Fiber orientation dependence of tribological behavior of short carbon fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites

Abstract

AbstractCarbon fibers as key component in short carbon fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) have obvious influence on their tribological behavior. In this work, we creatively design CMCs with five different fiber orientations, namely, randomly oriented fibers, fibers oriented parallel to the friction surface and angled at 0°, 45°, and 90° toward the sliding direction, and standing fibers that are vertical to the friction surface, to investigate fiber orientation dependence of tribological behavior of short carbon fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites. Tribological tests of CMC brake pads mated with steel disk on a laboratory‐scale dynamometer indicate that short carbon fiber reinforced carbon−silicon carbide (C/C‐SiC) brake pads with fibers orientated at 45° show the best tribological performance among the pads with fibers unidirectionally aligned. C/C‐SiC composites with short carbon fibers randomly distributed, exhibiting excellent tribological properties, are still ideal candidates for manufacturing high performance friction materials.