Effect of interlayer on the ablation properties of laminated HfC–SiC ceramics under oxyacetylene torch

• Laminated HfC–SiC ceramics were fabricated by tape casting and hot pressing.
• The introduction of weak interlayer improved the thermal shock resistance.
• HfC–SiC/graphite ceramic showed better ablation resistance than HfC–SiC/BN ceramic.

Laminated HfC–SiC ceramics with two kinds of interlayers (BN and graphite) were successfully fabricated by tape casting and hot pressing. The ablation properties were investigated by an oxyacetylene torch. Results showed that laminated HfC–SiC ceramics exhibited an excellent thermal-oxidative and configurational stability compared with monolithic HfC–SiC ceramics because of the introduction of weak interlayer. The laminated HfC–SiC/graphite ceramics showed better ablation resistance than laminated HfC–SiC/BN ceramics. This was mainly attributed to the higher thermal conductivity of graphite than BN, resulting in the lower surface temperature of laminated HfC–SiC/graphite ceramics during ablation.