Ultra-high-temperature ablation behavior of SiC-ZrC-TiC modified carbon/carbon composites fabricated via reactive melt infiltration

To improve the ablation resistance under the ultra-high temperature, the matrix of the carbon/carbon (C/C) composite was modified with a ternary ceramic of SiC-ZrC-TIC via reactive melt infiltration. The obtained ceramic matrix was composed of Zr-rich and Ti-rich solid solution phases of Zr(1-x)Ti(x)and SiC. This composite exhibited an excellent ablation property at 2500 degrees C with low mass and linear ablation rates of 0.008 mg s(-1) cm(-2) and 0.000 mu ms(-1), respectively. The ablation mechanism was revealed with various microstructure characterizations and compared with those of C/C-SiC and C/C-TiC composites. Results showed that the degradations of these composites were primarily caused by the loss of the protective oxide scale via volatilization under the ultra-high temperature and flushing by high-speed airflow. The high ablation resistance of the C/C-SiC-ZrC-TiC composite was attributed to the protection of a multiphase oxide scale with high viscosity and low volatility.