Microstructure and thermal behavior of isotropic petroleum pitch based matrix material for carbon carbon composites

Abstract

Present work deals with the utilization of petroleum waste in production of engineering material. The microstructure and thermal studies were performed for a new isotropic petroleum pitch based matrix material for carbon fiber reinforced carbon (C/C) composites. This paper is an approach towards exploring an idea to fabricate C/C composite exclusively from petroleum pitch avoiding multiple impregnation steps. Since there is a need of replacing toxic polymers for the same. The idea of using petroleum refinery waste i.e. pitch brightens up. Pitch used was primarily characterized by elemental analysis and Quinoline insoluble content. Work includes stabilization of pitch and a process to convert it into a carbonaceous bulk along with its microstructure and thermal analysis. Advanced characterization techniques like SEM and polarized light microscopy for microstructure analysis and TMA, TGA and DSC for understanding thermal behavior have been carried out. Porosity and density were estimated as well. Bonding between the phases was also observed under SEM for reference sample. This work will be useful for fabrication of C/C composites solely from petroleum pitch in single step carbonization and will give high density without any re-impregnating processes. Hence it is a cost effective approach to fabricate C/C composites.