A zirconium carbide coating on graphite prepared by reactive melt infiltration

Abstract

A dense ZrC coating with the thickness of 130 μm is prepared on graphite by reactive melt infiltration. XRD and SEM analyses show that the phase composition of the coating is ZrC and it adheres well with the substrate. The influence of ZrC coating on mechanical properties of the graphite was investigated by compression tests and the results show that after the coating process, the compression strength of the coated sample is improved by 13.64% as compared with graphite sample. The improvement of the compression strength for ZrC coated sample can be associated to the increased density and the ZrC particle reinforcement due to the infiltration and reaction of the melted Zr with carbon substrate in the coating process.

Keywords

graphite / compression strength / coating / ZrC

References

[1] HuangM, LiK-z, LiH-j, FuQ-g, SunG-dong. Si-Al-Ir oxidation resistant coating for carbon/carbon composites by slurry dipping [J]. J Mater Sci Technol, 2009, 25(3): 344-346

[2] YangX, HuangQ-z, ZouY-h, ChangX, SuZ-a, ZhangM-y, XieZ-yong. Anti-oxidation behavior of chemical vapor reaction SiC coatings on different carbon materials at high temperatures [J]. Trans Nonferrous Met Soc China, 2009, 19(5): 1044-1050

[3] YangX, ZouY-h, HuangQ-z, SuZ-a, ChangX, ZhangM-y, XiaoYong. Improved oxidation resistance of chemical vapor reaction SiC coating modified with silica for carbon/carbon composites [J]. Journal of Central South University of Technology, 2010, 17(1): 1-6

[4] OpekaM M, TalmyI G, ZaykoskiJ A. Oxidation-based materials selection for 2000 °C+hypersonic aerosurfaces: Theoretical considerations and historical experience [J]. Journal of Materials Science, 2004, 39(19): 5587-5904

[5] WangY, XuY-d, WangY-g, ChengL-f, ZhangL-tong. Effects of TaC addition on the ablation resistance of C/SiC [J]. Materials Letters, 2010, 64(19): 2068-2071

[6] YangX, HuangQ-z, ChangX, SuZ-a, ZhangM-y, ZhouL-p, JinG-yin. Preparation of ZrC-SiC multi-coating on graphite with ZrSiO₄ powder via pack cementation [J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2010, 251: 41-46

[7] ZouL H, WaliN, YangJ M, BansalN P, YanD. Microstructural characterization of a Cf/ZrC composite manufactured by reactive melt infiltration [J]. Int J Appl Ceram Technol, 2011, 8(2): 329-341

[8] TongY-g, BaiS-x, ChenKe. C/C-ZrC composite prepared by chemical vapor infiltration combined with alloyed reactive melt infiltration [J]. Ceramics International, 2012, 38(7): 5723-5730

[9] SayirA. Carbon fiber reinforced hafnium carbide composite [J]. Journal of Materials Science, 2004, 39(19): 5995-6003

[10] LiG-d, XiongX, HuangB-yun. Microstructure characteristic and formation mechanism of crackfree TaC coating on C/C composite [J]. Trans Nonferrous Met Soc China, 2005, 15(6): 1206-1213

[11] HeH-w, ZhouK-c, XiongX, HuangB-yun. Investigation on decomposition mechanism of tantalum ethylate precursor during formation of TaC on C/C composite material [J]. Materials Letters, 2006, 60(28): 3409-3412

[12] ChenZ-k, XiongX, LiG-d, SunW, LongYing. Texture structure and ablation behavior of TaC coating on carbon/carbon composites [J]. Applied Surface Science, 2010, 257(2): 656-661

[13] WangY-j, LiH-j, FuQ-g, WuH, YaoD-j, WeiB-bo. Ablative property of HfC-based multilayer coating for C/C composites under oxy-acetylene torch [J]. Applied Surface Science, 2011, 257(10): 4760-4763

[14] WangY-l, XiongX, LiG-d, ZhangH-b, ChenZ-k, SunW, ZhaoX-jia. Microstructure and ablation behavior of hafnium carbide coating for carbon/carbon composites [J]. Surface & Coatings Technology, 2012, 206(11/12): 2825-2832

[15] HanW-b, WangZhi. Fabrication and oxidation behavior of a reaction derived graphite-ZrC composite for ultrahigh temperature applications [J]. Materials Letters, 2009, 63(24/25): 2175-2177

[16] ZhaoD, ZhangC-r, HuH-f, ZhangY-di. Ablation behavior and mechanism of 3D C/ZrC composite in oxyacetylene torch environment [J]. Composites Science and Technology, 2011, 71(11): 1392-1396

[17] LiQ-g, DongS-m, WangZ, HeP, ZhouH-j, YangJ-s, WuB, HuJ-bao. Fabrication and properties of 3-D Cf/SiC-ZrC composites, using ZrC precursor and polycarbosilane [J]. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 2012, 95(4): 1216-1219

[18] WonY S, VaranasiV G, KrylioukO, AndersonT J, Mcelwee-whiteL, PerezR J. Equilibrium analysis of zirconium carbide CVD growth [J]. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2007, 307(2): 302-308

[19] WangY-g, LiuQ-m, LiuJ-l, ZhangL-t, ChengL-fei. Deposition mechanism for chemical vapor deposition of zirconium carbide coatings [J]. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 2008, 91(4): 1249-1252

[20] ParkJ H, JungC H, KimD J, ParkJ Y. Temperature dependency of the LPCVD growth of ZrC with the ZrCl4-CH4-H2 system [J]. Surface & Coatings Technology, 2008, 203(3/4): 324-328

[21] SunW, XiongX, HuangB-y, LiG-d, ZhangH-b, ChenZ-k, ZhengX-Lin. ZrC ablation protective coating for carbon/carbon composites [J]. Carbon, 2009, 47(14): 3368-3371

[22] WenG, SuiS H, SongL, WangX Y, XiaL. Formation of ZrC ablation protective coatings on carbon material by tungsten inert gas cladding technique [J]. Corrosion Science, 2010, 52(9): 3018-3022

[23] ZhuQ-s, QiuX-l, MaC-wen. Oxidation resistant SiC coating for graphite materials [J]. Carbon, 1999, 37(9): 1475-1484

[24] HuangJ-f, ZengX-R, LiH-J, XiongX-B, FuY-wei. Influence of the preparation temperature on the phase, microstructure and anti-oxidation property of a SiC coating for C/C composites [J]. Carbon, 2004, 42(8/9): 1517-1521

[25] ZhaoJ, WangG, GuoQ-g, LiuLang. Microstructure and property of SiC coating for carbon materials [J]. Fusion Engineering and Design, 2007, 82(7): 363-368