Engineering Design of Tough Ceramic Matrix Composites for Turbine Components

This paper provides a review of the material design concepts for the toughening of ceramic matrix composites by three-dimensional fiber architecture. To establish a communication link between the structural and the materials engineers, an integrated design methodology is presented with an example. Through a Fabric Geometry Model (FGM), the contribution of three-dimensional fiber architecture is translated into a stiffness matrix for finite element structural analysis. With the feedback from the structural analysis, this design methodology provides an effective means to screen reinforcement materials systems for three-dimensional fabric-reinforced composite components