Progresses in the Electrophoretic Deposition Technique to Infiltrate Oxide Fibre Mats for Fabrication of Ceramic Matrix Composites

The electrophoretic deposition (infiltration) method represents a convenient alternative technique to fabricate ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) with improved high matrix density. The focal point of the present work is to describe the basic principle of the EPD technique applied to fabricate CMCs with oxide matrix and oxide fibres. Optimisation of the suspension stability is emphasised as well as the operational determination of the parameters for EPD and the designed of a new EPD cell to warrant the improved infiltration of the particles into fibre mats used as reinforcement. The electrophoretic deposition (infiltration) technique was applied to fabricate composites with alumina matrix (α-Al2O3) reinforced with NextelTM 720 fibres. The fabricated composites demonstrate that EPD permits to achieve a high matrix density with an excellent high intra-tow infiltration of the matrix particles. Moreover a mechanism of the EPD infiltration of oxide fibres is proposed and consequently progress in understanding the fundamentals of the technique applied to oxide-oxide systems has been made.