An aerospace mirror having a reaction bonded (RB) silicon carbide (SiC) mirror substrate, and a SiC cladding on the RB SiC mirror substrate forming an optical surface on a front side of the aerospace mirror. A method for manufacturing an aerospace mirror comprising obtaining a green mirror preform comprising porous carbon, silicon carbide (SiC), or both, the green mirror preform defining a front side of the aerospace mirror and a back side of the aerospace mirror opposite the front side; removing material from the green mirror preform to form support ribs on the back side; infiltrating the green mirror preform with silicon to create a reaction bonded (RB) SiC mirror substrate from the green mirror preform; forming a mounting interface surface on the back side of the aerospace mirror from the RB SiC mirror substrate, and forming a reflector surface of the RB SiC mirror substrate on the front side of the aerospace mirror. Additionally, the method can comprise cladding the reflector surface of the RB SiC mirror substrate with SiC to form an optical surface of the aerospace mirror.

A method for coating fibers, includes desizing sized short fibers having an average length less than or equal to 5 mm, the short fibers being made of ceramic material or carbon, sieving the desized short fibers in order to separate them from any agglomerates of sized short fibers still present, introducing the desized and sieved short fibers into a reactor, and coating the short fibers in the reactor by chemical vapor deposition in a fluidized bed.

A method for manufacturing ceramic matrix composites (CMC) and CMCs made by the method are disclosed. The method can be a manual process or an automated process, such as using a robotic system, that is used for controlled delivery of ceramic particles in a CMC fabric. The method includes identifying voids present between adjacent tows of the CMC fabric and dispensing ceramic particles into the voids. Applying the ceramic particles in the center of the voids reduces the size and volume fraction of the voids/defects, improving the homogeneity of surface texture of the preform, homogeneity of microstructure, and part model shape conformity. The method for manufacturing CMCs creates CMCs having a homogenous distribution of small pores after matrix formation that improves the interlaminar mechanical and thermal properties of the CMCs.

A method for making a high temperature composite, which is a carbon carbon composite, carbon fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composite, ceramic fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composite, or a carbon silica composite, including: a) providing a precursor part including a resin comprising a poly(aryl ether ketone) (PAEK) and at least one reinforcing material, wherein the resin has a degree of crystallinity of 10% or more; b) pyrolyzing the precursor part to a pyrolyzed part; c) infusing a liquid second resin into the pyrolyzed part to make an infused part; and d) pyrolyzing the infused part to make the carbon carbon composite carbon fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composite, ceramic fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composite, or the carbon silica composite, optionally repeating steps c. through d. Also, a carbon carbon composite, carbon fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composite, ceramic fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composite, or carbon silica composite made by the method.

An example technique includes extruding, by a tow deposition device, on a tow-by-tow basis, respective impregnated tows of a plurality of respective impregnated tows to form a layer of material on a major surface of a substrate. Each respective impregnated tow includes at least one ceramic fiber and a curable resin coating the at least one ceramic fiber. The example technique includes curing the curable resin to form a cured composite component. An example system includes a tow deposition device, an energy source, and a computing device. The computing device is configured to control the tow deposition device to extrude, on a tow-by-tow basis, respective impregnated tows of a plurality of respective impregnated tows to form a layer of material, and is configured to control the energy source to cure the curable resin to form a cured composite component.

Systems, devices, and methods are provided for manufacturing a carbon ceramic brake disc. Generally, a plurality of uncured or partially-cured bulk molding compound preforms or molding compound layers and ventilation cores are placed in a mold cavity and warm-pressed at a first temperature. The ventilation cores are removed from the resulting cured green body. The cured green body is then removed from the mold, and treated through a polymer infiltration and pyrolysis or reactive melt infiltration process. Certain steps can be repeated until a desired target density or weight is attained.

A method of making a ceramic composite component includes providing a fibrous preform or a plurality of fibers, providing a first plurality of particles, coating the first plurality of particles with a coating to produce a first plurality of coated particles, delivering the first plurality of coated particles to the fibrous preform or to an outer surface of the plurality of fibers, and converting the first plurality of coated particles into refractory compounds. The first plurality of particles or the coating comprises a refractory metal.

Herein is disclosed a method of producing a ceramic support suitable for a catalyst, the method comprising providing a porous ceramic structure, comprising a body portion with a monomodal macropore structure, wherein the macropores comprises a first mean pore size; washcoating the porous ceramic structure using a suspension comprising oxide and/or hydroxide nanoparticles and drying and calcinating the washcoated porous ceramic structure at a temperature below the melting point of the nanoparticles. In addition, the ceramic support and its structure is disclosed.

A method of preparing a woven ceramic fabric for use in a ceramic matrix composite includes transforming a woven fabric sheet having a first tow architecture into a separated woven fabric sheet having a second tow architecture, the first tow architecture including a plurality of warp tows and a plurality of weft tows, and the second tow architecture including a plurality of warp subtows and/or a plurality of weft subtows. Transforming the woven fabric sheet includes separating at least some of the plurality of warp tows and/or the plurality of weft tows into a greater number of corresponding warp subtows and/or weft subtows, respectively, such that second tow architecture includes more warp subtows and/or weft subtows than the first tow architecture comprises warp tows and weft tows, and wherein each of the warp subtows and/or weft subtows includes fewer filaments than corresponding warp tow and/or weft tow. Each of the plurality of warp subtows and/or weft subtows is spaced apart from the closest adjacent warp subtow and/or weft subtow, respectively, a distance of 25 to 230 microns.

A method to produce a ceramic matrix composite with controlled surface characteristics includes: applying a scrim ply to a surface of a fiber preform, where the fiber preform includes silicon carbide fibers coated with boron nitride; infiltrating the fiber preform and the scrim ply with a slurry, thereby forming an impregnated ply on an impregnated fiber preform; infiltrating the impregnated fiber preform and the impregnated ply with a melt comprising silicon, and then cooling, thereby forming a ceramic matrix composite having a ceramic surface layer thereon, where the ceramic surface layer has a predetermined thickness and is devoid of boron; machining or grit blasting the ceramic surface layer to form an intermediate layer suitable for coating; and depositing an environmental barrier coating on the intermediate layer. Thus, a ceramic matrix composite coated with the environmental barrier coating is formed with the intermediate layer in between.