Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

The Development and Commercialization of Polymer Derived Ceramic Matrix Composites

Presented at the 2006 ASM/TMS Spring Symposium

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Outline
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Ceramic forming polymers the key to novel ceramic materials Chemistry and structure of Si-C based polymers Polymer properties control ceramic properties Applications for ceramic forming polymers Brake Rotors and Friction Materials Test Results Summary

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Why Ceramic Precursors?

Versatility wide variety of ceramics, near net shapes Ease of use low temperature processing Can tailor ceramic - by precursor chemistry, thermal treatment, cure/pyrolysis/heat treatment atmosphere Only known method to easily produce amorphous non-oxide ceramics Inherently produce nano-structured materials

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Cost and Scale-up Were Issues

IN THE PAST Ceramic-forming polymers were expensive ($500 $4000/kg) Some were pyrophoric, produced ammonia, solids needed oxygen or catalysts to crosslink Low ceramic yield many infiltration and pyrolysis cycles for dense part Laboratory curiosities, or limited to high end aerospace applications

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Tailored Si-C Backbone Polymers for Nano-Engineered Ceramic Materials

corrosion/oxidation resistant to high temperatures HT CMCs

Polycarbosilanes Silicon Carbide Thermally stable, Polycarbosiloxanes Silicon oxycarbides lower

shrinkage, widely tailorable ceramics, release coatings, friction modifiers, Mid Temp CMCs air stable to 1100 C

Alkoxycarbosilanes Silicon oxycarbides - thin films, low K dielectrics, friction modifiers, release coatings, foamed ceramics, photo-resist intermediates

Polycarbosilanes

Mg, ether

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Basic synthesis has two steps, coupling and reduction:

1. n Cl CH 2
SiRR' Cl CH 2 SiRR'

R, R' = Cl, CH 3 , phenyl, OMe, OEt

CH 2 SiRR'

Reduction n

2.

CH 2

SiH 2

R, R' = Cl, OM e, OEt

Resulting polycarbosilane is ideal for SiC formation

CH2 SiH2

850 C, inert gas n SiC (amorphous)

(85% yield should be possible)

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

SMP-10: a practical polycarbosilane

H CH 2 SiH 2 CH 2 SiH H

0.9

0.1

Amber liquid, 50 150 cPs. Low toxicity. Soluble in most non-polar and many polar solvents. Oxidizes only slowly in air at ambient temperatures.
Used at the bench top in the atmosphere with standard protective equipment (gloves, apron, safety glasses, ventilation). For short-term storage, inerting with nitrogen is recommended. Shelf-life > 6 months when inerted and stored at -10 C

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

SMP-10: Conversion to SiC

Allyl groups improve actual ceramic yield (75 76% for medium MW polymer) With both Si-H and allyl present, Pt catalysts can be used to cure at lower temperatures (250 C) The slight additional C content is bound to Si resulting in high oxidative stability (<0.7% mass change,1000 hours at 900C) Heating to1600 C forms polycrystalline -SiC.
H CH2 SiH2 0.9 CH2 SiH H 0.1 SiC + H2, some silanes and alkanes.

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Si-C Forming Polymer Processing

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

SMP-10 Properties and Processing Parameters:

Density (g/cc) Appearance Viscosity (cps) Solubility Melting Point (C/F) Flashpoint (C/F) Boiling Point (C/F) Moisture Absorption (%) Nominal Cure Temperature (C/F) 0.998 Clear, Amber Color 80-100 Hexane, Tetrahydrofuran, Acetone, Toluene Less than -100/-148 89/192 160/320 < 0.1% in 24 hrs at RT 400/752

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics CURING PARAMETERS Cure Atmosphere Cure Heating Rate (C/min.) Cure Temperature* (C/F) Cure Hold Time (h) Fixture/Mold/Holder Material Mold Release Pyrolysis Heating Rate (C/min.) Pyrolysis Temperature (C/F) Pyrolysis Atmosphere Pyrolysis Hold Time (h) Pyrolysis Fixture/Holder Material Mold Release (Needed only if NOT cured first) Crystallization Heating Rate (C/min.) Crystallization Temperature (C/F) Crystallization Atmosphere Crystallization Hold Time (h) Crystallization Holder Material Nitrogen, Argon, Helium 1-3 Depending on part thickness 400/752 1-2 hours Aluminum, Brass, Steel, Graphite, Alumina Acrylic Spray/Tape, Kapton polyimides, Boron Nitride PYROLYSIS PARAMETERS 1-2 Depending on part thickness and porosity 850-1000/1562-1832 Nitrogen, Argon, Helium 1 hour Steel (850C Limit), Graphite, Alumina Same as for curing step 2 deg/min 1600/3000 Argon, Helium 6-8 Graphite

CRYSTALLIZATION HEAT TREATMENT

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

SMP-10, other carbosilanes: Applications

SiC/C & SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) for friction systems:
Durability, high temp. strength Lightweight Controlled friction behavior

CMCs & SiC powder slurries for industry:

Chemical resistance, strength Adhesives and coatings Complex shapes easily formed

