Oxidation behaviour and residual mechanical properties of carbon/carbon composites

Carbon/carbon composites are widely used in re-entry engineering applications thanks to their excellent mechanical properties at high temperatures, but they are easily oxidized in the oxygenated atmosphere. It is important to research their residual mechanical properties influenced by oxidation behaviour, in order to ensure the in-service safety. A microscale degradation model is proposed to predict the oxidation behavior based on the mass conservation and diffusion equations, the derived equivalent steady recession rate of composite is employed to evaluate the residual mechanical properties of the oxidized composite theoretically. A numerical strategy is proposed to investigate the oxidation mechanism of this composite. The differences in the degradation rate between the fiber and the matrix resulted in the steady state and an unchanged shape of the front. Residual mechanical properties of composite with three different domains of oxidation were simulated with a multiscale coupled model. The numerical results demonstrated that the mechanical properties of this composite decreased by 24–32% after oxidation for 30 min at 850 °C. Oxidation also caused the stress redistribution inside components, with the stress concentration diminishing their load-bearing capacity. The local areas of increased stress in the pyrocarbon matrix provided new ways for diffusion of oxygen into the pyrocarbon matrix and fibers. Graphical abstract