Oxidation resistance of dense carbon fiber/Si–O–C glass composite fabricated by pre-oxidation and spark plasma sintering

The carbon fiber/Si–O–C glass composite was prepared from the silicone and carbon fiber by pre-oxidation and spark plasma sintering (sintered composite). The mass loss of the sintered composite oxidized at 1200 °C for 90 min was 5%, which was lower than that of same dimension for similar composites, although the mass loss at 600 °C was still high. This indicated its excellent oxidation resistance at elevated temperature. No cracks and pores were found in the sintered composite, indicating that the combination of pre-oxidation and spark plasma sintering was better than the pyrolysis for manufacturing dense composites. Compared with the flexural strength of about 60 MPa for carbonaceous composites, the flexural strength of the sintered composite was obviously improved to 220 MPa. Moreover, microstructures of the specimen before and after sintering as well as after oxidation were investigated.