Infiltration of molten fluoride salts in graphite: Phenomenology and engineering considerations for reactor operations and waste disposal

Lorenzo Vergari, Malachi Nelson, Alex Droster, Cristian Contescu, Nidia Gallego, Raluca O. Scarlat

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

The possibility and consequences of salt-infiltration in graphite must be evaluated for graphite used in molten salt reactors (MSRs) and fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactors (FHRs), which can be subjected to salt pressures as high as 500 kPa. The volume of graphite porosity infiltrated by salt can be measured by direct infiltration and it can be predicted from the graphite pore size distribution, the surface tension of the salt, and the contact angle between the graphite and the salt. While these three properties are believed to be insensitive to irradiation, the former can be impacted by chronic or acute oxidation, and the latter two are highly sensitive to the chemistry of the salt and to events such as air ingress. For MSRs, predictions based on nominal properties of salt and graphite reveal that few graphite grades would satisfy the 4 vol% limit set in the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, and even fewer would satisfy the 0.5 vol% design target. For FHRs, infiltration limits have not been defined and depend on the effect of infiltration on graphite properties, which are discussed. A hypothesis is presented for properties that may be impacted by infiltration and for which future studies are needed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number154058
JournalJournal of Nuclear Materials
Volume572
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 15 2022

Funding

NG and CC were funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy's Advanced Reactor Development Program. LV acknowledges the University of California, Berkeley, for its Graduate Fellowship. This research is being performed using funding received from the US Department of Energy, Nuclear Energy University Program IRP-20-22026. LV acknowledges the University of California, Berkeley, for its Graduate Fellowship. NG and CC were funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy's Advanced Reactor Development Program. This manuscript has been co-authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world- wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). This manuscript has been co-authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world- wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). This research is being performed using funding received from the US Department of Energy, Nuclear Energy University Program IRP-20-22026.

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