Carbon Fiber Reinforced Glass Matrix Composites for Structural Space Based Applications

摘要

A variety of ultra-high elastic modulus pitch-based carbon fibers were combined with several different glass and glass-ceramic matrix compositions to produce unidirectionally reinforced composites. Composite performance was evaluated in several different areas, including tensile stress-strain behavior, flexural properties at both room and elevated temperature, thermal expansion, and fracture behavior. Pitch fiber reinforced glass matrix composites demonstrated high tensile strength (540-790 MPa), high elastic modulus (300-350 GPa), and high specific stiffness (135-165x 107 cm). Residual matrix tensile stress resulting from differential thermal contraction between fiber and matrix was shown to have a strong influence on composite behavior. Pitch/Glass composites were found to exhibit fairly linear coefficient of thermal expansion behavior in the longitudinal direction over the temperature range of -150 C to +100 C. High temperature matrix compositions were developed which maintained the excellent tensile properties of pitch fiber reinforced composites while giving them the capability to preserve structural integrity up to temperatures of at least 800 C. Keywords: Glass matrix composites; Carbon fiber reinforced composites; Glass-Ceramic matrix composites. (jes)