Silicon carbide fiber (SiC) is a ceramic fiber composed of two elements of carbon and silicon arranged in a periodic diamond structure. The actual silicon carbide fiber may contain surplus carbon and some oxygen. The strength and modulus of silicon carbide fiber are very high. Its biggest feature is that it can withstand high temperatures above 1000 ° C in the air without any change. It is mainly used for high temperature resistant composite materials or needs to be subjected to high temperature processing during the preparation process. Composites.
Today, SiC fiber-reinforced composites are increasingly optimized in terms of light weight, high strength, high temperature resistance, and oxidation resistance, and have begun to replace alloy materials in aircraft engine burners, shrouds, nozzles, and engine blades. With the rapid development of aerospace technology and defense industry construction, the demand for SiC fibers in commercial and military aircraft engines will continue to increase, and the development of the SiC fiber industry has broad market space and commercial value. According to Strategies MRC, the SiC fiber market is valued at USD 250 million in 2017 and will grow to USD 3.587 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of 34.4% from 2017 to 2026.
The global SiC fiber market is dominated by Japan and the United States. Using "SiC fiber" as a key word, search related patent data in the patent database, compare the three international leading companies of Nippon Carbon, Ube Industries and COI ceramics and the layout track of patents in China in the past 40 years, which can more clearly analyze China's SiC Development status of fiber.
According to the figure above, the patent layouts of the three giant companies, Nippon Carbon, Ube Industries and COI ceramics, were mostly concentrated from 1981 to 2000, and there were only a small number of patent layouts in the following ten years. There have been no new developments since 2012; compared to Below, the domestic patent layout started around 2000 and reached a peak in the past five years. It can be seen that foreign SiC fiber preparation technology has entered a mature period before 2011, and China is still at the stage of industrial technology research, and there are still many key technical problems to be overcome on the road to catch up with the international advanced level.