Patent ID: 8163339

Claim:
A method of densifying a porous substrate comprising: in a reaction chamber, submerging the porous substrate in a liquid precursor so that the liquid precursor infiltrates pores in the porous substrate; inductively heating the submerged porous substrate using inductive power to a temperature sufficient to cause the liquid precursor to pyrolize and deposit a decomposition product within the pores of the substrate so as to densify the porous substrate, and providing a barrier around the porous substrate, the barrier being constructed and arranged to permit some contact between the liquid precursor and the porous substrate, wherein the barrier comprises a porous mesh material layer disposed on a part of the porous substrate, wherein the porous mesh material has an open porosity of between about 30% and about 60%, wherein the porosity of the porous mesh material is such that infiltration of the liquid precursor into the pores of the porous substrate is not disrupted and a thermal profile at a beginning of densification is not affected when the inductive power used for densifying the substrate is lower than an inductive power that is required for heating the submerged substrate if the porous mesh material is not used.