Development and Evaluation of Carbon-Carbon Threaded Fasteners for High Temperature Applications

Carbon-Carbon (C-C) threaded fasteners have been developed for joining C-C composites experiencing temperature above 1500 ˚C. The fasteners were fabricated from spun yarn graphitized carbon fabric through resin route and from needle punched carbon felt through pitch route techniques. The preforms were processed with multiple cycles of impregnation, carbonisation, and graphitisation up to densities of 1.78 gcm-3 and 1.90 gcm-3. Densification process cycles were repeated to obtain composites with reduced porosity and improved thermo-mechanical properties. Material evaluation of C-C fasteners is discussed and compared with existing graphite fasteners used in industrial and aerospace sectors. Scanning electron microscopy was also carried out to study microstructure of fractured specimens. Defence Science Journal, 2012, 62(5), pp.348-355 , DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.62.2395