Study on the mechanism of rapid densification and structural evolution of C/C composites by cooling pyrolysis

Abstract

A large thermal gradient about 190 ℃/cm was established in the thickness direction of preform and the cylindrical carbon/carbon composites with radial gradient pyrocarbon (PyC) distribution were rapidly prepared via the cooling pyrolysis technology in the high temperature surface based on the large thermal gradient chemical vapor infiltration (CPTHTS-LTGCVI). The decrease of initial temperature and the increase of cooling rate both contribute to the opening of closed pore and pore expansion, which are conducive to improving the densification degree. Moderate initial temperature (about 1130℃) and cooling rate (10 ℃/5 h) are optimal to rapidly preparing C/C composites with good density uniformity. For the whole cylindrical C/C composites, the faster the cooling rate, the higher the density and density uniformity, the fewer the super macropores. As the cooling rate is 10 ℃/2.5 h, the density of sample can reach 1.57 g/cm3 within 50 h, and the carbon yield in the first stage and accumulation can reach 84 % and 50 %, respectively. From the inner wall (IW) to the outer wall (OW), there are three successive regions about RL, RL+SL and SL PyC with gradually weakened texture, which is related to the insufficient pyrolysis caused by the decreased temperature and increased concentration, and the aromatization caused by the extended gas retention time. The edge dislocations and non-coherent sub-grain boundaries of PyC may be related to the distorted aromatic carbon planes containing five-membered rings. The edge dislocations may be the main reason of texture reduction and structural evolution of PyC.