Tensile properties of two-dimensional carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide composites at temperatures up to 2300 °C

Carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) composites are of the few most promising materials for ultra-high-temperature structural applications. However, the existing studies are mainly conducted at room and moderate temperatures. In this work, the tensile properties of a two-dimensional plain-weave C/SiC composite are studied up to 2300 degrees C in inert atmosphere for the first time. The study shows that C/SiC composite firstly shows linear deformation behavior and then strong nonlinear characteristics at room temperature. The nonlinear deformation behavior rapidly reduces with temperature. The Young's modulus increases up to 1000 degrees C and then decreases as temperature increases. The tensile strength increases up to 1000 degrees C firstly, followed by reduction to 1400 degrees C, then increases again to 1800 degrees C, and lastly decreases with increasing temperature. The failure mechanisms being responsible for the mechanical behavior are gained through macro and micro analysis. The results are useful for the applications of C/SiC composites in the thermal structure engineering.