Ablation behavior of graphene reinforced SiBCN ceramics in an oxyacetylene combustion flame

The effect of graphene on the ablation properties and microstructures of graphene reinforced SiBCN ceramics was investigated. A protective oxide layer mainly consisted of amorphous SiO2 glass and cristobalite is observed on ablation surface of all samples. Introduction of graphene provides superior thermal conductivity and a three-dimensional structure that significantly improves the ablation resistance compared to sample of SiBCN monoliths. Four ablation actions appeared to be responsible for observed ablation morphologies: oxidation of graphene and SiBCN matrix, erosion of graphene in ablation region, evaporation of gaseous products, flowing of SiO2 and B2O3 by ablation steam. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.