Optimization of the curing process of phenolic impregnated carbon ablator

Phenolic impregnated carbon ablator (PICA), which is composed of the phenolic resin (PR) and carbon fiber, is of particular interest to researchers in the aerospace field. In this work, PICA was prepared by the double‐stage isothermal heating curing method and the curing process of PICA was optimized based on non‐isothermal differential scanning calorimetry, extrapolation method and orthogonal experiment. Orthogonal array chose the standard L9 (34). The results show that the optimum curing process of PICA is 120 °C 1 h + 170 °C 1 h, based on considering the better compressive property as the standard. And the results of the Fourier transform infrared spectra indicate that the more dimethylene ether groups result in the higher compressive strength of PICA cured at 120 °C 1 h + 170 °C 1 h. The existence of the more dimethylene ether groups can increase the amount of gases generated and bring off more heat during the ablative process of materials. This may provide a new vision for improve the ablative property of materials.