Combustion Based Technique for Synthesis and Joining of Refractory Materials

Gasless combustion systems offer features that make them attractive tools for a variety of potential applications. Among them are rapid heating rates, high exothermicity, and high maximum temperatures. These characteristics were exploited to accomplish three separate concepts including the joining of refractory materials, synthesis of a pore-free composite, and the study of thermal explosion in mechanically activated powders. Honeywell Aerospace is a leading producer of carbon brakes for commercial aircraft. The manufacturing process involves chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) to form a carbon matrix around a carbon fiber preform. A major disadvantage of this approach is the time required to form a fully dense preform, which is on the order of 140 days. In addition, after the brakes are in service, they have to be discarded while there is a relatively thick amount of friction material still available. There is a profit motive for reusing these discs which are out of spec. One such example would be to perform a refurbishment by bonding a new thin C/C element onto a used 'core' to produce a brake that meets performance specifications. Unfortunately, joining C/C composites is not a simple task, as carbon does not lend itself to welding, and other means (e.g. mechanical or adhesives) would not hold up to the harsh operational conditions. A novel apparatus was designed, built, and proven to join C/C using so-called reactive resistance welding (RRW). It is shown that a joint stronger than the original material can be achieved using moderate electrical current and mechanical force. Additionally, joining layers of similar thickness and microstructure were obtained with different reactive media, ranging from pellets of pressed powders (~ 1-2 mm) to thin metal foils (~ 25 micron). By modifying the schematic of the RRW apparatus, porous C/C was infiltrated with liquid silicon in order to form a new pore-free C/C-SiC composite. It is shown that using such a process, the silicon rapidly fills the open pore structure with only a thin layer of silicon carbide forming around the periphery of the pores. As the high-temperature treatment time is extended, carbon from the composite diffuses through this layer and reacts with the silicon subsequently crystallizing a bulk silicon carbide phase and forming an essentially pore-free composite. The utility of the apparatus was further demonstrated for the study of electrical initiation of an exothermic reactive system, Ni-Al. The effect of short-term high-energy milling on this system was investigated and it was found to significantly decrease the ignition temperature and activation energy without formation of any new phases. Scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, infrared thermal imaging, and mechanical testing were used to study the process dynamics and properties of these materials.