Flexural destructive process of unidirectional carbon/carbon composites reinforced with in situ grown carbon nanofibers

Unidirectional carbon/carbon (C/C) composites modified with in situ grown carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were prepared by catalysis chemical vapor deposition. The effect of in situ grown CNFs on the flexural properties of the C/C composites was investigated by detailed analyses of destructive process. The results show that there is a sharp increase in the flexural load-displacement curve in the axial direction of the CNF-C/C composites, followed by a serrated yielding phenomenon similar to the plastic materials. The failure mode of the C/C composites modified with in situ grown CNFs is changed from the pull-out of single fiber to the breaking of fiber bundles. The existence of interfacial layer composed by middle-textured pyrocarbon, CNFs and high-textured pyrocarbon can block the crack propagation and change the propagation direction of the main crack, which leads to the higher flexural strength and modulus of C/C composites.