Performance-properties and fabrication of the reaction sintered Si/SiC honeycomb materials for solar absorber application

Reaction sintered Si/SiC composite was fabricated to apply to a solar absorber and the fabricated material was evaluated on its basic properties and performance. SiC and carbon black were mixed to shape a honeycomb with a multi-channel via vacuum extrusion process. The Si/SiC honeycomb material was also fabricated with less than 5% of pores by molten silicon infiltration in vacuum. The sintered density and porosity of the fabricated material, and the 3-point bending strength at room temperature and high temperature (11001300° C) were measured and the thermal conductivity at room temperature and 1100°C were also analyzed. In addition, the fabricated honeycomb material was modulized and installed to a solar absorber system to measure the outlet air temperature and thermal efficiency and evaluate the performance of honeycomb material as a solar absorber material.