Thermal stability and anti-ablation performance of plasma spray coated-YSZ on Al₂TiO₅ modified novel ablative carbon-phenolic composites

Abstract Despite ongoing challenges, ablative thermal protection systems (TPS) are among the most promising methods for safeguarding spacecraft during re-entry. The polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fiber fabric(C)-reinforced with resorcinol phenol formaldehyde resin (RF) composites (C-RF) can be a potential candidate for TPS applications. This study investigates the influence of aluminium titanate (Al 2 TiO 5 /AT) and a highly efficient thermal barrier of coating (TB/TBCs) of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) powder on the thermal and ablative performance of the composites. The composites were prepared by compression moulding and YSZ was coated using plasma spray technique. Composites were produced with varying wt% of AT. Thermal stability and ablation performance of unmodified C-RF with modified YSZ-C-RF and YSZ-AT-C-RF composites were examined through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and oxyacetylene torch (OAT) test (4.0 MW m −2 for 60 s). Also, the phase composition and microstructure of the ablated surface were determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. The mass and linear ablation rates (MAR and LAR) of the composites after modifying the surface by YSZ-coatings were reduced. Furthermore, upon the introduction of AT particles and TBC of YSZ results in evidence of improving the thermal stability and the ablation resistance. The addition of 1 wt% AT particles and coating of YSZ have reduced MAR and LAR by 54.79% and 61.94%, respectively. This work offers a meaningful method to remarkably enhance the ablation performance of the modified C-RF and YSZ-AT-C-RF composites and can potentially find their application in aerospace industry.