High-temperature properties and interface evolution of silicon nitride fiber reinforced silica matrix wave-transparent composite materials

In order to improve the high-temperature performance of wave-transparent materials especially for the high-speed aircrafts application, filament winding combined with sol-gel method was adopted to the fabrication of unidirectional silicon nitride fiber reinforced silica matrix composites. The mechanical properties and the interface evolution at high temperatures were investigated. The results show that the composite sintered in N-2 maintains a flexural strength of 210MPa at up to 1200 degrees C, while its counterpart prepared in air experiences a dramatic reduction to about 73MPa. The degradation is due to the partial oxidation of silicon nitride fibers at the fiber matrix interface. Besides, it is also notable that the bending strength of these two composites undergoes a similar growth from about 160 to 210MPa when tested under 900 degrees C, which can be explained by the release of thermal stress on the silicon nitride fibers.