The Effect of High Temperature Annealing on the Grain Characteristics of a Thin Chemical Vapor Deposition Silicon Carbide Layer.
The unique combination of thermo-mechanical and physiochemical properties of silicon carbide (SiC) provides interest and opportunity for its use in nuclear applications. One of the applications of SiC is as a very thin layer in the TRi-ISOtropic (TRISO) coated fuel particles for high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs). This SiC layer, produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), is designed to withstand the pressures of fission and transmutation product gases in a high temperature, radiation environment. Various researchers have demonstrated that macroscopic properties can be affected by changes in the distribution of grain boundary plane orientations and misorientations [1 - 3]. Additionally, various researchers have attributed the release behavior of Ag through the SiC layer as a grain boundary diffusion phenomenon [4 - 6]; further highlighting the importance of understanding the actual grain characteristics of the SiC layer. Both historic HTGR fission product release studies and recent experiments at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) [7] have shown that the release of Ag-110m is strongly temperature dependent. Although the maximum normal operating fuel temperature of a HTGR design is in the range of 1000-1250°C, the temperature may reach 1600°C under postulated accident conditions. The aim of this specific study is therefore to determine the magnitude of temperature dependence on SiC grain characteristics, expanding upon initial studies by Van Rooyen et al, [8; 9].
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - NE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1097188
- Report Number(s):
- INL/CON-13-28419
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Microscopy & Microanalysis,Indianapolis, IN,08/04/2013,08/08/2013
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
SILICON CARBIDE GRAIN BOUNDARY DISTRIBUTIONS, IRRADIATION CONDITIONS, AND SILVER RETENTION IN IRRADIATED AGR-1 TRISO FUEL PARTICLES
Progress in Solving the Elusive Ag Transport Mechanism in TRISO Coated Particles: What is new?