Influence of hot-pressing pressure on the densification of short-carbon-fiber-reinforced, randomly oriented carbon/carbon composite

The prime objective of this research was to study the influence of hot-pressing pressure and matrix-to-reinforcement ratio on the densification of short-carbon-fiber-reinforced, randomly oriented carbon/carbon-composite. Secondary objectives included determination of the physical and mechanical properties of the resulting composite. The 'hybrid carbon-fiber-reinforced mesophase-pitch-derived carbon-matrix' composite was fabricated by hot pressing. During hot pressing, pressure was varied from 5 to 20 MPa, and reinforcement wt% from 30 to 70. Densification of all the compacts was carried at low impregnation pressure with phenolic resin. The effect of the impregnation cycles was determined using measurements of microstructure and density. The results showed that effective densification strongly depended on the hot-pressing pressure and reinforcement wt%. Furthermore, results showed that compacts processed at lower hot-pressing pressure, and at higher reinforcement wt%, gained density gradually during three densification cycles and showed the symptoms of further gains with additional densification cycles. In contrast, samples that were hot-pressed at moderate pressure and at moderate reinforcement wt%, achieved maximum density within three densification cycles. Furthermore, examination of microstructure revealed the formation of cracks in samples processed at lower pressure and with low reinforcement wt%.