Carbon fiber (CF) must be protected from thermal oxidation for high temperature application because of its low thermo-oxidative stability above 450°C in air. CF is now increasingly being used as a reinforcing material in the construction industry. A thermal and oxidation resistant coating is necessary for CF-reinforced concrete (CFRC) composites in order to satisfy a high level of safety standard in the case of fire. New types of pre-ceramic coatings, such as Tyranno® polymer (Si–Ti based pre-ceramic) and SiO₂ sol–gel, have been deposited on CF filament yarn by means of a wet chemical continuous dip coating method. The results of surface analyses, e.g. scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy, showed the changes in topographical properties of CF caused by the coatings. Thermogravimetric analysis proved that the high temperature (up to 800°C) oxidation stability of CF was considerably improved due to the coatings. Tensile test results indicated that the strength of CF yarn at 20°C was increased by up to 80% with the coatings. Thermo-mechanical properties were also enhanced up to 600°C. CF yarn retains its original strength and elasticity modulus, i.e. the stiffness at 700°C, with a Tyranno® polymer coating.

In order to considerably improve the quality of steel products, efforts are being made to increase the cleanness of steel. It is known that the size, type and distribution of non-metallic inclusions (NMIs) in metals significantly influence their mechanical properties. Within the frame of the Collaborativ Research Centre 920 'Multifunc-tional filters for metal melt filtration – a contribution to zero defect materials.”, carbon-bonded alumina filters for steel melt filtration has been investigated. In the present thesis, the interactions between coated carbon-bonded alumina filters and a steel melt were investigated in more detail, with the porous coatings being based on alumina. The time-depended behaviour was evaluated by immersing coated filters for different dwell times. After the immersion tests, the microstructure of the filter surface and the NMIs remaining in the solidified steel were examined to comprehend the interactions. The here presented results imply that carbon of the carbon-bonded alumina sub-strate took part in the filter–steel interactions. The presence of dissolved carbon at the filter–steel melt interface is essential to promote alumina dissolution and pre-cipitation processes. Thereby, the melt was locally supersaturated with aluminium, which reacted with dissolved oxygen to form secondary corundum. During these interactions, a liquid oxide film was formed directly at the ceramic surface and provided nuclei for heterogeneous nucleation of secondary corundum. After immersion during cooling, a characteristic layer built-up formed at the filters surface. All alumina-based coated filters contributed to the filtration of especially alumina-based NMIs, and outperformed the uncoated carbon-bonded alumina filter. During the first experimental trials, it became obvious that the thermal shock resistance of the alumina coating has to be enhanced. For this purpose, a material combination was investigated which so far has not been used as a coating material to the author’s knowledge: alumina-zirconia-titania in the ration 95 : 2.5 : 2.5. This material is known for its excellent thermal shock resistance. Thereby, the influence of zirconia or titania doping of the coating were considered. The addition of titania enhanced wetting of this filter by the steel melt. As a result, alumina inclusions of the steel melt were modified: they were more in number, but distinctly smaller compared to trials without filter or the immersion of the other filter types. Especially, the decreased average area of the alumina inclusions is interesting because the particle size of NMIs strongly influences the fatigue life of a steel product. The deformability of a steel product, however, is determined by the amount of NMIs. Thus, the modification of alumina inclusions by adding titania to the filter coating might present a way to tailor these inclusions depending on the product’s application.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Entwicklung neuer Schichtsysteme für die Realisierung biaxial texturierter hochtemperatursupraleitender Bandleiter. Bisher sind eine Vielzahl von Bandleiterarchitekturen bekannt, die sowohl durch physikalische Depositionsmethoden als auch mittels Abscheidung aus der chemischen Lösung hergestellt werden können. Während die Funktion von YBCO-Bandleitern mit Hilfe physikalischer Depositionsmethoden in den letzten Jahren demonstriert werden konnte, zeigen auf chemischem Wege deponierte Bandleiter schlechtere Eigenschaften. Seitens der Industrie besteht ein starkes Interesse, die hohen Produktionskosten, die im Hinblick auf physikalische Depositionsmethoden mit einem hohen Anlagenaufwand verbunden sind, anhand der kostengünstigen chemischen Synthese von Einzelschichten oder der gesamten Bandleiterarchitektur zu senken. Gelöst wurde diese Aufgabe innerhalb der vorliegenden Arbeit durch die Entwicklung metallorganischer Vorstufenlösungen zur Deposition von CaTiO3-, SrTiO3-Pufferschichten und supraleitender YBa2Cu3O7-Schichten.