Radiation Tolerance of Silicon Carbide Joints at LWR Relevant Temperature

Journal Article · Wed Jun 15 04:00:00 EDT 2016 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:22992107

Koyanagi, Takaaki; Katoh, Yutai; Kiggans, James O. ^[1]; Hinoki, Tatsuya ^[2]; Back, Christina A. ^[3]

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1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831 (United States)
2. Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Koyto, 611-0011 (Japan)
3. General Atomics, 3483 Dunhill Street, San Diego, CA 92121 (United States)

The development of reliable joints in reactor service conditions is a critical requirement for SiC based accident tolerant fuels and core structures for light water reactor (LWR) applications. The effects of neutron irradiation on the mechanical properties is an important consideration under normal operation. Though various SiC joints retained the strength following neutron irradiation at ∼500 and ∼800 deg. C to ∼3 dpa, the irradiation tolerance of the joints at the LWR relevant temperature is still an unknown. This study presents the strengths of the candidate SiC joints following irradiation at ∼300 deg. C. The bonding strength was investigated using torsional shear testing which was developed for miniature irradiation specimens in previous work. Torsional shear strengths of various SiC joints were evaluated following irradiation at 270-310 deg. C to 8.7 dpa. Strength degradation by the irradiation likely occurred in the Mo diffusion bond. No obvious strength degradation was found in the MAX phase and hybrid polymer/CVD joints. The irradiation caused large deviation of the strength of Ti diffusion bond, TEP slurry and tape joints. The cause of this deviation will be investigated based on microstructural analysis in future work. (authors)

• OSTI ID: 22992107
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 114; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
42 ENGINEERING
ACCIDENT-TOLERANT NUCLEAR FUELS
ATOMIC DISPLACEMENTS
CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION
DIFFUSION
IRRADIATION
MICROSTRUCTURE
POLYMERS
SHEAR
SHEAR PROPERTIES
SILICON CARBIDES
TESTING
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS