Particulate-reinforced ceramic matrix

Taya, M., Hayashi, S., Kobayashi, A.S. and Yoon, H.S. Toughening of a particulate-reinforced ceramic-matrix composite by thermal residual stress , J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 73 (1990) 1382-1391. 

Creep Deformation of Particulate-Reinforced Ceramic Matrix Composites... 

A typical tensile creep curve for a particulate reinforced ceramic matrix composite, siliconized silicon carbide (Si/SiC),28 is shown in Fig. 4.1. In comparison to the behavior of metals and metallic alloys, tertiary creep is suppressed in this material. There is only a slight upward curvature of the creep curve prior to failure. In many other ceramic matrix composites, tertiary... 

M. Taya, S. Hayashi, A. S. Kobayashi and H. S. Yoon, Toughening of a Particulate-Reinforced Ceramic Matrix Composite by Thermal Residual Stress, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 73, 1382—1391 (1990). 

Directed Oxidation of a Molten Metal. Directed oxidation of a molten metal or the Lanxide process (45,68,91) involves the reaction of a molten metal with a gaseous oxidant, eg, A1 with O2 in air, to form a porous three-dimensional oxide that grows outward from the metal/ceramic surface. The process proceeds via capillary action as the molten metal wicks into open pore channels in the oxide scale growth. Reinforced ceramic matrix composites can be formed by positioning inert filler materials, eg, fibers, whiskers, and/or particulates, in the path of the oxide scale growth. The resultant composite is comprised of both interconnected metal and ceramic. Typically 5—30 vol % metal remains after processing. The composite product maintains many of the desirable properties of a ceramic however, the presence of the metal serves to increase the fracture toughness of the composite. 

Again, the above crack kinking and branching criteria are limited to isotropic homogeneous material, which for all practical purposes will include particulate/whisker-filled ceramic matrix composites. No equivalent criterion exists for orthotropic/inhomogeneous material. Limited experimental results show that self-similar crack extension is a rare phenomenon in fracture of fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites and thus the kinking and branching criterion, if developed, must necessarily be a three-dimensional one. 

T. N. Tiegs and K. J. Bowman, Fabrication of Particulate-, Platelet- and Whisker-Reinforced Ceramic Matrix Composites, pp. 91-138 in Handbook on Discontinuously Reinforced Ceramic Matrix Composites, Am. Ceram. Soc., Westerville, OH (1995). 

Sohd rocket propellants represent a very special case of a particulate composite ia which inorganic propellant particles, about 75% by volume, are bound ia an organic matrix such as polyurethane. An essential requirement is that the composite be uniform to promote a steady burning reaction (1). Further examples of particulate composites are those with metal matrices and iaclude cermets, which consist of ceramic particles ia a metal matrix, and dispersion hardened alloys, ia which the particles may be metal oxides or intermetallic compounds with smaller diameters and lower volume fractions than those ia cermets (1). The general nature of particulate reinforcement is such that the resulting composite material is macroscopicaHy isotropic. 

Creep resistance -of particulate reinforced composites [COMPOSITE MATERIALS - CERAMIC MATRIX] (Vol7)... 

In the presentation of the elevated temperature mechanical behavior of ceramic matrix composites, some degree of separation has also been made between fiber-reinforced and whisker- or particulate-reinforced composites. This has been necessary because of the way the field has evolved. The continuous fiber-reinforced composites area in many ways has evolved as a field in its own right, driven by developments in fiber processing technology. 

In some applications the lack of toughness of ceramics or CMCs prohibits their use. In cases where enhanced stiffness, wear resistance, or elevated temperature capabilities greater than those provided by metals are necessary, metal matrix composites (MMCs) offer a reasonable compromise between ceramics or CMCs and metals. Typically, MMCs have discrete ceramic particulate or fiber reinforcement contained within a metal matrix. In comparison to CMCs, MMCs tend to be more workable and more easily formed, less brittle, and more flaw tolerant. These gains come primarily at the expense of a loss of high-temperature mechanical properties and chemical stability offered by CMCs. These materials thus offer an intermediate set of properties between metals and ceramics, though somewhat closer to metals than ceramics or CMCs. Nonetheless, like ceramic matrix composites, they involve physical mixtures of different materials that are exposed to elevated temperature processes, and therefore evoke similar thermodyamic considerations for reinforcement stability. 

The incorporation of a particulate reinforcement into the ceramic matrix produces a refinement of the matrix, i.e., both the ceramic ligament and metal channel sizes are decreased [37]. Although the reinforcement particles effectively break up any macroscopically apparent columnar growth of the matrix, some preferred orientation of the A1203 is still observed by x-ray diffraction analysis. In the specific case examined, approximately one-half of the surface area of the reinforcement particles was found to be directly bonded to the interconnected A1203 of the matrix the balance was in contact with the metallic constituent. 

The composites can be classified on the basis of the form of their structural components fibrous (composed of fibers in a matrix), laminar (composed of layers of materials), and particulate (composed of particles in a matrix). The particulate class can be further subdivided into flake (flat flakes in a matrix) or skeletal (composed of a continuous skeletal matrix filled by a second material). In general, the reinforcing agent can be either fibrous, powdered, spherical, crystalline, or whiskered and either an organic, inorganic, metallic, or ceramic material. 

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