Quantification of silicon carbide grain structure in TRISO fuel by BSE image analysis

Grant W. Helmreich; Daniel R. Brown; Tyler J. Gerczak; John D. Hunn

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152075

Quantification of silicon carbide grain structure in TRISO fuel by BSE image analysis

Grant W. Helmreich, Daniel R. Brown, Tyler J. Gerczak, John D. Hunn

Particle Fuel Forms

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

The grain structure of the silicon carbide (SiC) layer in tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuels has commonly been qualified in fuel specifications based on a qualitative comparison to visual standards to ensure undesirable microstructure are not produced. This approach is inherently dependent on subjective judgement and provides limited data for analysis or comparison. An alternative method to rapidly quantify (i.e., provide a numeric measure of) the grain structure of the SiC layer in TRISO fuels has been developed. This method relies on the identification of silicon carbide grain boundaries based on brightness variation in backscattered electron (BSE) images through the application of automated image processing algorithms. The speed with which the requisite BSE imaging and analysis may be completed enables the practical use of this method on an industrial scale as a part of qualifying TRISO fuel to meet a given specification on silicon carbide grain structure, which is an important parameter for TRISO fuel performance. The method is benchmarked by comparison to prior Electron-Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD) results for TRISO particles from the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program.

Original language	English
Article number	152075
Journal	Journal of Nuclear Materials
Volume	533
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152075
State	Published - May 2020

Funding

This manuscript has been 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, worldwide 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 work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, through the Advanced Reactor Concepts ARC-Xe program and through the Idaho National Laboratory Advanced Reactor Technologies Technology Development Office as part of the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification Program. This work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy , through the Advanced Reactor Concepts ARC-Xe program and through the Idaho National Laboratory Advanced Reactor Technologies Technology Development Office as part of the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification Program .

Funders	Funder number
Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification Program
DOE Public Access Plan
Idaho National Laboratory Advanced Reactor Technologies Technology Development Office
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Nuclear Energy

Keywords

Characterization
Grain size
Image analysis
TRISO

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10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152075

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title = "Quantification of silicon carbide grain structure in TRISO fuel by BSE image analysis",

abstract = "The grain structure of the silicon carbide (SiC) layer in tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuels has commonly been qualified in fuel specifications based on a qualitative comparison to visual standards to ensure undesirable microstructure are not produced. This approach is inherently dependent on subjective judgement and provides limited data for analysis or comparison. An alternative method to rapidly quantify (i.e., provide a numeric measure of) the grain structure of the SiC layer in TRISO fuels has been developed. This method relies on the identification of silicon carbide grain boundaries based on brightness variation in backscattered electron (BSE) images through the application of automated image processing algorithms. The speed with which the requisite BSE imaging and analysis may be completed enables the practical use of this method on an industrial scale as a part of qualifying TRISO fuel to meet a given specification on silicon carbide grain structure, which is an important parameter for TRISO fuel performance. The method is benchmarked by comparison to prior Electron-Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD) results for TRISO particles from the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program.",

keywords = "Characterization, Grain size, Image analysis, TRISO",

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doi = "10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152075",

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volume = "533",

journal = "Journal of Nuclear Materials",

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AU - Brown, Daniel R.

AU - Gerczak, Tyler J.

AU - Hunn, John D.

PY - 2020/5

Y1 - 2020/5

N2 - The grain structure of the silicon carbide (SiC) layer in tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuels has commonly been qualified in fuel specifications based on a qualitative comparison to visual standards to ensure undesirable microstructure are not produced. This approach is inherently dependent on subjective judgement and provides limited data for analysis or comparison. An alternative method to rapidly quantify (i.e., provide a numeric measure of) the grain structure of the SiC layer in TRISO fuels has been developed. This method relies on the identification of silicon carbide grain boundaries based on brightness variation in backscattered electron (BSE) images through the application of automated image processing algorithms. The speed with which the requisite BSE imaging and analysis may be completed enables the practical use of this method on an industrial scale as a part of qualifying TRISO fuel to meet a given specification on silicon carbide grain structure, which is an important parameter for TRISO fuel performance. The method is benchmarked by comparison to prior Electron-Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD) results for TRISO particles from the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program.

AB - The grain structure of the silicon carbide (SiC) layer in tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuels has commonly been qualified in fuel specifications based on a qualitative comparison to visual standards to ensure undesirable microstructure are not produced. This approach is inherently dependent on subjective judgement and provides limited data for analysis or comparison. An alternative method to rapidly quantify (i.e., provide a numeric measure of) the grain structure of the SiC layer in TRISO fuels has been developed. This method relies on the identification of silicon carbide grain boundaries based on brightness variation in backscattered electron (BSE) images through the application of automated image processing algorithms. The speed with which the requisite BSE imaging and analysis may be completed enables the practical use of this method on an industrial scale as a part of qualifying TRISO fuel to meet a given specification on silicon carbide grain structure, which is an important parameter for TRISO fuel performance. The method is benchmarked by comparison to prior Electron-Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD) results for TRISO particles from the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program.

KW - Characterization

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KW - Image analysis

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Quantification of silicon carbide grain structure in TRISO fuel by BSE image analysis

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