Vitreous joining of SiC-coated carbon/carbon composites

This paper investigated the feasibility of joining of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites by using a silicate as interlayer. A SiC coating was pre-prepared on C/C substrate by pack-cementation technique to improve the wettability of glass on C/C composites, then the joints were prepared by a one-shot and low cost way. Microstructure and morphologies of the as-received joints were characterized by XRD, SEM and EDS. The results indicated that the SiC coating not only had a strong bonding with C/C composites, but also had a good physical and chemical compatibility with silicate glass. The room-temperature shear strength of the joints gives encouraging results, which can be up to 26 MPa. The fracture mode and the fracture behavior were discussed also.