Heat and Mass Transfer in Ceramic Lattices During High-Temperature Oxidation

This work reports on the heat and mass transfer evolution of ceramic lattices during their oxidation at 1400 degrees C and 1600 degrees C in air. Si-SiC and Si-SiC-ZrB2 systems were employed as skeleton material because they, previously produced as monolithic bars, showed promising oxidation behavior at high temperatures. Regular arrays of tetrakaidecahedra were first designed by CAD, then 3D printed and finally converted into ceramic by replica technique followed by reactive silicon infiltration. The surface area of each sample was calculated and specific weight variations were evaluated as a function of time. During oxidation, effective thermal conductivity and pressure drop of each sample were measured. Finally, results were correlated with the phenomena occurring during high-temperature oxidation.