Study on the mechanism of ultra-high temperature ablation of ZrB2–SiC–TaSi2 coatings by low-pressure plasma spraying on the C/C composites

Abstract

To improve the high-temperature oxidation resistance of C/C composites, ZrB2–SiC (ZS) and ZrB2–SiC–TaSi2 (ZST) ultra-high temperature ceramics coatings were prepared on their surfaces using induction plasma spheroidization and low-pressure plasma spraying (LPPS). Ablation behaviors of the ZS and ZST coatings were evaluated at 1800°C, 2000°C, and 2200°C using the oxyacetylene flame, we found that the ZS coatings had good ablation resistance at 1800°C, but rapidly failed at 2000°C. Whereas, the ZST coating always performed good oxidation and ablation resistance at even 2000°C with a mass ablation rate of 4.68 × 10-5 g/s and a linear ablation rate of -1.63 × 10-5 mm s-1. The enhancement of the high temperature ablation resistance property was attributed to the introduction of the TaSi2, which improved the density of the coatings prepared by LPPS, reduced the volatilization of the glassy phase at high temperature, and enabled ZrO2 to form a dense oxide layer.