Abstract
Tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuel is being considered for multiple reactor designs due to its exceptional performance. This work studies pyrocarbon (PyC) and silicon carbide (SiC) substrates that are near-representative of the inner pyrocarbon (IPyC) and SiC in TRISO fuel. Focused ion beam (FIB)-scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tomography was used to understand the influence of different processing routes on the PyC/SiC interface structure. Additionally, this work outlines a methodology for characterizing the IPyC/SiC interface when considering fission product accommodation and retention in TRISO fuel design. The high-fidelity images collected with FIB-SEM tomography can be used to achieve a more in-depth interpretation of microstructural parameters and pore-shape analysis that can inform simulations and processing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 152736 |
| Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
| Volume | 545 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2021 |
Funding
This document was prepared by ORNL staff as a result of the use of facilities provided through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Science User Facilities program, which is managed by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, acting under Contract No.DE-AC-07-05ID14517. Neither Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, DOE, the U.S. Government, nor any government contractors, nor other persons and facilities performing work under this Agreement or acting on behalf of any of the above: (a) make any warranty or representation, express or implied, with respect to the information contained in this document; or (b) assume any liabilities with respect to the use of, or damages resulting from the use of any information contained in the document. This work was supported by the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). This research is being performed using funding received from the DOE NE's Nuclear Energy University Program through a joint Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies/Nuclear Energy University Program R&D with Nuclear Science User Facilities access award (Project 16-10764).