Impact Resistance of EBC Coated SiC/SiC Composites

Impact performance of 2-D woven SiC/SiC composites coated with 225 and 525 m thick environmental barrier coating (EBC) was investigated. The composites were fabricated by melt infiltration and the EBC was deposited by plasma spray. Impact tests were conducted at room temperature and at 1316 C in air using 1.59-mm diameter steel-balls at projectile velocities ranging from 110 to 375 m/s. Both microscopy and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods were used to determine the extent of damage in the substrate and coating with increasing projectile velocity. The impacted specimens were tensile tested at room temperature to determine their residual mechanical properties. At projectile velocities less than 125 m/s, no detectable damage was noticed in the MI SiC/SiC composites coated with 525 m EBC. With increase in projectile velocity beyond this value, spallation of EBC layers, delamination of fiber plies, and fiber fracture were detected. At a fixed projectile velocity, the composites coated with 525 m EBC showed less damage than the composite coated with 225 m EBC. Both types of EBC coated composites retained a large fraction of the baseline properties of as-fabricated composites and exhibited non-brittle failure after impact testing at projectile velocities up to 375 m/s. Exposure of impact tested specimens in a moisture environment at 1316 C for 500 hr indicated that the through-the-thickness cracks in the EBC coating and delamination cracks in the substrate generated after impact testing acted as conduits for internal oxidation.