Ablation Resistance of C/C Composites with Atmospheric Plasma-Sprayed W Coating

摘要

To improve the ablation resistance of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites, tungsten (W) coating with thickness of 1.2 mm was applied by atmospheric plasma spraying. The antiablation property of the coated composites was evaluated by oxyacetylene flame ablation experiments. The phase composition of the coating was investigated by a combination of x-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis. The ablation resistance of the coated C/C substrates was compared with that of uncoated C/C composites and C/C-CuZr composites after ablation for 30 s. The properties of the coated C/C composites after ablation time of 10, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 s were further studied. The results indicated that the mass and linear ablation rates of the W-coated C/C composites were lower than those of uncoated C/C or C/C-CuZr composites after ablation for 30 s. The coating exhibited heat stability after 120 s of ablation, with mass loss and linear ablation rates of 7.39 x 10(-3) g/s and 3.50 x 10(-3) mm/s, respectively. However, the W coating became ineffective and failed after ablation for 180 s. Three ablation regions could be identified, in which the ablation mechanism of the coating changed from thermochemical to thermophysical erosion to mechanical scouring with increasing ablation time.