Abstract
Refractory metal carbides have been widely proven to be an effective strategy to enhance the oxidation resistance of ceramic matrix composites. The modification effect of ZrC-HfC-TaC system on cyclic oxidation and ablation behavior has rarely been explored. Herein, ZrC-HfC-TaC modified C/SiC composites were fabricated by polymer infiltration and pyrolysis and chemical vapor deposition processes. The mechanical strength, chemical composition and microstructure after cyclic static oxidation test under 1600 °C/5 h were investigated, and the corresponding oxidation mechanism was proposed according to the characterization results. The cyclic oxyacetylene torch tests under 1700 °C/4000 s were also employed to verify the effectiveness of ZrC-HfC-TaC modification on C/SiC composites. Results suggest that ZrC-HfC-TaC modified C/SiC composites possess outstanding cyclic oxidation and ablation behavior.
Science Press

Thermal structural materials with high efficiency and reliability are currently considered as the key of re-entry reusable launch vehicles across the worl
Carbon fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites, by contrast, have been considered as promising candidates for thermal protection system of aerospace vehicles because of their combination of merits like low density, superior mechanical properties and prominent oxygen resistanc
The protection effect of the silica layer, nevertheless, is limited at higher temperature due to the low melting point of silic
Regarding the reusability of ceramic matrix composite, static oxidation and oxyacetylene flame are often applied as meaningful tools to evaluate the oxidation and ablation resistance. The low air flux in static oxidation ensures that sufficient oxygen can react with composites, which is often applied to investigate the oxidation behavior and kinetics in high-temperature environment
In the present study, ZrC, HfC and TaC were introduced into the C/SiC composite through PIP process to enhance the cyclic oxidation and ablation behavior. Cyclic static oxidation (1600 °C/5 h) and oxyacetylene torch (1700 °C/4000 s) testing were conducted to investigate the influence of ZrC-HfC-TaC modification on C/SiC composites. By virtue of characterization techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), the haunting puzzles of oxidation and ablation resistance were resolved fundamentally.
Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers were employed as the reinforcements and braided into 2.5D needle-punched preforms with density of 0.40 g/c
The flexural strength was measured with the CSS44050 electronic universal testing machine, following Q/SB 513-2013 standard. The composite was cut into specimens with the size of 60 mm×9 mm×4 mm. During the bending test, the support span was 40 mm with the crosshead speed set as 0.5 mm/min. The flexural strength was calculated by
(1) |
where L, h, and b denote the span of bending test, the thickness and the width of specimens, respectively.
Oxidation behavior of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC composite was investigated by cycles of static oxidation experiments in the muffle furnace. The furnace was firstly heated to 1600 °C at the rate of 5 °C/min, and then the specimen was directly placed in the center of furnace and oxidized at 1600 °C for 5 h. The specimen was extracted from the furnace, cooled to room temperature, and transferred into the furnace for the next oxidation cycle. In order to reveal the influence of cyclic oxidation on the composites, 1600 °C/5 h cyclic static oxida-tion experiments were carried out consecutively and named as 1600 °C/5 h×1, 1600 °C/5 h×2, 1600 °C/5 h×3 and 1600 °C/ 5 h×4 successively. The changes of mass were recorded and then mass loss rates were calculated. The cyclic static oxidation experiment was designed to verify the rapid thermal shock resistance spanning from room temperature to 1600 °C.
The high-temperature ablation performance of composites was evaluated via oxyacetylene torch test facility following GJB 323A-96 standar
Rl=(l0-lt)/t | (2) |
Rm=(m0-mt)/t | (3) |
where l0 and m0, lt and mt denote the thickness and mass before and after the ablation, respectively (t represents the ablation time).
In the work, cyclic static oxidation experiments under 1600 °C/5 h were performed to investigate the influence of high-temperature oxidative environment and rapid heating-cooling process on the destruction behavior of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC composites. The optical images and the evolution of sample mass during cyclic static oxidation experiments are recorded and displayed in

Fig.1 Optical images of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC composites before and after cyclic static oxidation: (a) as-prepared, (b) 1600 °C/5 h×1,
(c) 1600 °C/5 h×2, (d) 1600 °C/5 h×3, and (e) 1600 °C/5 h×4

