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LITHOEN

Composite material

Silicon-carbide-fibre-reinforced silicon carbide

Also known as SiC/SiC, SiCf/SiC

A ceramic-matrix composite of silicon carbide fibres in a silicon carbide matrix, with an interphase coating on the fibres. Made by combinations of chemical vapour infiltration and melt infiltration, it is the CMC sources describe entering commercial civil aviation.

Classification

matrix family
CERAMIC

How this record is known

3
Settled consensus
Cited as the accepted position of the discipline.

3 of 3 claims on this page cite at least one registered source. Counts describe how each statement is known, not how likely it is to be true.

What Lithoen records

Each claim states how it is known and cites its evidence.

EstablishedFirst CMCs in commercial civil aviation, on CFM LEAP engines (launched 2016).

SiC/SiC composites mass-produced by reactive melt infiltration, a route pioneered by General Electric, are described as the first ceramic-matrix composites used commercially in civil aviation, on the CFM LEAP engines launched in 2016.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Jon 2020 Peer-reviewed

EstablishedBN interphase for compliance and oxidation resistance; SiC over-coat protects it and carries load.

In NASA’s SiC/SiC system the boron nitride fibre coating was chosen because it gave enough compliance for composite toughness while resisting oxidation better than carbon-based coatings, with silicon doping improving its resistance to moisture; the silicon carbide over-coating protected the interphase and was also the main load-bearing constituent of the matrix.

  • system context: The SiC/SiC system down-selected under NASA’s Enabling Propulsion Materials programme.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: A. 2002 Primary authority

EstablishedSiC fibres, CVI BN interphase, CVI SiC over-coat, and a slurry-cast, melt-infiltrated Si–SiC matrix.

The SiC/SiC system NASA selected for thin-walled combustor liners combined stoichiometric silicon carbide fibres woven into two-dimensional fabric, a silicon-doped boron nitride fibre coating and a silicon carbide over-coating both deposited by chemical vapour infiltration, and a matrix completed with slurry-cast silicon carbide particulate and silicon-alloy melt infiltration.

  • system context: The SiC/SiC system down-selected under NASA’s Enabling Propulsion Materials programme; other SiC/SiC composites use other constituents and routes.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: A. 2002 Primary authority

In the knowledge graph

Record last updated 2026-10-30. Corrections follow the published corrections policy; superseded claims are retained, never silently edited.