Diffusion Phenomena in SiC Fiber-Reinforced Aluminum Composite

If electrical power is transmitted by a power cable made of SiC fiber-reinforced aluminum, Al atoms diffuse into the reinforcement fiber at the transmission temperature. In this study, the diffusion coefficients of Al atoms in Hi-NicalonTM/Al system and NicalonTM/Al system were calculated. The outcomes of this study can be summarized as follows: (1) Diffusion coefficient of Al atoms in the Hi-NicalonTM SiC fiber is 10-3 times smaller than that of NicalonTM SiC fiber at transmission temperature between 300°C and 600°C. (2) Activation energy Q of Al diffusion in the two different SiC fibers are the same, but frequency factor D0 of Hi-NicalonTM SiC fiber is smaller than that of NicalonTM SiC fiber. (3) Diffusion coefficient of Al in the SiC fiber is related to the microcrystallite of the SiC fiber.