Development of C/SiC Fasteners for High-Temperature Applications

ABSTRACT Continuous carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) ceramic matrix composites are the candidate materials for high-temperature structural applications owing to their high specific strength, low coefficient of thermal expansion, and moderate thermal conductivity. C/SiC based fasteners provide reliability with oxidation resistance up to 1,650°C for joining such C/SiC structural components used in reusable launch vehicles for space applications. The present study describes the methodology to realize C/SiC based M8 fasteners by isothermal-isobaric chemical vapor infiltration process using 2D-stitched carbon fabric preforms. The realized fasteners exhibited a density of 2.10 g/cm3, a tensile strength of 191 ± 3 MPa, a shear strength of 230 ± 69 MPa in non-threaded and 150 ± 86 MPa in threaded regions of shank at room temperature, a high-temperature tensile strength of 170 ± 12 MPa, and a tensile modulus of 70 ± 8 GPa at 1,100°C in the atmospheric conditions. The tensile failure of the C/SiC bolts was observed to depend upon the relative dimensions of fillet radius and thread root radius, wherein a small fillet radius was observed to be detrimental, as it resulted in failure at the head-shank interface of the bolts. The scanning electron microscope images of tensile tested C/SiC bolts indicate extensive fiber pullout, characteristic of quasi-ductile failure of bolts. It is clearly evident from the studies that the C/SiC fasteners are a promising alternative over the currently used molybdenum alloy fasteners.