Chemical vapor deposition of zirconium carbide alloyed isotropic carbon in a fluidized bed

Experiments have been performed to determine the effects of gas composition and temperature on the deposition rate and coat composition of ZrC alloyed carbon coats. The coating was deposited on a mixture of carbon and ThO2 spheres in a fluidized bed using a gas mixture of C3H6, H2, ZrCl4, Ar and He. Increases in temperature increased the deposition rate in the normal exponential fashion. An increase in the concentration of H2 tended to retard the deposition rate of C while increasing that of ZrC and the converse was found for C3H6 concentration. The coat composition was found to vary linearly with the ratio of H2/C3H6 and to be independent of temperature