Participants: L. M. Wang, PI and G. S. Was, Co-PI; R. S. Zhou, Post-doctoral Scholar and A. Davis, Graduate Student
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI)
Pyrolytic carbon (PyC) is one of the structural materials in the TRISO fuel particles which will be used in the next generation of gas-cooled very-high-temperature reactors. When the TRISO particles are under irradiation, creep of the pyrocarbon layers can cause radial cracking leading to catastrophic particle failure. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of the creep behavior of PyC during irradiation is required to predict the overall fuel performance.
The primary objective of this project is to characterize the creep behavior of PyC through a systematic program of accelerator-based proton irradiation and in-situ measurements under stress at various temperatures between 400°C and 1,200°C. Test data will be analyzed to determine creep coefficients, which will then be correlated to existing coefficients measured under neutron irradiation. In addition, initial experiments on the transport of select fission products (e.g., Ag and Sr) in PyC under irradiation and stress will be conducted by implanting ions into the sample surface. The PyC microstructure will be studied with advanced analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM).