In-situ constructing SiC frame in silicone rubber to fabricate novel flexible thermal protective polymeric materials with excellent ablation resistance

To meet the urgent need for thermal protection of high-temperature deformable mechanisms in the aerospace industry, a novel strategy for the preparation of ablation-resistant flexible composites is proposed. Ceramic precursor is selected and introduced to epoxy modified silicone rubber (SR) to in-situ build SiC frame at high temperature to fabricate flexible thermal protective polymeric materials with excellent ablation resistance. The static ablation and dynamic ablation behaviors of the SR composites are systematically and comparatively investigated in a tube furnace and oxyacetylene torch in an automatic ablation machine for the first time. The influence of polycarbonylsilane (PCS) content on the microstructure, strength and composition of char layer, and the ablation properties at different heat environments are discussed. When the addition of PCS reached 10 phr, for the static ablation, the maximum puncture strength of char and the residual weight increased 3233% and 48.48%, respectively. The same for dynamic ablation, with the introduction of PCS, each indicator was greatly improved. Moreover, the ablation enhancement mechanisms of PCS in different ablation environments are revealed. This work may provide a new perspective for the preparation of silicone rubber composites with excellent ablation performance, expected to be well used as a thermal protection coating for hypersonic spacecrafts. [Display omitted] •In-situ construction of SiC frame in silicone rubber during ablation via introducing ceramic precursor.•SiC frame benefits to the strength of char layer.•PCS enhances the thermal protection performance in both static and dynamic ablation.