combined resistant layer, consisting of resin impregnation, pyrocarbon film, and reaction sintering SiC, showed the best oxidation resistance of any single-layer coated C-C composite.