The ablation behavior of ZrB2-SiC coating prepared by shrouded plasma spray on SiC-coated graphite

ZrB2-SiC coating was generated on SiC-coated graphite using shrouded plasma spray (SPS). The samples' ablation features were assessed by an oxyacetylene torch flame. The mass and linear ablation rates of SiC coating are 2.17 x 10(-3) g s(-1) and 2.3 x 10(-3) mm s(-1), while those for ZrB2-SiC coating are as 1.67 x 10(-5) g s(-1) and 0.04 x 10(-5) mm s(-1). The ZrB2-SiC coating considerably increased the ablation resistance in comparison to the SiC coating. The ZrO2 layer was produced from ZrB2-SiC oxidation and acted as a thermal barrier. Also, this layer prevents the diffusion of more oxygen to the inner SiC layer. (c) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.