Analysis of melt infiltration into a moving bundle of fibers relevant to processing of metal matrix composite wires

An analysis is made for radial melt infiltration into a moving, axially oriented bundle of fibers in the presence of a gas counterflow (i.e., the fiber motion in the z-direction and the gas flow in the -z-direction) under an isothermal condition. Governing equations consist of continuity of the melt and the gasphase, Darcy's equation for the melt and the gas phase taking into account the differences in permeability in the axial and the radial direction, and the ideal gas equation of state. With the melt infiltration starting at z = 0 and ending at a location, z = L, where the gas pressure considering the effect of the melt-gas interfacial pressure differential is specified, a solution yields a growth profile of the melt-infiltrated layer and the pressure drop over the axial distance L.