Tensile creep and fatigue of Sylramic-iBN melt-infiltrated SiC matrix composites: Retained properties, damage development, and failure mechanisms

An understanding of the elevated temperature tensile creep, fatigue, rupture, and retained properties of ceramic matrix composites (CMC) envisioned for use in gas turbine engine applications is essential for component design and life-prediction. In order to quantify the effect of stress, time, temperature, and oxidation for a state-of-the-art composite system, a wide variety of tensile creep, dwell fatigue, and cyclic fatigue experiments were performed in air at 1204 °C for the SiC/SiC CMC system consisting of Sylramic-iBN SiC fibers, BN fiber interphase coating, and slurry-cast melt-infiltrated (MI) SiC-based matrix. Tests were either taken to failure or interrupted. Interrupted tests were then mechanically tested at room temperature to determine the residual properties. The retained properties of most of the composites subjected to tensile creep or fatigue were usually within 20% of the as-produced strength and 10% of the as-produced elastic modulus. It was observed that during creep, residual stresses in the composite are altered to some extent which results in an increased compressive stress in the matrix upon cooling and a subsequent increased stress required to form matrix cracks. Microscopy of polished sections and the fracture surfaces of specimens which failed during stressed-oxidation or after the room-temperature retained property test was performed on some of the specimens in order to quantify the nature and extent of damage accumulation that occurred during the test. It was discovered that the distribution of stress-dependent matrix cracking at 1204 °C was similar to the as-produced composites at room temperature; however, matrix crack growth occurred over time and typically did not appear to propagate through-the-thickness except at the final failure crack. Failure of the composites was due to either oxidation-induced unbridged crack growth, which dominated the higher stress regime (⩾179 MPa) or controlled by degradation of the fibers, probably caused by intrinsic creep-induced flaw growth of the fibers or internal attack of the fibers via Si diffusion through the CVI SiC and/or microcracks at the lower stress regime (⩽165 MPa).