Mechanical Behavior and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Properties of C/SiC-Ti₃Si(Al)C₂

In this paper, a low-temperature densification process of Al-Si alloy infiltration was developed to fabricate C/SiC-Ti₃Si(Al)C₂, and then the microstructure, mechanical, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties were studied compared with those of C/SiC-Ti₃SiC₂ and C/SiC-Si. The interbundle matrix of C/SiC-Ti₃Si(Al)C₂ is mainly composed of Ti₃Si(Al)C₂, which can bring various microdeformation mechanisms, high damage tolerance, and electrical conductivity, leading to the high effective volume fraction of loading fibers and electrical conductivity of C/SiC-Ti₃Si(Al)C₂. Therefore, C/SiC-Ti₃Si(Al)C₂ shows excellent bending strength of 556 MPa, fracture toughness 21.6 MPa·m^1/2, and EMI shielding effectiveness of 43.9 dB over the frequency of 8.2-12.4 GHz. Compared with C/SiC-Si and C/SiC-Ti₃SiC₂, both the improvement of mechanical properties and EMI shielding effectiveness can be obtained by the introduction of Ti₃Si(Al)C₂ into C/SiC, revealing great potential as structural and functional materials.