Thermal oxidation and compressive failure behavior of ZrSi2–B4C modified phenolic resin-based composite

Phenolic resin-based ablative materials have gained significant attention in the aerospace sector in recent years. In this study, TGA-DSC, FT-IR, XRD and XPS were employed to the thermal stability and phase transformation of the ZrSi2–B4C modified quartz fiber/boron containing phenolic resin (QF/BPR) composite. The compressive failure behavior of the composite at 600–1200 °C was studied through SEM and high-speed camera techniques. The results indicated that the compression strength of the composite decreased to a minimum at 600 °C and increased at 800–1200 °C. The composite exhibited different failure modes at different temperature: shear fracture at room temperature (RT), debonding of the fiber bundles at 600 °C, fiber buckling and fiber shear fracture at 800 °C, fiber buckling and delamination at 1000–1200 °C. The improvement in thermal stability of composite was primarily attributed to the formation of ZrO2, SiO2 and B2O3, which covered the fiber and effectively transmitted the load, leading to an enhanced strength of the interface between the fiber and resin.