Microstructural and interfacial degradation of carbon/carbon composites during high-temperature oxidation and its impact on wear behavior

Abstract

The degradation of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites induced by oxidation is a major limiting factor for reliability under high temperature conditions. Antioxidation coatings are typically applied to protect C/C composites from oxygen ingress. However, cracks and local failure often occur due to thermal expansion mismatch during rapid heating and cyclic loading, allowing oxygen to penetrate the substrate. In this study, the effects of oxidation on the microstructural, mechanical, and wear properties of C/C composites were systematically investigated, with a representative antioxidation coating used for comparison. The results indicate that oxidation preferentially initiates at the fiber/matrix interface, resulting in carbon consumption and the formation of a porous degradation zone. Interface degradation reduces the interfacial shear strength by approximately 50% and leads to a ∼30% decrease in the flexural strength of the composite, along with a ∼17% reduction in nano-hardness. Under friction loading, interface debonding causes a ∼59% increase in the representative wear test and promotes material spallation. Although coated samples show superior oxygen blocking and better interfacial integrity than uncoated oxidized ones, their wear rate remains slightly higher than that of unoxidized materials. An oxidation-interfacial degradation - wear transition mechanism is presented, highlighting that fiber/matrix interface degradation is the primary cause of oxidation-induced failure and wear deterioration.

Keywords

carbon/carbon composites / oxidation behavior / fiber/matrix interface / interfacial degradation / wear mechanism

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