An integrated composite with a porous Cf/C-ZrB2-SiC core between two compact outer layers of Cf/C-ZrB2-SiC and Cf/C-SiC

In order to achieve the goals of thermal protection, structure load-bearing and weight reduction of thermal protection materials, a multifunctional integrated composite is fabricated by the combination of slurry infiltration and isothermal chemical vapor infiltration, which has a porous C-f/C-ZrB2-SiC core between two outer layers of compact C-f/C-ZrB2-SiC and C-f/C-SiC. Compared to a C-f/SiC composite with a density of 2.1 g cm(-3), the material presents a low density of 1.65 g cm(-3) and a 65% lower thermal conductivity in-thickness (3.29W m(-1) K-1), while its flexural strength is 260 MPa, only 16% lower. In addition, the integrated composite exhibits a good ablation resistance with a linear ablation rate of 0.79 mu m/s for 1000 s. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.