Carbon fiber reinforced phenolic resin/silica ceramer composites - Processing, mechanical and thermal properties

Phenolic/silica ceramers were prepared by the sol-gel method. Carbon fiber reinforced phenolic/silica ceramer composites with high thermal resistance were fabricated. Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was used as a monomer for sol-gel system. Different ratios of the sol-gel solutions and phenolic resi ns were adopted and the resulting ceramers were used as matrices for carbon fiber reinforced composites. The mechanical and thermal properties of the fabricated composites were studied. The results show that the incorporation of inorganic ingredients into the phenolic resins will increase the therma l resistance of the fabricated composites but not affect the flexural stren gth of the carbon fiber reinforced phenolic/silica ceramer composites up to 60 wt%. The morphologies of the ceramer matrices were examined by SEM. SiO 2 particles form at the gaps between fibers for higher inorganic contents.