Abstract
Silicon carbide is widely appreciated for its high temperature strength, radiation tolerance and neutronic transparency in applications for fuel particles and core internals of nuclear reactors. In the Fluoride Salt-Cooled High Temperature Reactor, silicon carbide ceramic matrix composites are candidate construction material for regions of higher neutron fluxes. Silicon carbide is wettable and reacts electrochemically with dissolved metals. Metallic impurities, tritium, moisture-based impurities and fission products, as well as thermal gradients can accelerate hot corrosion of silicon carbide in molten fluoride salt. Tritium can become trapped in radiation defects of silicon carbide. Thus, an understanding of the potential for tritium absorption, impurities reactions and thermal gradient-assisted corrosion mechanisms along with tritium recovery and redox control systems are necessary to mitigate silicon carbide corrosion in molten fluoride salt systems. Here, we survey current research on silicon carbide corrosion in molten fluoride salts and critically evaluate the research and development gaps.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 119-134 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
Volume | 524 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2019 |
Funding
This work was supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Nuclear Energy , under contact DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC. The authors thank Arthur Stewart from Oak Ridge Associated Universities for his editorial advice.