High Temperature Oxidation and Oxyacetylene Ablation Properties of ZrB2-ZrC-SiC Ultra-High Temperature Composite Ceramic Coatings Deposited on C/C Composites by Laser Cladding

In order to improve the high temperature oxidation and ablation resistance of C/C composites, ZrB2-ZrC-SiC ultra-high temperature composite ceramic coatings were prepared on C/C composites by laser cladding using Zr, B4C, and Si as raw materials. The microstructure of the coating was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Air isothermal oxidation (1600 °C, 80 min) and oxyacetylene flame ablation (2400 kW/m2, 300 s) were used to evaluate the high-temperature oxidation and ablation properties of the coating, respectively. The results show that the microstructure of laser cladding coating is a totem of black and white. The white part is mainly the first solidified high melting point ZrB2 phase, and the black part is the latter solidified eutectic structure, which is mainly composed of ZrB2(ZrB12)-ZrC or ZrB2(ZrB12)-SiC two phases. After oxidation at 1600 °C and 80 min, the coating is mainly composed of ZrO2 and ZrSiO4 phases, and ZrSiO4 is basically distributed among ZrO2 particles. The high temperature oxidation and ablation properties of the coating are better than the C/C composite matrix, and the mass ablation rate of the coating is about 1/4 of the latter.