Ceramics International

Volume 42, Issue 11, 15 August 2016, Pages 12901-12906

Effects of fiber preform structures on the mechanical

properties of C/SiC nuts and bolts
Guangde Li a , Yong Li b, Guoqiang Yu a, Xin Ma c

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.05.058
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Abstract
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fiber-reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) nuts and bolts (M8) with different fiber preform structures were
prepared by precursor infiltration and pyrolysis. The influences of fiber preform structures on the mechanical
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properties of C/SiC nuts and bolts, as well as the failure behaviors of threaded joints were studied. A C/SiC nut, which
was fabricated by using the preform prepared by stacking 3K carbon fiber cloth followed by stitching, had the highest
shearing strength (64.5 MPa). The bolt with the preform prepared by alternatively stacking 3 K carbon fiber cloth and
unidirectional layer of carbon fiber tows followed by stitching had the highest extreme tensile strength (243.2 MPa)
and shearing strength (106.3 MPa), but low thread tooth bearing ability (3.5 kN) and critical thread engagement length
(9 mm). It is suitable for applications emphasizing the extreme tensile or shearing strengths of threaded joints or
possessing enough thread engagement length to ensure bolt rupture as the failure mode. The bolt with the perform
prepared by stacking 1K carbon fiber cloth followed by stitching had the highest thread tooth bearing ability (5.0 kN)
and the lowest critical thread engagement length (6 mm), as well as moderate extreme tensile strength (163.0 MPa) and
shearing strength (82.1 MPa). It works effectively for applications concerning thread tooth strength or possessing
limited thread engagement length. Therefore, the preform for preparing a C/SiC bolt should be selected according to its
application requirements.

Introduction

Carbon fiber-reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) composites are promising materials for hypersonic aircraft heat shields,
advanced propulsion structural components and high-performance brake discs due to high specific strengths and
moduli, moderate fracture toughnesses, and excellent oxidation resistances at high temperatures [1], [2], [3]. However,
traditional manufacture and fabrication methods [4], [5], [6], [7] for large and/or geometrically complex C/SiC
components are limited from uniform and complete densification, or precise size and shape. Joining and integrating
with ceramic matrix composite fasteners (especially C/SiC nuts and bolts) are feasible technologies for developing
C/SiC composites for wider applications [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13].
The structure of textile fiber perform essentially affects the inherent mechanical properties of C/SiC composites,
determining not only the mechanical properties of C/SiC nuts and bolts, but also the failure behaviors of threaded
joints. However, the effects of fiber preform structure on the fracture strength or reliability of C/SiC threaded joints
have rarely been evaluated. Wan [13] and Zhang et al. [14] prepared three-dimensional needled preform-reinforced
C/SiC bolts with the tensile strengths of 108 MPa and 139 MPa by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) and that combined
with precursor infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP), respectively. Mei et al. [15], [16] fabricated two-dimensional carbon fiber
cloth-reinforced C/SiC bolts with the tensile strengths of 210–230 MPa. Li et al. [17], [18], [19] studied the influences of
thread machining method and time as well as anti-oxidative coating on the thread shapes and mechanical properties
of C/SiC nuts and bolts, and reported the tensile strength retention ratios at 1000 °C (>90%) and 1200 °C (∼80%) after
oxidation in air for 20 min. Most currently available studies only focused on enhancement of the tensile strengths of
C/SiC bolts, but some factors affecting the reliability of threaded joints, such as thread tooth strength and the smallest
thread engagement length to ensure bolt rupture as the failure mode, have not been given enough attention. These
factors also play crucial roles in applications with limited thread engagement lengths due to spatial capacity, weight
and economic cost, such as thermal protection structures or advanced propulsion components for hypersonic aircrafts.

In this study, C/SiC composites with five kinds of preforms (carbon fiber needled bulk felt, Type 1; three-dimensional
fine-woven pierced felt, Type 2; stacking 3K carbon fiber cloth followed by stitching, Type 3; stacking 1K carbon fiber
cloth followed by stitching, Type 4; alternatively stacking 3K carbon fiber cloth and unidirectional layer of carbon fiber
tows followed by stitching, Type 5) were prepared by PIP, and then machined into M8 nuts and bolts. Herein, “K” is a
general term that is often used to describe the fiber type, and carbon fiber tow used in engineering field contains many
monofilaments. For example, 3K carbon fiber has the same meaning of 3000 monofilaments per fiber tow. The
influences of different fiber preform structures on the mechanical properties of C/SiC nuts and bolts, as well as the
failure behaviors of threaded joints were studied.

Section snippets

Raw materials and sample preparation

3K or 1K PAN-based carbon fiber and plain weave were made by Toray (Japan). With a molecular weight of ∼1300 and a
softening point of ∼210 °C, polycarbosilane (PCS), precursor of the SiC matrix, was synthesized in our laboratory.…

Sample preparation

Type 5 preform was prepared as follows. Carbon fiber cloth (3K T300 plain weave) and unidirectional (x direction) layer
from carbon fiber tows (3K T300, space between tows was 1.6 mm) were alternatively stacked, followed by stitching of
3K carbon fiber (3 mm×3 mm space)…

Mechanical properties of C/SiC composites

The inherent mechanical properties of C/SiC composites (Table 1) determined the extreme strengths of C/SiC nuts and
bolts. Generally, the density of the composites increased with decreasing fiber volume percentage in the preform,
simply because the density of SiC matrix (2.5 g/cm3) [21] was larger than that of carbon fiber (1.76 g/cm3) if the porosity
of the composites remained the same. Meanwhile, the mechanical properties of C/SiC composites depended strongly
on carbon fiber tows, fiber volume…

Conclusions
C/SiC nuts and bolts (M8) with different fiber preform structures were prepared by PIP. C/SiC nut, which was fabricated
by employing the preform prepared by stacking 3K carbon fiber cloth followed by stitching (Type 3), had the highest
shearing strength (64.5 MPa) due to the highest continuous fiber retention ratio of thread teeth. Owing to the highest
fiber volume percentage and optimum fiber array direction, the bolt with the preform prepared by alternatively
stacking 3K carbon fiber cloth and …

Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National 973 Program of the People’s Republic of China (Grant no. 2015CB655200) and
the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 91216302).…

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