The use of bundles with higher filament count for cost reduction of high-strength oxide ceramic composites

Abstract

Material and processing costs are essential aspects for the further development and commercialization of all-oxide ceramic matrix composites (Ox-CMCs). Recently, progress has been made on significantly reducing the price of oxide fibers by producing rovings with higher filament counts. Thus, the objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of fabrics with higher denier on the processing and mechanical performance of Ox-CMCs. Fiber bundles and composites using fabrics with 4500 denier Nextel™ 610 rovings were characterized and compared to the classic fabric with 1500 denier. Although the fibers show similar characteristic strength, the lower denier bundles can sustain higher maximum stresses. In general, composites with higher denier show 15% lower on-axis strength and 10% lower off-axis strength. On the other hand, the use of fabrics with 4500 denier allows a fiber cost reduction of 60% and labor time reduction of 33% during critical processing steps such as lamination.

Keywords

• All-oxide ceramic matrix composite
• Nextel™ 610
• 4500 denier
• Cost reduction
• Mechanical performance