Ablation behavior of graphene reinforced SiBCN ceramics in an oxyacetylene combustion flame

The effect of graphene on the ablation properties and microstructures of graphene reinforced SiBCN ceramics was investigated. A protective oxide layer mainly consisted of amorphous SiO2 glass and cristobalite is observed on ablation surface of all samples. Introduction of graphene provides superior thermal conductivity and a three-dimensional structure that significantly improves the ablation resistance compared to sample of SiBCN monoliths. Four ablation actions appeared to be responsible for observed ablation morphologies: oxidation of graphene and SiBCN matrix, erosion of graphene in ablation region, evaporation of gaseous products, flowing of SiO2 and B2O3 by ablation steam.