Continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced SiC Ceramic Matrix Composites by Vertical Fiber Laying Combined with Material Extrusion 3D Printing

3D printing is reported in the fabrication of continuous carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide ceramic matrix composites (C_f/SiC CMCs), however, there are layer defects in the 3D printed materials, manifested as weak mechanical properties between layers. Therefore, it is essential and urgent to study how to improve the mechanical properties of 3D printed C_f/SiC CMCs at the layers. In this article, a novel processing technique which combined vertical fiber laying method with material extrusion (ME) 3D printing is proposed to manufacture C_f/SiC CMCs. A self-developed 3D printing fixed-axis rotating lifting synchronizer is adopted. The vertical fiber laying of continuous carbon fibers (C_f) in Z-direction is introduced into the X−Y printing plane. Five cycles of precursor infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP) are performed to achieve the densification of C_f/SiC CMCs. The effects of C_f bundle numbers on the flexural strength and fracture work of C_f/SiC CMCs are studied. The best performing composite is C_f/SiC CMC with six bundles, and the maximum flexural strength and fracture work is 63.84 ± 6.62 MPa and 1291.99 ± 161.39 J m⁻³, respectively. Compared with pure SiC, the fracture work of C_f/SiC CMC with 6 bundles C_f is increased by 2.54 times.