Fabrication and properties of C/SiC porous ceramics by grinding-mould pressing-sintering process

High temperature resistant porous ceramics are considered to be prime candidates for applications in the transpiration cooling system of a hypersonic vehicle. This paper describes a new preparation process including grinding-mould pressing-sintering process, which is successfully used to fabricate C/SiC porous ceramics with high compressive strength and excellent permeability. The effects of carbon fiber content on the microstructure, mechanical property, pore size distribution and permeability of this porous ceramic are investigated in detail. The results indicate that this porous ceramic prepared in this study exhibits high compressive strength (∼270.82 MPa) and excellent permeability (∼3.937 × 10−8 mm2). The C/SiC porous ceramics fabricated in this study will have potential application in active thermal protection systems.