HIPed Carbon Fiber Reinforced Silicon Nitride Composites

Carbon fiber/Si3N4 composites were fabricated using slip infiltration of fiber bundles subsequently stacked in a plaster mold, dried, glass encapsulated, and HIPed to form unidirectional composite test bars. Neither chemical reactions between fiber and matrix nor thermal mismatch cracks in the matrix were observed. The bend fracture behavior of the composites was nonbrittle with extensive fiber pullout. 14 references.