Reactive Melt Infiltration of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Ceramic Composites for Ultra-High Temperature Applications

Carbon fiber reinforced ultra high temperature ceramic matrix composite (C/UHTC) is one of the most promising structural materials capable of prolonged operation in oxidizing environment at ultra high temperatures above 2000 ?C. Reactive melt infiltration (RMI) is a viable processing choice for C/UHTC composite. Compared with chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) and polymer impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP), RMI does not suffer from the drawbacks of time-consuming and high cost. It is viewed as a promising means of achieving near-net shape manufacturing with quick processing time and at low cost. Recently, great efforts have been made on RMI process for C/UHTC composite. Carbon fiber reinforced ZrC, HfC and TiC composites have been successfully fabricated by RMI. The aim of the following chapter is to introduce the RMI process and summarize the progress in RMI process for C/UHTC composite. In addition, future research directions of RMI are also proposed.