Laser Ablation Characteristics of High Thermal Conductivity C/SiC Composites

doi:10.15541/jim20260227

Abstract

Abstract: High-thermal-conductivity mesophase pitch-based carbon fiber-reinforced silicon carbide (CF_MP/SiC) composites possess excellent ablation resistance, showing great application potential in thermal protection systems of hypersonic vehicles. The unique highly oriented graphite lamellar structure of CF_MP fibers endows the material with superior thermal and mechanical properties. To clarify the ablation behavior and mechanism of CF_MP/SiC composites under extreme thermal loadings, this study systematically investigated their laser ablation responses under three power densities (5.09, 10.19, and 15.29 MW/m²) through experimental tests and finite element simulations. The temperature field evolution, surface degradation characteristics, and energy dissipation mechanism were comprehensively analyzed. Experimental results revealed that CF_MP/SiC composites exhibit lower ablation temperature, linear ablation rate and mass ablation rate as compared with conventional polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber-reinforced silicon carbide (CF_PAN/SiC) composites. Under the most severe ablation condition, the peak temperature was decreased by 161.7 ℃, with a linear ablation rate of 91.6 μm/s and a mass ablation rate of 3.26 mg/s. Morphological observations indicate that laser-induced surface damage was effectively mitigated in CF_MP/SiC composites. In the central ablation zone, carbon fibers experienced incomplete sublimation and formed a distinctive needle-bamboo microstructure with well-preserved preferred orientation. The transition zone was dominated by granular SiC deposition, while a dense and continuous SiO₂ oxide layer formed on the edge region. Simulation results further reveal that the high thermal conductivity of CF_MP/SiC composites effectively redistributes concentrated heat from the irradiation area to the surrounding regions. Such heat dispersion restrains local temperature accumulation and alleviates surface ablation damage, which demonstrates the superior ablation resistance of CF_MP/SiC composites. This work provides a reliable reference for the structural design and performance optimization of high-performance thermal protection materials.

Key words: C/SiC composite, mesophase pitch-based carbon fiber, ablation resistance, thermal conductivity

CLC Number:

TB332

LIU Haonan, YU Yiping, FANG Bing, LI Wei, WANG Song. Laser Ablation Characteristics of High Thermal Conductivity C/SiC Composites[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, DOI: 10.15541/jim20260227.

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