Fig.2 Evolution of sample mass after repeated static oxidation under 1600 °C/5 h (5h×m-n in the horizontal axis denotes the nth sample oxidized for m times)
The fracture behavior was analyzed by load-displacement curves during the three-point bending test. As displayed in

Fig.3 Flexural load-displacement curves of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC
specimens after static oxidation treatments
The microstructure of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC composites after cyclic static oxidation was characterized via cross-sectional morphologies. As shown in

Fig.4 Cross-sectional morphologies of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC composites after 1600 °C/5 h cyclic static oxidation tests: (a) as-prepared,
(b) 1600 °C/5 h×1, (c) 1600 °C/5 h×2, (d) 1600 °C/5 h×3, and (e, f) 1600 °C/5 h×4
Typical XRD analysis in

Fig.5 XRD patterns of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC composites before and after cyclic static oxidation treatments
HfxTayCz (s)+(x+1.25y+0.5z) O2 (g)→
xHfO2(s)+0.5yTa2O5 (s)+zCO (g)
HfxTayCz (s)+(x+1.25y+z) O2 (g)→
xHfO2(s)+0.5yTa2O5 (s)+zCO2 (g)
ZrC (s)+1.5O2 (g)→ZrO2 (s)+CO (g)
ZrC (s)+2O2 (g)→ZrO2 (s)+CO2 (g)
SiC (s)+1.5O2 (g)→SiO2 (s)+CO (g)
SiC (s)+2O2 (g)→SiO2 (s)+CO2 (g)
CO (g)+0.5O2 (g)→CO2 (g)
ZrO2 (s)+SiO2 (s)→ZrSiO4(s)
The SEM image combined with the corresponding EDS maps can be used to confirm the existence of oxides as shown in

Fig.6 Cross-sectional morphology and EDS mappings of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC composites after static oxidation test under 1600 °C/5 h×4
The anti-ablation property of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC compo-sites was investigated using an oxyacetylene combustion flame. Photographic images of the composites after each 1700 °C/4000 s ablation are displayed in

Fig.7 Photographs of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC composites before and after 1700 °C/4000 s oxyacetylene torch tests repeated for different cycles:
(a) as-prepared, (b) 1, (c) 2, (d) 3, (e) 4, (f) 5, (g) 6, (h) 7, (i) 8, and (j) 9
Interestingly, a clear feature of crater appears after the ninth ablation. According to the SEM image, large numbers of protuberances and grains are embedded at the edge of center region (

Fig.8 Surface SEM images of regions of C/SiC-ZrC-HfC-TaC composites marked in Fig.7j: (a) center region (I), (b) transition region (II),
(c) brim region (III), and (d) magnification of pores in the brim region
The plot of the sample mass and thickness as a function of ablation cycles are demonstrated in

Fig.9 Variation of sample thickness and mass after different cycles of oxyacetylene ablation
In order to evaluate the ablation performance of ZrC-HfC-TaC modified C/SiC composites, the detailed data of linear and mass ablation rates are calculated and summarized in
Cycle of ablation | Rl/×1 | Rm/×1 |
---|---|---|
1 | 7.5 | 20.8 |
2 | 3.8 | 8.0 |
3 | 4.8 | 2.3 |
4 | 5.9 | 1.6 |
5 | -8.3 | 1.4 |
6 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
7 | -2.6 | -10.6 |
8 | 9.6 | 16.7 |
9 | -18.2 | -21.1 |
1) The ZrC-HfC-TaC modified C/SiC composite can be fabricated via PIP and CVD processes. The composite can still maintain non-brittle fracture feature even after four cycles of 1600 °C/5 h oxidation treatments.
2) The cross-section of the ZrC-HfC-TaC modified C/SiC composite consists of two structures: one is residual ceramic matrix, and the other is oxidized structure. The ceramic matrix like SiC, ZrC, HfC and TaC is oxidized homogeneously after the static oxidation treatments.
3) After cycles of 1600 °C/5 h oxidation, the ZrC-HfC-TaC modified C/SiC composite exhibits gradual decline in strength retention rates from 82.5% to 6.1%. Moreover, 1700 °C/4000 s cyclic oxyacetylene flame combustion provides further evidence of outstanding ablation performance. The ZrC-HfC-TaC modification effectively enhances the ablation resistance of C/SiC composite.
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