Ablation behavior under oxyacetylene torch of ZrC coating modified by SiC/TaC nanocomposites

Plasma-sprayed ZrC coating modified by polymer-derived SiC/TaC nanocomposite was prepared on SiC-coated carbon/carbon composites to improve the long-life ablation resistance ability. In terms of the modifiers in coatings, the SiC/TaC nanocomposites were more stable without being oxidized or molted obviously owing to the “TaC embedded in SiC” nanostructure. The thickness increase rate of SiC/TaC modified coating decreased by 41% compared with ZrC-SiC-TaC coating after ablation for 180 s. The improved ablation resistance was attributed to the thermally grown Zr₆Ta₂O₁₇ and Ta₂O₅, which inhibited crack propagation and promoted ZrO₂ sintering, forming a dense and protective layer.