A method for manufacturing a turbine nozzle vane made of ceramic matrix composite material, wherein the vane is manufactured using a first fibrous preform including a hollow central section intended to form a fibrous reinforcement of an airfoil of the vane to be obtained, and a pair of second fibrous preforms each having an opening with a shape of the airfoil of the vane to be obtained.

A cBN sintered material comprising cBN particles and a binder phase, in which the binder phase contains AlN and AlB.sub.2, a content proportion of cBN particles is 70 to 97 vol %, cBN sintered material has a volume resistivity up to 5×10.sup.−3 Ωcm, a rate of a peak intensity derived from Al with respect to a peak intensity derived from cBN particles is less than 1.0%, cBN particles include fine particles and coarse particles, coarse particles optionally include ultra-coarse particles, with respect to the entire cBN particles, a content proportion α of fine particles is from 10 vol %, a content proportion β of coarse particles is from 30 vol %, a content proportion γ of ultra-coarse particles is 25 vol % or less, and a total of the content proportion α of fine particles and the content proportion β of coarse particles is 50 to 100 vol %.

A method of forming a ceramic matrix composite includes depositing particles on a ceramic fabric formed from a plurality of ceramic tows, applying a binder to at least the particles to form a stabilized ceramic fabric, forming a preform using the stabilized ceramic fabric, and densifying the preform. The ceramic tows are formed from a first material and the particles are formed from at least a second material.

A method of preparing a ceramic fabric and ceramic matrix composite components constructed from the ceramic fabric include transforming ceramic tows, or ceramic fabrics, to varying degrees from a first tow geometry to a second tow geometry, thereby reducing a first dimension of the ceramic tows and increasing a second dimension of the ceramic tows orthogonal to the first dimension. Plies constructed with flattened tows, or as-received tows, have various inter-tow pore sizes that are arranged with increasing inter-tow pore size towards exterior surfaces of the preform structure.

A method of preparing a ceramic fabric for use in a ceramic matrix composite includes transforming a ceramic tow from a first tow geometry to a second tow geometry, thereby reducing a first dimension of the ceramic tow and increasing a second dimension of the ceramic tow orthogonal to the first dimension to produce a flattened tow. The method includes weaving or braiding the flattened ceramic tow to form a ceramic fabric.

A method for producing a ceramic matrix composite component is disclosed. The method includes providing a plurality of first ceramic fiber plies including a plurality of interconnected tows and a plurality of first pores positioned between adjacent tows. The method includes applying a plurality of first ceramic particles within the plurality of first pores. Next, the method includes applying a plurality of second ceramic fiber plies onto an outer surface of the plurality of first ceramic fiber plies. The second ceramic fiber plies include a plurality of interconnected tows and a plurality of second pores positioned between adjacent tows. The method then includes applying a plurality of second ceramic particles within the plurality of second pores. Further, the plurality of second ceramic particles are larger than the plurality of first ceramic particles. Lastly, the method includes densifying the ceramic matrix composite preform to form the ceramic matrix composite component.

Disclosed herein is a ceramic matrix composite comprising a preform comprising a plurality of plies; a ceramic matrix encompassing the plies and distributed through the plies; and thermally conducting particles distributed through the ceramic matrix. Disclosed herein is a method comprising distributing thermally conducting particles between plies in a preform; infiltrating chemical vapors of a ceramic precursor into the plies; and reacting the ceramic precursor to form a matrix.

Methods of forming a carbon fiber reinforced carbon foam are provided. Such a method may comprise heating a porous body composed of a solid material comprising covalently bound carbon atoms and heteroatoms and having a surface defining pores distributed throughout the solid material, in the presence of an added source of gaseous hydrocarbons. The heating generates free radicals in the porous body from the heteroatoms and induces reactions between the free radicals and the gaseous hydrocarbons to form covalently bound carbon nanofibers extending from the surface of the solid material and a network of entangled carbon microfibers within the pores the porous body, thereby forming a carbon fiber reinforced carbon foam. Carbon fiber reinforced carbon foams and ballistic barriers incorporating the foams are also provided.

A method for densifying one or more porous substrates with pyrolytic carbon by chemical vapour infiltration, includes admitting, at the inlet of the densification furnace, a reactive gaseous phase including at least one pyrolytic carbon precursor; reacting at least a fraction of the reactive gaseous phase with the porous substrate or substrates; extracting, at the outlet of the densification furnace, gaseous effluents originating from the reactive gaseous phase; reintroducing, with the reactive gaseous phase admitted at the inlet of the densification furnace, at least a fraction of the gaseous effluents extracted at the outlet of the furnace, wherein the fraction of the gaseous effluents introduced with the reactive gaseous phase includes at least one polyaromatic hydrocarbon compound.

A loader device is arranged for densifying porous preforms of stackable shape by means of directed stream chemical vapor infiltration in a reaction chamber of an infiltration oven. The device comprises a support tray, a first stack having a plurality of bottom rings arranged on the support tray and a plurality of injection orifices, a second stack comprising a plurality of top rings and a plurality of discharge orifices extending between the outer periphery and inner periphery of each ring. The device includes a first non-porous wall corresponding to the porous preforms and arranged on the support tray inside the bottom rings of the first stack, and a second non-porous wall corresponding to the porous preforms extending between the bottom ring situated at the top of the first stack and the top ring situated at the top of the second stack.