In situ observation and measurement of composites subjected to extremely high temperature

In this work, we develop an instrument to study the ablation and oxidation process of materials such as C/SiC (carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide composites) and ultra-high temperature ceramic in extremely high temperature environment. The instrument is integrated with high speed cameras with filtering lens, infrared thermometers and water vapor generator for image capture, temperature measurement, and humid atmosphere, respectively. The ablation process and thermal shock as well as the temperature on both sides of the specimen can be in situ monitored. The results show clearly the dynamic ablation and liquid oxide flowing. In addition, we develop an algorithm for the post-processing of the captured images to obtain the deformation of the specimens, in order to better understand the behavior of the specimen subjected to high temperature.