Progress in Numerical Simulation of Liquid Silicon Infiltration Process

ABSTRACT

Liquid silicon infiltration (LSI) is an attractive technical route for the fabrication of high‐performance SiC‐based ceramic matrix composites, and numerical simulation serves as an efficient means of revealing the complex mechanisms during the LSI process. This work systematically reviews advances in the numerical simulation of the LSI process, focusing on the infiltration behavior of molten silicon, Si–C reactive wetting, interfacial reaction mechanisms, the growth kinetics of SiC reaction layers formed in situ, high‐temperature thermophysical properties, and multiphysics modeling strategies. Typical models used in LSI simulation, including those based on Darcy's law, Richards’ equation, the Washburn equation, and the Navier–Stokes equation, are comprehensively compared, with particular emphasis on their fundamental assumptions, application scopes, and inherent limitations in simulating reactive melt infiltration into porous preforms. Emerging microscale numerical methods, namely molecular dynamics (MD) and the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), are also discussed with respect to their ability to resolve micro‐ and nanoscale infiltration behavior and interfacial reaction characteristics. This review summarizes the current status of research and focuses on the core bottlenecks in the numerical simulation of LSI, thereby providing a systematic theoretical foundation for developing high‐reliability multiphysics and multiscale modeling frameworks, conducting in‐depth mechanistic analyses, and optimizing LSI process parameters.