Preparation and ablation properties of Hf(Ta)C co-deposition coating for carbon/carbon composites

Continuous, uniform Hf(Ta)C coating was co-deposited on carbon/carbon composites by chemical vapor deposition. The phase composition, microstructure and ablation properties of the Hf(Ta)C coating are investigated. Results show that the as-prepared coating is a biphasic coating consisting of HfC and HfTaC2. The particle-stacked structure is effective to produce a crack free Hf(Ta)C coating and good adhesion between the coating and C/C composites. The Hf(Ta)C coating can effectively protect C/C composites from ablation. After 60 s ablation, the mass and linear ablation rates of coated sample are 0.01 +/- 0.02 mg cm(-2) s(-1) and 0.46 +/- 0.02 mu m s(-1), respectively. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.