Comparison between the Strength Levels of Baseline Nuclear-Grade Graphite and Graphite Irradiated in AGC-2

Carroll, Mark Christopher¹ 

[1] Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

关键词: GRAPHITE;    IRRADIATION;    COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS;    CREEP;    MECHANICAL TESTS;    CYLINDERS;    REACTOR MATERIALS;    HTGR TYPE REACTORS flexural strength;    irradiated strength;    nuclear-grade graphite;    three-point bend;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1244619
RP-ID  :  INL/EXT--15-36044
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1244619
Others  :  TRN: US1601047

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

This report details the initial comparison of mechanical strength properties between the cylindrical nuclear-grade graphite specimens irradiated in the second Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC-2) experiment with the established baseline, or unirradiated, mechanical properties compiled in the Baseline Graphite Characterization program. The overall comparative analysis will describe the development of an appropriate test protocol for irradiated specimens, the execution of the mechanical tests on the AGC-2 sample population, and will further discuss the data in terms of developing an accurate irradiated property distribution in the limited amount of irradiated data by leveraging the considerably larger property datasets being captured in the Baseline Graphite Characterization program. Integrating information on the inherent variability in nuclear-grade graphite with more complete datasets is one of the goals of the VHTR Graphite Materials program. Between ???sister??? specimens, or specimens with the same geometry machined from the same sub-block of graphite from which the irradiated AGC specimens were extracted, and the Baseline datasets, a comprehensive body of data will exist that can provide both a direct and indirect indication of the full irradiated property distributions that can be expected of irradiated nuclear-grade graphite while in service in a VHTR system. While the most critical data will remain the actual irradiated property measurements, expansion of this data into accurate distributions based on the inherent variability in graphite properties will be a crucial step in qualifying graphite for nuclear use as a structural material in a VHTR environment.