Interaction between a reactive preform and the surrounding gas-phase during CVI

Gerard L. Vignoles (1) , Cédric Descamps (1, 2) , Nicolas Reuge (1)

1 LCTS - Laboratoire des Composites Thermostructuraux
2 SPS - Snecma Propulsion Solide

An integrated modelling approach of Chemical Vapour Infiltration of a fibrous preform by methyltrichlorosilane, featuring coupled reactor fluid mechanics and porous medium gas transport has been developed. The coupling between transport/reaction phenomena inside and outside the preform is rather strong, both physically and numerically. An important counter-effect of the reactive preform on the surrounding gas-phase composition is evidenced; also, an appreciable dissymmetry of the densification rate inside the preform, even with negligible convective transport inside it. Such an approach brings new informations for understanding the physico-chemical phenomena of CVI and new guidelines for preform densification optimisation.

Mots clés: chemical vapor deposition; flow through porous media; process modelling; computational fluid dynamics

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Matériaux; Modélisation et simulation

Gerard L. Vignoles, Cédric Descamps, Nicolas Reuge. Interaction between a reactive preform and the surrounding gas-phase during CVI. Journal de Physique IV Proceedings, 2000, 10 (2), pp.Pr2-9 - Pr2-17. ⟨hal-00327611⟩