Complex Protective Coatings for Graphite and Carbon-Carbon Composite Materials

The objective of this review is to present the results on the production techniques, process parameters and compositions of heat-resistant coatings for graphite and carbon-carbon composites. The data reported concern the resistance of such protective coatings in air at temperatures up to 2273 K and in the high-speed flows of oxidizing gas media taking place in the spacecraft equipment. Coatings of this type, generally, have a multilayer structure based on the refractory compounds such as carbides, borides, silicides of transition metals and oxides with a high melting temperature. An efficient heat-resistant coating for carbon-based materials should be composed of three layers from which each fulfills its own function. The paper presents a new complex method for formation of heat-resistant coatings on the carbon-based materials. The method combines the vacuum-activated diffusion saturation in the presence of a liquid-phase and self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) simultaneously.

CHANGES OF STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF POLY (ETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE) CAUSED BY IN-SITU POLYMERIZATION OF PYRROLE

Conductive polymer composites based on crystalline polymer matrix have been prepared by using an in-situ polymerization process of pyrrole in amorphous poly （ethylene terephthalate） （PET） film. The DSC and WAXD measurement and SEM observation show that liquid-induced crystallization of PET matrix has occurred during the preparation of composite films. Depending upon the equilibrium degree of swelling and crystallinity, the limited depth of penetration of pyrrole molecules results in a skin-core structure of the composite film. The skin layer containing charge transfer intercalated polypyrrole has a surface resistance of 3.5×10;Ω. Rigid and heat-resistant polypyrrole molecules formed in PET film increase the tensile modulus and, especially, the rigidity of PET at elevated temperatures. However, they decrease the tensile strength and elongation at break, and impair the thermal ductility of PET.

Approximants in annealed IQC(Icosahedral Quasicrystal)-DQC(Decagonal Quasicrystal) pseudo-binary alloys

The structure and microstructure of constituent phases in annealed IQC100-xDQCx alloys, made from mixtures of (Al62Cu25.5Fe12.5) icosahedral quasicrystal （IQC） and (Al70Co15Ni15) decagonal quasicrystal （DQC）, were studied by X-ray diffractometry（XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDAX）. These constituent phases are mostly approximants: λ, β and τ3. In addition, an Al-Cu-Co DQC phase is observed in (IQC80DQC20) alloy. The nature of these approximants and their relationship with the quasicrystals（QCs） are discussed; and the evolution of these phases is interpreted by the shifting of their e/a-constant lines in the Al-（Cu, Ni）-（Fe, Co） pseudo-ternary phase diagrams.

Advances on strategies for searching for next generation thermal barrier coating materials

Thermal barrier coating(TBC) materials play important roles in gas turbine engines to protect the Nibased super-alloys from the high temperature airflow damage. High melting point, ultra-low thermal conductivity, large thermal expansion coefficient, excellent damage tolerance and moderate mechanical properties are the main requirements of promising TBC materials. In order to improve the efficiency of jet and/or gas turbine engines, which is the key of improved thrust-to-weight ratios and the energysaving, significant efforts have been made on searching for enhanced TBC materials. Theoretically, density functional theory has been successfully used in scanning the structure and properties of materials, and at the same time predicting the mechanical and thermal properties of promising TBC materials for high and ultrahigh temperature applications, which are validated by subsequent experiments. Experimentally,doping and/or alloying are also widely applied to further decrease their thermal conductivities. Now, the strategy through combining theoretical calculations and experiments on searching for next generation thermal insulator materials is widely adopted. In this review, the common used techniques and the recent advantages on searching for promising TBC materials in both theory and experiments are summarized.

Shear anisotropy： Tuning high temperature metal hexaborides from soft to extremely hard

Easy machining into sharp lending edge, nose tip and complex shape components plays a pivotal role in the application of ultrahigh temperature ceramics in hypersonic vehicles, wherein low and controllable hardness is a necessary parameter to ensure the easy machinability. However, the mechanism that driving the hardness of metal hexaborides is not clear. Here, using a combination of the empirical hardness model for polycrystalline materials and density functional theory investigation, the hardness dependence on shear anisotropic factors of high temperature metal hexaborides has been established. It has come to light that through controlling the shear anisotropic factors the hardness of polycrystalline metal hexaborides can be tailored from soft and ductile to extremely hard and brittle, which is underpinned by the degree of chemical bonding anisotropy, i.e., the difference of B-B bond within the B;octahedron and that connecting the B;octahedra.