Ablation Performance of Carbon/Carbon Composite Throat after a Solid Rocket Motor Ground Ignition Test

The ablation performances of a fine-woven, pierced carbon/carbon (C/C) composite throats for solid rocket motor were investigated by a ground ignition test. The ablation surface morphologies of three regions (entrance, throat and exit) of the throats were examined in detail by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the C/C composite throats retain smooth inner surface, experiencing ablation rates of 0.142–0.146 mm/s under a pressure of about 6.0 MPa. But ablation morphologies of the three regions are different, due to the continuously changing of temperatures, velocities, and oxidant concentrations of combustion gas plume.