Electrophoretic deposition in the production of SiC/SiC composites for fusion reactor applications

This paper presents the results of a study aimed at developing a technique for the infiltration of a SiC-fibre fabric with a low-activation SiC-based matrix material by aid of electrophoretic deposition from aqueous suspensions. To achieve the best possible particle packing in the infiltrated matrix and hence to minimise the shrinkage during drying, the effect of the suspension's composition was analysed. Besides the pH change, different types of surfactants – PEI, CTAB, citric acid and Dolapix – were included in the investigation. As a result, during the deposition onto a metallic electrode, the best deposits were obtained with the addition of CTAB or by increasing the pH, while the infiltration of the SiC-fibre fabric was more effective with negatively charged particles in the suspension.