Influence of the matrix texture on the fracture behavior of 2D carbon/carbon composites

The influence of matrix texture on the fracture behavior of 2D carbon/carbon composites infiltrated by isobaric, isothermal CVI technique at ambient pressure was investigated. The flexural strength of the as-obtained samples has been studied using a three-point bending test. After flexural test, the texture of pyrocarbon on the fracture surface and the morphology of the fracture surface were observed by polarized light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The results show that the sample with pure medium-textured pyrocarbon exhibits typical brittle fracture behavior due to no sliding between sub-layers in the medium-textured pyrocarbon layer. However, both the sample with the three-layer structure of medium-textured pyrocarbon, high-textured pyrocarbon and low-textured pyrocarbon, and the sample with the double-layer structure of medium-textured pyrocarbon and high-textured pyrocarbon exhibit remarkable pseudo-plastic fracture behavior, which is caused by the sliding occurred between different textured pyrocarbon layers and between sub-layers in high-textured pyrocarbon layer.