Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a very attractive technique for fabrication of a variety of light-weight ceramic composite materials combining high temperature strength with improved fracture toughness, damage tolerance, thermal shock and oxidation resistance. [1][2][3] The interest in this process is based not only on its high versatility to be used with different materials and combinations of materials but also because it is a cost-effective technique which usually requires simple equipment. [4,5] The successful application of the EPD technique requires a stable suspension of charged ceramic particles. In the EPD procedure, charged particles in suspension are subjected to an electric field, which drives the particles towards the deposition electrode where the reinforcing fibre is placed. [1] The EPD infiltration process is especially complex when non-conductive fibres (e.g. Nextel TM 720) are used. The non conductive fibres must be held in contact with the deposition electrode to allow for infiltration of the particles. Moreover, in order to optimize the deposition process, the basic parameters which determine the stability of the suspension and the mobility of the particles must be known and controlled. [3,4] The present paper describes the mechanical characterization of continuous oxide fibre reinforced ceramic matrix composites fabricated by EPD technique. To increase the size and the thickness of the materials, six 2D fibre mats were placed in the EPD cell and infiltrated simultaneously under optimum conditions for suspension stability. A rapid sintering process at a maximal temperature of 1300°C was used in order to densify and reduce porosity of the deposit (ceramic matrix).Results and discussion: Figure 1 shows the flow chart of the method used in this investigation to fabricate oxide-oxide ceramic matrix composite with higher level of fibre mats content as reinforcement (> 45 vol.%). The first step in the EPD process is the preparation of a stable, agglomerate-free colloidal suspension, as mentioned above. According to previous investigations of the electrophoretic behaviour of a-Al 2 O 3 particles and Nextel TM 720 fibre mats in ethanol, [6] it was determined that both components show a positive electrical surface charge. This fact is favourable for the electrophoretic deposition (infiltration) of particles into the fibre mat, as also discussed elsewhere. [6] In the second step the non-conductive fibre mats were attached to the deposition electrode, in order to obtain a tight fixing of the mats to it, as schematically shown in Figure 2(a). The composite samples were fabricated by using a newly developed electrophoretic deposition cell, shown schematically in Figure 2(b) and described in detail elsewhere. [6] It is a very suitable cell for conducting model EPD experiments allowing the manipulation of the relevant EPD parameters. The cell is used to improve the infiltration of large surfaces with circular area of up to 78 cm 2 . To our knowledge this represents the largest CMC fabricated to date by t...
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