The ablation behavior of ZrB2/Cu composite irradiated by high-intensity continuous laser

Ultra high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) based composite ZrB2/20 vol.% Cu was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1650 C° for 3 min. The ablation behavior of composite irradiated for 2–20 s by 20 MW/m2 high-intensity continuous laser was investigated. The phase and microstructure evolution of ZrB2/20 vol.% Cu during ablation was demonstrated by XRD and SEM, respectively. The results reveal that no macroscopic damage but only one ablated layer with 40 μm in thickness is observed even after being ablated for 20 s. It implies that ZrB2/20 vol.% Cu composite exhibits good ablation resistance against high-intensity continuous laser. The continuous Cu in composite evaporates preferentially, which impacts on the following ablation behavior. The generated ZrO2 at the spot center shows different forms such as closely packed nano-ZrO2, micron ZrO2 or melting ZrO2 for different ablation time. The melting ZrO2 is helpful to promote the ablation resistance of ZrB2/20 vol.% Cu.