SiC layer microstructure in AGR-1 and AGR-2 TRISO fuel particles and the influence of its variation on the effective diffusion of key fission products

Gerczak, Tyler J.; Hunn, John D.; Lowden, Richard A.; Allen, Todd R.

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2016.08.011

Title: SiC layer microstructure in AGR-1 and AGR-2 TRISO fuel particles and the influence of its variation on the effective diffusion of key fission products

Journal Article · Mon Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2016.08.011· OSTI ID:1325469

^[1]; Hunn, John D. ^[1]; Lowden, Richard A. ^[2]; Allen, Todd R. ^[3]

Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Fusion and Materials for Nuclear Systems Division
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Materials Science & Technology Division
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Dept. of Engineering Physics

Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coated particle fuel is a promising fuel form for advanced reactor concepts such as high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR) and is being developed domestically under the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Reactor Technologies Initiative in support of Advanced Reactor Technologies. The fuel development and qualification plan includes a series of fuel irradiations to demonstrate fuel performance from the laboratory to commercial scale. The first irradiation campaign, AGR-1, included four separate TRISO fuel variants composed of multiple, laboratory-scale coater batches. The second irradiation campaign, AGR-2, included TRISO fuel particles fabricated by BWX Technologies with a larger coater representative of an industrial-scale system. The SiC layers of as-fabricated particles from the AGR-1 and AGR-2 irradiation campaigns have been investigated by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to provide key information about the microstructural features relevant to fuel performance. The results of a comprehensive study of multiple particles from all constituent batches are reported. The observations indicate that there were microstructural differences between variants and among constituent batches in a single variant. Finally, insights on the influence of microstructure on the effective diffusivity of key fission products in the SiC layer are also discussed.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; 11–2988

OSTI ID:: 1325469

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1359436

Journal Information:: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 480, Issue C; ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 20 works

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Cited By (1)

Effect of palladium on the microstructure and grain boundary complexions in SiC Navarro‐Solís, David J.; Cancino‐Trejo, Félix; López‐Honorato, Eddie Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol. 102, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.16622	journal	May 2019

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