Experimental study on the impact resistance of 2D plain-woven C/SiC composite

As a typical ceramic-matrix composite, the C/SiC composite has been widely applied in the Thermal Protective Structure (TPS) of spacecraft, which will inevitably suffer the external impact in service. In this work, the impact resistance of 2D plain-woven C/SiC composite and 2A12 Aluminum alloy plates have been studied. The damage mechanisms under impact load are investigated by measuring the free surface velocity, recording the debris clouds and metering the damage areas of the target plates. Experimental results indicate that the damage of C/SiC composite is just confined in a local area around the impact point, and the critical penetrating energy of 3 mm C/SiC plate is assessed to be 2.66 J. In addition, we found fiber fracture and matrix powdering are the two major energy conversion forms. All these results can provide useful reference to obtain the dynamic response of C/SiC composite and to further design heat-resistant performance of the damaged TPS.