Synthesis and ultra-high temperature ablation behavior of a ZrC/Cr2AlC composite

This work reports on the fabrication and high temperature ablation property of a new ZrC/Cr2AlC composite. The ZrC/Cr2AlC composite was obtained by hot pressing a mixture of 15 vol% ZrC and 85 vol% Cr2AlC powders at 1300 °C with 20 MPa for 1 h in Ar atmosphere. The composite had a flexural strength of 622 MPa, higher than 400 MPa for Cr2AlC. The high temperature ablation behavior of the composite was investigated using the oxyacetylene torch ablation test. During oxyacetylene torch testing, the composite underwent a series of thermal decomposition and oxidation. Microstructure and composition of the synthesized composite before and after the ablation test were characterized with scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry techniques.