Ablation behavior of Cf/ZrC-SiC-based composites fabricated by an improved reactive melt infiltration

In this work, a highly dense C-f/ZrC-SiC-based composite is fabricated by an improved reactive melt infiltration (RMI). The ablation resistance of the composite is studied by air plasma test. The RMI-C-f/ZrC-SiC possesses a low porosity (3.49%) and high thermal conductivity. The dense microstructure can effectively retard oxygen from diffusing into the interior composite. Meanwhile, the high thermal conductivity makes the composite transfer heat timely during ablation, which reduces the heat accumulation on the ablation surface and weakens the thermal damage to the composite. Consequently, the as-fabricated composite exhibits an excellent ablation resistance. Compared to conventional PIP-C-f/ZrC-SiC composite, the linear and mass recession rates of the RMI-C-f/ZrC-SiC decline by 98.07% and 39.02% at a heat flux of 4.02 MW/m(2). Also, a continuous SiO2-ZrO2 layer forms on the sample surface, which isolates the sample surface from the plasma flame and protect the composites from further oxidation and ablation.