Characterization of SiC–SiC composites for accident tolerant fuel cladding

Deck, Christian P.; Jacobsen, George M.; Sheeder, J.; Gutierrez, O.; Zhang, J.; Stone, Joshua; Khalifa, H. Ezzat; Back, C. A.

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2015.08.020

Cited by 184 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Together, the hermeticity and fracture response of the CMCs illuminated in these bending experiments (Figure ) fits well within previously described failure behavior as governed by CMC architecture . This behavior appears to fit into four stages.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…While there are several leading, material‐based solutions addressing concerns with current fuel claddings, one of the more auspicious and heavily investigated is silicon carbide (SiC) continuous fiber‐reinforced SiC matrix (SiC/SiC) composites. SiC ceramic matrix composites (CMC) are favored due to their high temperature strength, chemical inertness, irradiation tolerance, and improved damage tolerance, all of which indicate a general compatibility with the harsh environment within a nuclear reactor . Furthermore, SiC CMCs have been rigorously tested within the aerospace community, where high temperature properties and corrosion resistance are critical requirements of many materials .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unveiling hermetic failure of ceramic tubes by digital image correlation and acoustic emission

et al. 2019

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A new, in situ hermeticity testing apparatus has been developed to allow helium leak evaluation of ceramic tubes, including nuclear‐grade SiC/SiC fuel cladding ceramic matrix composites (CMC), during four‐point bending with simultaneous monitoring of local deformation and damage, using stereoscopic digital image correlation (DIC) and acoustic emissions. The capabilities of the experimental apparatus are demonstrated using alumina, borosilicate glass, and 4130 steel tubes with representative cladding dimensions and then applied to study the deformation‐hermeticity relationship of SiC/SiC CMCs. Results of three CMCs appear to indicate that matrix cracking occurs near the deviation from linearity strain at strains ranging from 0.04% to 0.06% and is shortly followed by an initial loss of gas tightness by 0.09% bending strain. Leaking increased in distinct steps over 0.1%‐0.2% bending strain, and within this range, results indicate that prior to fiber fracture, it is likely possible to regain gas tightness upon unloading. This technique and uncovered hermetic failure behavior are intended to progress the standardization of a test methodology for nuclear reactor components and to begin to resolve the mechanisms controlling distinct steps of ceramic matrix composite failure.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unveiling hermetic failure of ceramic tubes by digital image correlation and acoustic emission

et al. 2019

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“…Four systems have been studied: 1) silicon-carbide (SiC)-based composites [16][17][18], 2) iron-chromium-aluminum (Fe-Cr-Al) alloys [19,[21][22][23], 3) coated zirconium [24], and 4) molybdenum (Mo) [25]. These four systems were chosen as balanced compromise among the application's requirements.…”

Section: Case Study: Materials Selection Criteria For Accident-toleramentioning

confidence: 99%

Materials selection for nuclear applications: Challenges and opportunities

et al. 2018

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a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oWe discuss the challenge of selecting materials for nuclear applications and outline the need for comprehensive databases to assist scientists and engineers in choosing materials that meet interdependent physical, chemical, and nuclear criteria. In conventional engineering, chemical and physical properties and the electronic structure of materials are typically the primary considerations; nuclear applications must also consider the nuclear physics characteristics of a material. Development of databases that correlate physical, chemical, and nuclear properties would accelerate and facilitate innovations in nuclear design.

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“…However, silicon carbide is relatively brittle compared to metals, increasing the risk of failure due to thermal and mechanical stresses. Some proposals have been made to mitigate this issue, such as producing SiC fibres rather than monolithic SiC and embedding the fibres to form a composite, though this has the disadvantage of being permeable to fission products [21]; thus a combination of monolithic and composite SiC would be needed for fission product retention. Overall, the implementation of SiC cladding is complicated by a lack of familiarity in its potential use as nuclear fuel cladding, compared with metallic cladding which would behave mechanically similarly to zircaloy [20,22].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Neutronic Characteristics of Accident-Tolerant Fuel and Claddings for CANDU Reactors

Younan

Novog

2018

Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations

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The objective of this study was to evaluate accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) concepts being considered for CANDU reactors. Several concepts, including uranium dioxide/silicon carbide (UO 2 -SiC) composite fuel, dense fuels, microencapsulated fuels, and ATF cladding, were modelled in Serpent 2 to obtain reactor physics parameters, including important feedback parameters such as coolant void reactivity and fuel temperature coefficient. In addition, fuel heat transfer was modelled, and a simple accident model was tested on several ATF cases to compare with UO 2 . Overall, several concepts would require enrichment of uranium to avoid significant burnup penalties, particularly uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) and fully ceramic microencapsulated (FCM) fuels. In addition, none of the fuel types have a significant advantage over UO 2 in terms of overall accident response or coping time, though U-9Mo fuel melts significantly sooner due to its low melting point. Instead, the different ATF concepts appear to have more modest advantages, such as reduced fission product release upon cladding failure, or reduced hydrogen generation, though a proper risk assessment would be required to determine the magnitude of these advantages to weigh against economic disadvantages. The use of uranium nitride (UN) enriched in 15 N would increase exit burnup for natural uranium, providing a possible economic advantage depending on fuel manufacturing costs.

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Characterization of SiC–SiC composites for accident tolerant fuel cladding

Cited by 184 publications

References 24 publications

Unveiling hermetic failure of ceramic tubes by digital image correlation and acoustic emission

Unveiling hermetic failure of ceramic tubes by digital image correlation and acoustic emission

Materials selection for nuclear applications: Challenges and opportunities

Assessment of Neutronic Characteristics of Accident-Tolerant Fuel and Claddings for CANDU Reactors

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