Effect of SiC coating and heat treatment on the thermal radiation properties of C/SiC composites

The effects of SiC coating and heat treatment on the emissivity were investigated for 2D C/SiC composites prepared by CVI in the 6-16 mu m range. SiC coating had an obvious effect on the spectral emissivity of the composites but caused just 5% difference in the total emissivity. A radiation transport model was applied to explain those changes caused by SiC coating. Heat treatment affected the thermal radiation properties of the composites through the microstructure evolution. Base on the complementary analytical techniques, the changes in the emissivity were attributed to a good graphitization degree of carbon phases, large beta-SiC grain sizes and high alpha-SiC content resulting in high emissivity. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.