Capillary infiltration studies of liquids into 3D-stitched C–C preforms: Part B: Kinetics of silicon infiltration

In Part A of this study, the details of 3D-stitched carbon–carbon (C–C) preform development and characterization of the internal pore structure have been described. A model based on pore radii of two sizes has been proposed for capillary infiltration of solvents in the C–C preforms. In the Part B, kinetics of silicon infiltration has been studied. Ten C–C preform bars of size 150 mm × 17 mm × 50 mm were siliconized at 1650 °C for different durations ranging from 6 to 180 s. Infiltration heights were measured by X-ray images of the siliconized bars. Formation of silicon carbide was incorporated in the model developed in Part A. Infiltration heights were estimated. These were in close agreement with the experimentally observed values.