A machined ceramic article having an initial surface defect density and an initial surface roughness is provided. The machined ceramic article is heated to a temperature range between about 1000 C. and about 1800 C. at a ramping rate of about 0.1 C. per minute to about 20 C. per minute. The machined ceramic article is heat-treated in air atmosphere. The machined ceramic article is heat treated at one or more temperatures within the temperature range for a duration of up to about 24 hours. The machined ceramic article is then cooled at the ramping rate, wherein after the heat treatment the machined ceramic article has a reduced surface defect density and a reduced surface roughness.

A thermoelectric composite material includes MXene inserted at a boundary of a crystal grain consisting of a thermoelectric material. Accordingly, the thermoelectric composite material may have a reduced thermal conductivity and an increased electrical conductivity. Furthermore, a mechanical property of the thermoelectric composite material may be improved. Thus, the thermoelectric composite material may improve a thermoelectric ability of a thermoelectric module.

A cutting element comprises a supporting substrate, and a cutting table attached to an end of the supporting substrate. The cutting table comprises inter-bonded diamond particles, and a thermally stable material within interstitial spaces between the inter-bonded diamond particles. The thermally stable material comprises a carbide precipitate having the general chemical formula, A.sub.3XZ.sub.n-1, where A comprises one or more of Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au, Hg, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Ac, Th, Pa, and U; X comprises one or more of Al, Ga, Sn, Be, Bi, Te, Sb, Se, As, Ge, Si, B, and P; Z comprises C; and n is greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 0.75. A method of forming a cutting element, an earth-boring tool, a supporting substrate, and a method of forming a supporting substrate are also described.

A long-term ablation-resistant nitrogen-containing carbide ultra-high temperature ceramic with an ultra-high melting point is prepared as follows: preparing the HfC powder and the HfN powder according to a mass ratio of HfC:HfN=(1-7):1; uniformly mixing the HfC powder and the HfN powder with the carbon powder and the carbon nitride powder to obtain a mixed powder, wherein the amount of the carbon powder and the amount of the carbon nitride powder do not exceed 8.0 wt. % and 5.0 wt. %, respectively, of the mixed powder mass; and performing spark plasma sintering on the mixed powder to produce the ceramic with the ultra-high melting point, a density ?98%, and a uniform C/N content distribution. The ultra-high temperature ceramic is suitable for ultra-high temperature ablation-resistant protection at ?3000? C. The ceramic maintains a close to zero ablation rate and a continuously stable oxidation-resistant protective structure after ablation for 300 s.

A non-woven fabric is provided which includes a three-dimensional array of fibers. The three-dimensional array of fibers includes an array of standing fibers extending perpendicular to a plane of the non-woven fabric and attached to a base substrate, where the base substrate is one or more of an expendable film substrate, a metal base substrate, or a mandrel substrate. Further, the three-dimensional array of fibers includes multiple layers of non-woven parallel fibers running parallel to the plane of the non-woven fiber in between the array of standing fibers in a defined pattern of fiber layer orientations. In implementation, the array of standing fibers are grown to extend from the base substrate using laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition (LCVD).

Thermally-conductive ceramic and ceramic composite components suitable for high temperature applications, systems having such components, and methods of manufacturing such components. The thermally-conductive components are formed by a displacive compensation of porosity (DCP) process and are suitable for use at operating temperatures above 600 C. without a significant reduction in thermal and mechanical properties.

A method of fabricating a friction part out of composite material, the method including densifying a carbon yarn fiber preform with a matrix including at least pyrolytic carbon and a ZrO.sub.xC.sub.y phase, where 1x2 and 0y1, the matrix being formed by film-boiling or by chemical vapor infiltration from a first precursor for pyrolytic carbon and a second precursor that includes zirconium, the second precursor being a zirconium complex including an alcoxy or carboxylate ligand bonded to zirconium.

Disclosed is a method of making high temperature fiber including chemically bonding high temperature material to a fiber template at a first temperature to form a precursor fiber and processing the precursor fiber at a second temperature to form the high temperature fiber. The first temperature does not equal the second temperature. Also disclosed are high temperature fibers made by the method.

This invention provides resin formulations which may be used for 3D printing and pyrolyzing to produce a ceramic matrix composite. The resin formulations contain a solid-phase filler, to provide high thermal stability and mechanical strength (e.g., fracture toughness) in the final ceramic material. The invention provides direct, free-form 3D printing of a preceramic polymer loaded with a solid-phase filler, followed by converting the preceramic polymer to a 3D-printed ceramic matrix composite with potentially complex 3D shapes or in the form of large parts. Other variations provide active solid-phase functional additives as solid-phase fillers, to perform or enhance at least one chemical, physical, mechanical, or electrical function within the ceramic structure as it is being formed as well as in the final structure. Solid-phase functional additives actively improve the final ceramic structure through one or more changes actively induced by the additives during pyrolysis or other thermal treatment.

The present invention relates to a process for the production of fiber-reinforced composite materials with an ultra-refractory, high tenacity, high ablation resistant matrix with self-healing properties, prepared from highly sinterable slurries. The composite material is produced using techniques of infiltration and drying at ambient pressure or under vacuum, and consolidated by sintering with or without the application of gas or mechanical pressure.