Single-cycle rapid densification of carbon/carbon components for air and space applications

A method of producing a densified carbon fiber reinforced carbon (carbon/carbon) component, comprising:

• placing a carbon/carbon preform and one or more preform heaters into a reactor vessel along with an immersing quantity of preceramic precursor liquid, the reactor vessel including a condenser for condensing organosilane gases produced during densification of the preform and thereby maintaining a thermodynamic equilibrium in the reactor vessel;
• and
• supplying electrical current to the one or more preform heaters over a multi-hour period of the densification in which the preceramic precursor liquid is continually boiled and the organosilane gases continually produced, the electrical current being sufficient to maintain the preform at a densification temperature above a cracking temperature of the precursor, thereby causing the organosilane gases to be diffused into the preform and dissociated species of the gases to be deposited on the preform, with densification beginning within the preform and advancing outwardly along a densification front until completion,
• wherein the one or more preform heaters includes one or more inductive heating coils disposed in a susceptor, the susceptor being in contact with the surface of the preform, with a temperature gradient generated between the susceptor and the precursor liquid across the preform.