Kinetic study of cobalt silicide infiltration into silicon carbide preforms

Infiltrations of titanium-doped cobalt silicide into silicon carbide preforms were performed using an indirect infiltration method. The infiltration was found to proceed in two stages. In the early stage a melt spread over the pore surfaces and coated the solid particles, and in the final stage the melt filled the intervals between coated particles. The degree of infiltration is linearly dependent upon infiltration time in the early stage and slows down in the final stage. The Washburn equation and Darcy's law do not fit the infiltration process. A model involving melt spreading and coating during infiltration is proposed to explain the linear dependence between the degree of infiltration and the infiltration time.