Oxidation studies on TaC based ultra-high temperature ceramic composites under plasma arc jet exposure

• Processing of TaC based Ultra High Temperature Ceramic Plasma-jet exposure damage of TaC with SiC and carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforcements.
• Thermogravimetric analysis (static oxidation) complimenting damage from plasma jet exposure.
• High temperature (up to 900 °C) thermal conductivity measurement Structural stability of TaC-SiC-CNT composites via instrumented indentation testing.

An ultra-high temperature ceramic, TaC, is reinforced with SiC and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to provide protection under extreme thermal and chemical environments. High temperature performance of spark plasma sintered TaC-based composites was evaluated through plasma arc-jet exposure under heat-flux of 2.5 MW/m2 for 30 s. The composite shows a significant improvement in the oxidation resistance compared to that of TaC. Complimentarily, thermogravimetric analyses (up to 1500 °C) elicits shift in the onset temperature of oxide formation from 735 °C in TaC to 901 °C (with synergistic addition of both SiC and CNT) insinuating the enhanced thermal stability of TaC-SiC-CNT composites.

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