Effect of cycle time of in-situ polymerization of naphthalene |on the densification and performance of C/C composites

A rapid densification approach for the fabrication of C/C composites was developed by in-situ polymerization of naphthalene with a Lewis acid as catalyst in two preforms of 3D braided carbon fiber/pyrocarbon composites with different densities. The effects of cycle time on the fracture morphology, bulk density, electrical resistivity and flexural strength of the C/C composites were investigated. Results showed that the bulk densities of the C/C preforms increased from 1.05 to 1.52g/cm³and from 1.68 to 1.83g/cm³, their electrical resistivity decreased from 4.44 to 1.09mΩ · cm and 0.84 to 0.28mΩ · cm, and their flexural strength increased from 26 to 95MPa and 86 to 211MPa respectively after five cycles. In-situ polymerization is a simple, effective, competitive and rapid densification approach for the fabrication of C/C composites