Laser ablation behavior and mechanism of C/SiC composite

A pulsed laser was used to investigate the ablation behavior and mechanism of C/SiC composite. The results indicated that linear ablation rate of the composite increased with increasing laser power densities and decreased with prolonged ablation time. Three ablation regions were identified on the ablated surface. The ablation center exhibited a needle-like structure with taper-ended carbon fibers standing on the ablation surface filled with some nano-structure carbon sheet. Many spheric SiC particles were deposited in the transitional zone. The ablation edge region was covered by a SiO2 layer. Furthermore, the ablation mechanisms of different regions were proposed. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.