R & D of advanced material systems for reactor core component of gas cooled fast reactor

In order to clearly indicate the near term feasibility of attractive gas cooled fast reactor, R & D study of advanced material systems utilizing NITE SiC/SiC composite materials and coordinated efforts on reactor design study have been carried out. Nano-powder Infiltration and Transient Eutectic Phase (NITE) process is the breakthrough of the SiC/SiC fabrication process firstly industrialized, which supplies SiC/SiC with excellent thermal and mechanical properties up to very high temperature, excellent hermeticity, low activation properties under fast reactor environment and micro structural and micro chemical stability under irradiation. This program consists of four major tasks; 1: Material Design and Process Development of NITE SiC/SiC and Technology Integration to Fabricate Core Component. 2: NITE Process Modification for Industrial Scale Fabrication and Near Net Shape Production of Core Component for Commercial Supply. 3: Reactor Core Design with the Emphasis on Nuclear and Thermal Analysis. 4: Evaluation of NITE SiC/SiC under Fast Reactor Core Environment and Modeling of Material Behavior. Start with the introduction of the program, recent accomplishments and future prospects are provided.