STATIC STRENGTH PREDICTION OF SiC/SiC CERAMIC MATRIX COMPOSITES USING CONTINUUM DAMAGE MODELING

Ceramic matrix composites continue to be desirable materials for high temperature applications due to their inherent increase in toughness over monolithic ceramic materials, alongside their significant weight saving potential over traditional metallic alloys. To fully utilize these materials, designers need confidence that computational tools are capable of reliably predicting material performance. This often requires simulations at a variety of temperatures and load configurations. In this study, a progressive damage analysis prediction of quasi-static tensile strength of two different material systems at various test temperatures was conducted. These models focused on utilizing a bilinear continuum damage mechanics approach to predict performance. This work predicted the quasi-static strength of a unidirectional silicon melt infiltrated Hi-Nicalon-S/BN/Si3N4/SiC and an eight harness satin woven Hi-Nicalon fiber with a BN/Si3N4 coating.