CHEMIE INGENIEUR TECHNIK, cilt.73, sa.5, ss.443-452, 2001 (SCI-Expanded)
In this paper, we review the application of the electrophoretic: deposition (EPD) technique in the fabrication of fibre reinforced composites, with particular emphasis on composites with glass and ceramic matrices containing metallic or ceramic fibre fabric reinforcement. The review covers research published in the last 10 years. EPD has been used to infiltrate preforms with tight fibre weave architectures using different nano-sized ceramic particles, including silica and boehmite sols, as well as dual-component sols of mullite composition. The principles of the EPD technique are briefly explained and various factors affecting the EPD behaviour of ceramic sols and their optimisation to obtain high infiltration of the fibre preforms are considered. Overall, the analysis of the published data and our own results demonstrate that EPD, being simple and inexpensive, provides an attractive alternative for ceramic infiltration and coating of fiber fabrics, even if they exhibit tight fibre weave architectures.