The ablation behavior of ZrB₂/Cu composite irradiated by high-intensity continuous laser

Ultra high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) based composite ZrB₂/20vol.% Cu was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1650C° for 3min. The ablation behavior of composite irradiated for 2-20s by 20MW/m² high-intensity continuous laser was investigated. The phase and microstructure evolution of ZrB₂/20vol.% Cu during ablation was demonstrated by XRD and SEM, respectively. The results reveal that no macroscopic damage but only one ablated layer with 40μm in thickness is observed even after being ablated for 20s. It implies that ZrB₂/20vol.% Cu composite exhibits good ablation resistance against high-intensity continuous laser. The continuous Cu in composite evaporates preferentially, which impacts on the following ablation behavior. The generated ZrO₂ at the spot center shows different forms such as closely packed nano-ZrO₂, micron ZrO₂ or melting ZrO₂ for different ablation time. The melting ZrO₂ is helpful to promote the ablation resistance of ZrB₂/20vol.% Cu.