Ceramic Composites of ZrB₂, HfB₂, ZrC, HfC, and SiC

Improved zirconium- and hafnium-based ceramic composites have been invented in an effort to obtain better resistance to ablation at high temperature. These ceramics are suitable for use as thermal-protection materials on the exterior surfaces of spacecraft reentering the terrestrial atmosphere, and in laboratory and industrial environments that include flows of hot oxidizing gases.