Ablation behavior of ZrC–SiC coated C/C–ZrC–SiC composites prepared by precursor infiltration pyrolysis combined with reactive melt infiltration

Abstract

C/C–ZrC–SiC composites coated with ZrC–SiC were prepared by precursor infiltration pyrolysis combined with reactive melt infiltration. The microstructure and ablation behavior of the composites before and after ablation were investigated. The composites exhibit good ablation resistance with a surface temperature of over 2300°C. After ablation for 120s, the mass and linear ablation rates of the composites are 0.0045g/s and 0.0048mm/s, respectively. The great ablation resistance of the composites is attributed to the formation of continuous integrated SiO2–ZrO2–SiC ceramic layer sealed the pores of the composites surface during ablation.