Silicon carbide and its composites for nuclear applications – Historical overview

Yutai Katoh, Lance L. Snead

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

180 Scopus citations

Abstract

The goal of achieving higher thermal efficiency in nuclear power systems, whether fission or fusion based, has invariably led to the study and development of refractory metals, ceramics, and their composites. Silicon carbide materials, owing to their favorable neutronic and high-temperature properties, have seen extensive study for over half a century in support of this goal. Currently, our community has a relatively deep understanding of the irradiation effects on this system and has developed irradiation-hardened materials that are currently in use for fission reactor fuels and available as structural composites for next generation reactors. Outside of the nuclear arena SiC has also enjoyed significant development with a wide range of ordinary and high-value product now in use including very high temperature commercial aerospace installations such as turbine engines. The paper presents a brief history of the development of SiC, focused on but not limited to irradiation applications that has led to our present understanding of the system for nuclear application.

Original languageEnglish
Article number151849
JournalJournal of Nuclear Materials
Volume526
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2019

Funding

The YK contribution to this work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences and Office of Nuclear Energy, under contract DE-C05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC. The authors wish to thank Takaaki Koyanagi and Yoonjo Lee for valuable comments to this manuscript. The YK contribution to this work was supported by the US Department of Energy , Office of Fusion Energy Sciences and Office of Nuclear Energy , under contract DE-C05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC . The authors wish to thank Takaaki Koyanagi and Yoonjo Lee for valuable comments to this manuscript. Appendix A

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