Failure and strength of 2D-C/SiC composite under in-plane shear loading at elevated temperatures

In-plane shear strength (IPSS) of a two-dimensional carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide composite (C/SiC) was measured by compression of double-notched specimens (DNS) from room temperature to 1873 K. The result indicates that the compression of DNS is an effective method to measure IPSS of C/SiC. A significant dependence of IPSS on temperature was found for C/SiC. IPSS increases with increasing temperature up to 1273 K, and then decreases when the temperature was higher. The main failure modes under the shear loading contain matrix cracking, delamination and pullout of fibers and fiber bundles.

► The valid IPSS can be determined by compression of the double-notched specimen.
► The IPSS of the C/SiC exhibited a significant dependence on the temperature.
► The failure modes include pullout of 90° fibers, debonding and matrix cracking.