Thermal modelling of a carbon/carbon composite material fabrication process

The rapid densification process is a variant of Chemical Vapour Infiltration. It allows to fabricate composite materials starting from a fibrous preform lying in a boiling hydrocarbon precursor, the cracking of which results in a solid deposit constituting the matrix of the carbon/carbon composite. A phenomenological analysis emphasises the significant role played by temperature in the couplings between various physical and chemical phenomena. It is shown here that the control of the thermal couplings makes it possible to decrease the power consumed while guaranteeing the quality of the final material.