Ablation behavior and mechanism of C/ZrC, C/ZrC–SiC and C/SiC composites fabricated by polymer infiltration and pyrolysis process

•C/ZrC, C/SiC and C/ZrC–SiC with different SiC content are fabricated by PIP process.•C/ZrC has the superior anti-ablation property but the poor anti-oxidation property.•The introduction of SiC improves oxidation resistance but degrades ablation property.•The C/ZrC–SiC with a certain content of SiC shows superiority over other composites.•A high temperature self-healing mechanism has been achieved by C/ZrC–SiC composite.