Deformation and rupture behaviors of SiC/SiC under creep, fatigue and dwell-fatigue load at 1300 °C

Abstract High temperature creep and fatigue properties are important characteristics of SiC/SiC composites. In this work, dwell-fatigue tests were conducted at 1300 °C for 3D-braided SiC/SiC with and without coatings, and experimental results of dwell-fatigue tests were analyzed together with results of fatigue and creep tests. Then, general quantitative method was adopted to explain the deformation and rupture behaviors of SiC/SiC in creep, fatigue and dwell-fatigue tests. Micromechanical creep model could effectively simulate deformation behavior when the maximum load was under matrix cracking stress. Stress transfer behavior of constituents during creep and fatigue tests provided insights into the difference in macro time/cycle dependent deformation. Next, by incorporating damage evolution model which represents oxidation assisted unbridged crack growth, deformation acceleration in tertiary stage of creep was successfully simulated. Finally, SiC/SiC lifetimes under all fatigue, creep, and dwell-fatigue loads were predicted considering matrix crack propagation and fiber strength degradation. Simulated results correlated well with experimental data, verifying the effectiveness of micromechanical model to predict the creep and fatigue behaviors of SiC/SiC composites at high temperatures.