Ablation behavior and mechanism of boron nitride - magnesium aluminum silicate ceramic composites in an oxyacetylene combustion flame

In the present study, ablation behavior and properties of BN-MAS (magnesium aluminum silicate) composites impinged with an oxyacetylene flame at temperatures up to 3100 degrees C were investigated. As ablation time ranged from 5 to 30 s, the mass and linear ablation rates increased from 0.0027 g/s and 0.001 mm/s to 0.0254 g/s and 0.087 mm/s, respectively. A SiO2-rich protective oxide layer formed during the ablation process, which contributed to the oxidation resistance of the composites. Ablation products mainly consisted of magnesium-aluminum borosilicate glass, mullite, spinel and indialite. The thermal oxidation of h-BN during flame ablation and scouring of MAS by high-speed gas flow were the main ablation mechanisms.