Effect of Sizing Content on Transverse Compaction Behavior of Continuous SiC Tows Under Different Tensions

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the coupled effects of sizing content and applied tow tension on the transverse compaction behavior of continuous silicon carbide (SiC) tows during weaving. SiC tows with sizing contents of 0–3.10 wt% were subjected to single and cyclic transverse compaction at 0.5 N tension, and additional single tests were performed under tensions of 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 N to evaluate the tension sensitivity of the sizing‐regulated response. The results show that the sizing agent formed polymer bridges and coating layers within the tow, restricting filament rearrangement. With increasing sizing content, the SiC tows exhibited enhanced elastic recovery, greater lateral spreading, and reduced dissipated energy, as reflected by lower thickness reduction ratio and higher width expansion ratio. The dominant deformation mode gradually shifted from thickness direction compaction within the tow toward lateral spreading. Increasing tension increased the transverse compaction resistance, but its influence became progressively weaker at higher sizing contents. A normalized power‐law model captured the coupled sizing–tension response with an overall R ² of 0.9766, and model‐based partitioning showed that the relative fraction of the tension‐dependent term decreased with increasing sizing content. This study provides experimental support for using sizing treatment to regulate tow deformability under weaving tension during SiC preform fabrication.