Abstract
A temperature controlled instrumented capsule has been irradiated in the RB* position of the high flux isotope reactor (HFIR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in order to perform in situ thermal conductivity measurements of monolithic ceramics and composite materials during neutron irradiation. This determination of thermal conductivity utilizes a temperature gradient technique whereby two thermocouples measure the absolute temperature along a cylindrical sample which is constrained to one-dimensional thermal conduction. The heat source is the intrinsic gamma heating of the core region of the HFIR. This paper provides an overview of the experiment and gives preliminary results on the degradation in thermal conductivity of a few ceramic specimens measured as a function of irradiation temperature (200-700 °C) and fast neutron fluence up to approximately 3.4×1025 n/m2 (E>0.1 MeV).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 545-550 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
| Volume | 283-287 |
| Issue number | PART I |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2000 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The authors would like to thank Dennis Heatherly and Bob Sitterson for their help with construction of this capsule and Jim King for assistance with the brazing development. This work has been carried out under the US DOE/JAERI Collaborative Program on Testing FWB Structural Materials in Mixed-Spectrum Fission Reactors, PhaseIII. This work was conducted for the Department of Energy Office of Fusion Energy by members of the Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation under contract DE-AS05-960OR22464.