Zirconium diboride (ZrB₂) is a ceramic material possessing ultra-high melting temperatures. As such, this compound could be useful in the construction of thermal protection systems for aerospace applications. This work addresses a primary shortcoming of this material, namely its propensity to destructively oxidize at high temperatures, as well as secondary issues concerning its heat transport properties.To characterize and improve oxidation properties, thermogravimetric studies were per- formed using a specially constructed experimental setup. ZrB₂-SiC two-phase ceramic composites were isothermally oxidized for ∼90 min in flowing air in the range 1500-1900°C. Specimens with 30 mol% SiC formed distinctive reaction product layers which were highly protective; 28 mol% SiC - 6 mol% TaB₂ performed similarly. At higher temperatures, specimens containing lower amounts of SiC were shown to be non-protective, whereas specimens containing greater amounts of SiC produced unstable oxide layers due to gas evolution. Oxide coating thicknesses calculated from weight loss data were consistent with those measured from SEM micrographs. In order to characterize one aspect of the materials' heat transport properties, the thermal diffusivities of ZrB₂-SiC composites were measured using the laser flash technique. These were converted to thermal conductivities using temperature dependent specific heat and density data; thermal conductivity decreased with increasing temperature over the range 25-2000°C. The composition with the highest SiC content showed the highest thermal conductivity at room temperature, but the lowest at temperatures in excess of ∼400°C, because of the greater temperature sensitivity of the thermal conductivity of the SiC phase, as compared to more electrically-conductive ZrB₂. Subsequent finite difference calculations were good predictors of multi-phase thermal conductvities for the compositions examined. The thermal conductivities of pure ZrB₂ as a function of temperature were back-calculated from the experimental results for the multi-phase materials, and literature thermal conductivities of the other two phases. This established a relatively constant thermal conductivity of 88-104 W/m·K over the evaluated temperature range. Further heat transport characterization was performed using pre-oxidized, directly resistively heated ZrB₂-30 mol% SiC ribbon specimens under the observation of a spectral radiometer. The ribbons were heated and held at specific temperatures over the range 1100- 1330°C in flowing Ar, and normal spectral emittance values were recorded over the 1-6 μm range with a resolution of 10 nm. The normal spectral emittance was shown to decrease with loss of the borosilicate layer over the course of the data collection time periods. This change was measured and compensated for to produce traces showing the emittance of the oxidized composition rising from ∼0.7 to ∼0.9 over the range of wavelengths measured.

Avec l’augmentation de la température, certains composés oxydes, transparents dans le proche infrarouge, deviennent progressivement opaques à l’approche de la fusion. Un tel comportement est inhabituel et impacte profondément leurs propriétés radiatives. Afin de comprendre ce phénomène, des mesures par spectroscopie d’émission infrarouge ont été effectuées depuis la température ambiante jusqu’à la fusion sur plusieurs oxydes cristallins (Mg2SiO4, LiAlO2, LiGaO2, ZnO, YAlO3, LaAlO3, LiNbO3, MgO). Ces données ont été complétées ponctuellement par des mesures de conductivité électriques, de RMN et de diffraction des rayons X en température. L’analyse des données expérimentales du facteur d’émission menée à l’aide d’un modèle de fonction diélectrique semi-quantique et incluant un terme de Drude étendu, a permis de caractériser finement la réponse de ces matériaux et de proposer une origine physique pour le mécanisme responsable de l’opacification. Le phénomène est thermiquement activé et peut être expliqué par la formation et la mobilité de polarons. Ce travail a également montré l’existence d’un lien étroit entre la microstructure des composés et les caractéristiques de l’opacification. / With increasing temperature, some oxide compounds that are transparent in the near infrared range become progressively opaque when approaching the liquid phase. Such a behavior is unusual and deeply impacts their thermal radiative properties. To understand this phenomenon, infrared emittance spectra were acquired from room temperature up to the liquid state on several crystalline oxides (Mg2SiO4, LiAlO2, LiGaO2, ZnO, YAlO3, LaAlO3, LiNbO3, MgO). These data have been selectively completed by electrical conductivity measurements, NMR and X-ray diffraction experiments versus temperature. The analysis of the experimental emittance data with a semi-quantum dielectric function model including an extended Drude term, allowed to characterize finely the material responses and to suggest a physical origin for the opacification mechanism. The phenomenon is thermally activated and can be explained by the formation and the mobility of polarons. This work also showed the existence of a close link between the material microstructure and the characteristics of the opacification.