UHTCMCs

Principal investigators: Diletta Sciti, Laura Silvestroni, Frédéric Monteverde

Involved personnel: Luca ZoliPietro GaliziaAntonio VinciSimone FaillaFederico Saraga, Daniele Dalle Fabbriche, Cesare MelandriClaudio Capiani

UHTCMCs represent a novel class of materials, which can potentially couple the high ablation resistance of UHTCs to the damage tolerance of CMCs. Possible final applications include: nozzles for space propulsion, nose caps for reentry vehicles, sharp leading edges, brake systems, heat exchangers and components for stationary gas turbines and jet engines.

The fabrication of UHTCMCs performed at ISTEC relies on different processing methods that include slurry impregnation, Polymer Infiltration and Pyrolysis (PIP), eletrophoretic deposition, mixing of ceramic powders and short fibers, and consolidation by sintering. Both C and SiC fibers can be included in the ceramic matrix. Densification, microstructural analysis, and fracture behaviour, oxidation behaviour are analysed. Tiles with dimensions 100x100x15 mm3 can be produced in about one week.

Examples of prototypes realized in UHTCMCs and typical microstructures with continuous or short fibre.

 

Main collaboration

  • University of Naples Federico II
  • Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt
  • Avio S.p.A.
  • Airbus Group Innovations

Projects

Publications & Patents

  • L. Silvestroni, A.Vinci, S.Failla, L.Zoli, V.Rubio, J.Binner, D.Sciti, Ablation behaviour of ultra-high temperature ceramic matrix composites: role of MeSi2 addition, Journal of the European Ceramic Society, Volume 39, Issue 9, August 2019, Pages 2771-2781
  • Vinci, L. Zoli, D. Sciti. Influence of SiC content on the oxidation of carbon fibre reinforced ZrB2/SiC composites at 1500 and 1650°C in air. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, Volume 38, Issue 11, September 2018, Pages 3767-3776
  • L Zoli, A Vinci, P Galizia, C Melandri, D Sciti. On the thermal shock resistance and mechanical properties of novel unidirectional UHTCMCs for extreme environments. Scientific Reports volume 8, Article number: 9148 (June 2018)
  • Vinci A., Zoli L., Sciti D., Cesare M. & Guicciardi S. Understanding the mechanical properties of novel UHTCMCs through random forest and regression tree analysis. Materials & Design, Volume 145, 5 May 2018, Pages 97-107 (2018)