A fiber reinforced composite component may include interleaved textile layers and ceramic particle layers coated with matrix material. The fiber reinforced composite component may be fabricated by forming a fibrous preform and densifying the fibrous preform. The fibrous preform may be fabricated by performing a silicon melt infiltration after the densification process. A plurality of pores defined by the carbon matrix material are infiltrated with a silicon material and the fibrous preform is heated to a melt temperature until a desired percentage (e.g., at least 50%) of the carbon matrix material is converted into silicon carbide or another oxidation resistant material.

A coated fiber structure for use in a ceramic matrix composite comprises a fiber and a coating system applied to and circumscribing the fiber. The coating system comprises an interface coating layer in direct contact with the fiber, the interface coating layer comprising one of boron nitride and a boron-doped pyrocarbon, at least one intermediate layer extending coaxially with and in direct contact with the interface layer, the at least one intermediate layer comprising at least one of silicon and boron nitride, and an outer layer extending coaxially with and in direct contact with the interface layer. At least one of the interface coating layer, the at least one intermediate layer, and the outer layer comprises a metallic element.

A method of producing a melt infiltrated ceramic matrix composite (CMC) article that includes the steps of: forming a ceramic fiber preform; optionally, rigidizing the ceramic fiber preform with a fiber interphase coating via a Chemical Vapor Infiltration (CVI) process, infiltrating a ceramic slurry into the porous body or preform, conducting one or more secondary operations, and finally, melt infiltrating the preform with molten silicon or a silicon alloy to form the CMC article. The infiltration of a ceramic slurry into a ceramic fiber preform to form a green body is performed along with the use of convection and/or conduction as heat transfer mechanisms, such that the ceramic slurry does not require the incorporation of a pre-gelation material in order for the slurry to remain within the green body during subsequent processing steps.

A method of producing a CMC having a smooth surface includes forming a fiber preform; rigidizing the preform with an interphase coating; infiltrating a ceramic slurry into the preform to form a green body; conducting secondary operations on the green body; applying a slurry-based layer onto a portion of the green body; and infiltrating the green body with a molten silicon or silicon alloy, such that the CMC exhibits a smooth surface. The application of the slurry-based surface layer onto the green body includes placing the green body into a tool fixture having upper and lower components, such that a gap is present between the green body and at least one of the upper and lower components; and delivering a surface layer slurry into at least one gap, such that the surface layer slurry forms the slurry-based layer on at least a portion of the green body.

A method of producing a CMC component that includes forming a preform having a plurality of ceramic fiber plies with each ply occupying a predetermined position; rigidizing the preform with a fiber interphase coating; inspecting the preform to determine which of the plies has partially or fully delaminated; reworking the delaminated plies in the preform; infiltrating a ceramic slurry into the preform to form a green body; optionally, conducting a secondary operation on the green body; and infiltrating the green body with a molten silicon or silicon alloy to form the CMC component. The step of reworking delaminated plies may also be applied to a green body formed after ceramic slurry infiltration into a rigidized fiber preform.

A method of producing an enhanced ceramic matrix composite includes applying a tackifier compound to a fiber preform. The tackifier compound includes inorganic filler particles. The method further includes modifying the tackifier compound such that the inorganic filler particles remain interspersed throughout the fiber preform, and occupy pores of fiber preform.

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.

A process for manufacturing a composite part includes introducing an adhesion promoter into the pores of a fibrous preform formed by threads covered with a coating having OH groups on its surface, the adhesion promoter including an electron-withdrawing group G1 that is reactive according to a reaction of substitution or of nucleophilic addition with the OH groups, and a reactive group G2; grafting the adhesion promoter to the surface of the coating by a reaction of substitution or nucleophilic addition of the OH groups on the group G1; introducing a ceramic precursor resin into the pores of the fibrous preform; polymerizing the resin introduced and bonding the grafted adhesion promoter to the resin by chemical reaction between these two compounds at the level of the group G2, and forming a ceramic matrix phase in the pores of the fibrous preform by pyrolysis of the polymerized resin.

A method of treating at least one silicon carbide fibre, the method including a) formation of a silica layer at the surface of a silicon carbide fibre having an oxygen content less than or equal to 1% in atomic percentage, the silica layer being formed by contacting this fibre with an oxidizing medium having a temperature greater than or equal to 50 C. and pressure greater than or equal to 1 MPa, and b) removal of the silica layer formed by hydrothermal treatment of the fibre obtained after implementation of step a) in which the fibre is treated with water at a pressure between saturating vapour pressure and 30 MPa and at a temperature less than or equal to 400 C.

A method of producing an enhanced ceramic matrix composite includes applying a tackifier compound to a fiber preform. The tackifier compound includes inorganic filler particles. The method further includes modifying the tackifier compound such that the inorganic filler particles remain interspersed throughout the fiber preform, and occupy pores of fiber preform.