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Where to Apply Ceramic Forming Polymers?? Aerospace Still too R&D, no commercial market Electronics high margin, huge potential have
value proposition

Industrial chemical industry promising Energy Nuclear, coal, fuel cells - future Biomaterials Long qualification cycle Transportation Huge market, quick entry, obvious
value proposition, properties create market pull

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Ceramic Composite Brake Rotors

Quantifiable advantages over competing materials weight, wear life, reduced noise, inverse
fade

Market Pull Doesnt push performance envelope of material Developed drop-in replacement system for metal with better performance Can cut as much as 300 lbs from car Already below cost of competing high end materials MI and C/C closing in on steel

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Traditional Composite Processing

Carbon Fabric Cert Fabric Heat Treat Weight 350oC Press Cure Machine Lay-up Rotors Vacuum Impregnation 850oC Kiln Dens Prepreg Fabric Ceramic Polymer & Fillers Total Solids Cad Cut Plies

Polymer viscosity Grinding

Delivery
Dim Insp Surf Fin, DTV

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Composite Brake Rotor Lay-up

- 45o 0o + 45o 90o

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

6k T-300 Reinforced SMP-10 with SiC Filler

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Melt Infiltration Chopped Fiber Reinforcement cost Si + C SiC

Free Silicon and Carbon Variable Crystal size Moderate Conductivity Fiber Conversion to SiC Low Yield due to porosity Higher Capital Investment

Polymer Impregnation Continuous Fiber Reinforcement [SiH2-C]n SiC + H2

Stoichiometric SiC Controllable crystal size Moderate Conductivity Fibers Protected Excess Strength Low Capital Investment

Low Toughness (4MPa-m1/2) High Toughness(22MPa-m1/2) Polymer Derived Ceramic Toughness Eliminates Cracks

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

2D 6k T-300 w/ Filler Mechanical Properties Property Value Value Tensile Strength 35 - 39ksi 250-288MPa Tensile Modulus 11-12Msi 77-91GPa Flex Strength 28-38ksi 196-275MPa Interlaminar Shear(SBS) 4-5ksi 28-34MPa In Plane Thermal .9-1ppm/oF 1.5-1.8ppm/oC Expansion Thermal Conductivity - x,y 21.8BTU/Hr-ft-oF 25-40W/MK -z 5.4BTU/Hr-ft-oF 5-8W/MK 15-18ksi-in1/2 Toughness 22MPa-m1/2 140lb/ft3 2.25gm/cm3 Density gm/cm3

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Ducatti 999 StarBlade and Carrier 5 mm thick 320 mm in diameter

6 lbs weight savings on front axle

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Motorcycle Structural Analysis

Fatigue Tested at 150% for 3000 cycles and 200% for 900 cycles

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StarBlade TM Fatigue Testing Cycles

1000 900 800 700

Torque Level ft-lbs

600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000

Brake Cycles

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Friction Performance:12 on a scale of 10

Jason DiSalvo, Las Vegas International Speedway, Dec 9, 2004

Yamaha Factory Racing Team 2004 YZF-R1

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Motorcycle Friction Summary

Disc Pad Rider Rank Average Global Sensitivity Speed Sensitivity Temp sensitivity Pad wear (mm) Disc wear (mm)

CMC CMC
C/C Cast Iron Stainless Steel Stainless Steel Stainless Steel

Sintered PRO 129

C/C PRO 129 PRO 129 CP911 Organic RX Sintered

12 9
8 9 10 9 8

0.65 0.63
0.55 0.64 0.66 0.60 0.57

.28 0.32
0.28 0.18 0.16 0.14 0.23

.10 0.09
0.08 0.01 0.05 0.06 0.22

.05 0.06
0.12 0.11 0.04 0.02 0.04

.890 1.376
3.45 0.452 0.643 0.672 0.304

-.003 -0.009
0.250 0.006 0.001 0.001 -0.003

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Composite Damping Reduces NVH

Damping Curves

Cast Iron Resonant Frequency = 956Hz Damping Coeff = 4.62 sec-1 Loss Factor = .0015

Composite/Al Hub Resonant Freq = 1013Hz Damping Coeff = 12.07sec-1 Loss Factor = .0037

Composite rotor dampens induced noise 1800 times faster than cast iron

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Composite Rotor Cost Reduction 13 OD Tahoe Rotor

Initial
1000

Current

Probable

Manuf Cost $/Rotor

800 600 400

305 650

200 0 1000 10000

149

125

100000

1000000

Combined Volume Rotors/Year

Current Porsche Option Cost $10,500/Boxter

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Train Rotor

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

BUS Rotor - 28lbs vs 85 lbs 16,600ft-lb torque

Pioneering Advanced Ceramics

Summary
1. Ceramic forming polymers permit control of the composition, microstructure and properties of ceramic materials 2. A major non-aerospace commercial market for CMCs is brake rotors and friction materials 3. Polymer-derived ceramic brake rotors have been developed as drop-in replacements for steel no redesign needed 4. Major advantages over competing high end materials MI and C/C 5. Significant market pull due to lower weight, lower noise, no fade, etc. 6. Within reach of cost targets at low volume selling product now!