Protection against the oxidation of composite materials containing carbon

1. A method of protecting a part made of porous materials containing carbon against oxidation when in use, including the presence of at least one alkali element M that catalyses the oxidation of carbon, the element M being selected from the group consisting of sodium and potassium, the method comprising impregnating the part with an impregnation composition in an aqueous medium free of titanium diboride and containing, in percentages by weight:

20% to 40% aluminum phosphate;

5% to 20% elemental titanium powder;

5% to 20% elemental boron powder;

5% to 20% of a potassium salt or a sodium salt; and

water,

to form in the presence of oxygen and of said at least one alkali element M that catalyses the oxidation of carbon, at least one P—O—Ti-M type association bonded by boron oxide B 2 O 3 and trapping the at least one element M.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein after impregnation, heat treatment is performed at a temperature lying in the range 350° C. to 750° C.

3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the impregnation composition contains refractory solid fillers.

4. A method according to claim 1 , further including a preliminary stage of treating the part with a solution containing a surface active agent and drying it so as to confer wettability to the composite material that is increased by the presence of the surface active agent.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the impregnation composition is selected to be sufficiently stable to be capable of being conserved for several tens of hours without an increase in viscosity.

6. The method accordingly to claim 1 further comprising preparing the impregnation composition without producing irritating or nauseating gases.