Ablation tests on HfC- and TaC-based ceramics for aeropropulsive applications

HfC- and TaC-based composite materials containing 15 vol% MoSi2 as sintering aid were selected for their excellent combination of ceramic and metallic properties to produce simple shaped prototypes for ablation tests in a mixture of oxygen/butane/propane at temperatures between 1300 °C and 1900 °C. The ablation resistance of the HfC- and TaC-based models was compared to that of graphite models. SEM analysis of the sample surfaces and sections was conducted to analyze the material degradation. The composites have a superior ablation resistance compared to graphite, showing only slight surface oxidation and weight variation for temperatures above 1700 °C.