Mechanical properties of 3D carbon/carbon composites by nanoindentation technique

Nanoindentation tests were conducted to investigate the near-surface mechanical properties of the individual components (fiber and matrix) for three-dimensional reinforced carbon/carbon composites (3D C/C). Optical microscope and polarizing light microscope were used to characterize the microstructure of 3D C/C. The microscopy results show that large number of pores and cracks exist at both bundle/matrix interface and pitch carbon matrix. These defects have important effect on the mechanical behavior of 3D C/C. The in situ properties for components of 3D C/C were acquired by nanoindentation technique. Relative to the matrix sample, the fiber samples have more larger values for modulus, stiffness and hardness. However, there is no significant difference of modulus and stiffness among fiber samples with different directions.