Study on the damage effects of electron and proton combined irradiation on T700/cyanate composites

The synergistic effects of electron and proton co-irradiation with an energy of 160 keV in ultrahigh vacuum environment on T700/cyanate composites was studied through examining the alteration of their interlayer shear strength (ILSS) and mass loss. The surface molecular structure and chemical composition of T700/cyanate composites before and after co-irradiation were studied by IR and XPS, respectively. The results indicate that under low co-irradiation fluence of less than 1.0 × 1016 e(p)/cm2, the cross-linking density of cyanate in the surface layer increased with fluence, resulting in increased ILSS of the composite. However a further increase in fluence caused the ILSS to decrease. Besides surface cross-linking, co-irradiation in high vacuum broke the surface chemical bonds. As a result, the mass loss and formation of a carbon-rich layer at thesurface of T700/cyanate composites took place.