• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제45권6호
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• pp.811-820
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• 2013

SiC has been under investigation as a potential cladding for LWR fuel, due to its high melting point and drastically reduced chemical reactivity with liquid water, and steam at high temperatures. As SiC is a brittle material its behavior during the reflood phase of a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) is another important aspect of SiC that must be examined as part of the feasibility assessment for its application to LWR fuel rods. In this study, an experimental assessment of thermal shock performance of a monolithic alpha phase SiC tube was conducted by quenching the material from high temperature (up to $1200^{\circ}C$) into room temperature water. Post-quenching assessment was carried out by a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image analysis to characterize fractures in the material. This paper assesses the effects of pre-existing pores on SiC cladding brittle fracture and crack development/propagation during the reflood phase. Proper extension of these guidelines to an SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composite (CMC) cladding design is discussed.

• 한국표면공학회지
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• 제51권3호
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• pp.179-184
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• 2018

In this study, Ni and tungsten carbide (WC) nanoparticles are simultaneously synthesized with the mesoporous carbon nanoparticles (CNP) using a solution plasma processing (SPP) in the benzene. The Ni and WC nanoparticles were formed through the sputtering effect of electrodes during discharge, and mean time CNP were formed through reduction reaction. TEM observation showed that loaded Ni and WC nanoparticles were evenly dispersed on the CNP. The results of electrochemical analysis demonstrated that an introduction of Ni nanoparticles promoted to improve catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Moreover, Ni-WC/CNP lead to fast electron transfer process compared to that of WC/CNP. Therefore, the inexpensive Ni-WC/CNP might be a promising as catalytic material for cathodes in fuel cell applications.

• 한국추진공학회지
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• 제3권3호
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• pp.25-30
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• 1999

본 연구는 보론 카바이드를 함유한 고체 연료를 사용하여 고체 램제트에서 공기 유속량에 따른 연소효율과 입자 크기의 분포를 실험적으로 조사하였다. 입자 분포는 그레인 끝 부분과 노즐 입구에서 MALVERN 2600 HSD를 사용하여 측정하였다. 연소 효율은 공기 유속량이 적을수록 연소 효율이 높은 것으로 나타났으며, 일반적으로 입자 분포는 대략적으로 4, 15와 25$\mu\textrm{m}$, 경우에 따라 2$\mu\textrm{m}$ 보다 적은 크기에서 한 곳을 포함하여 3곳의 피크치 또는 4 곳의 피크치를 나타내는 분포를 보였다. 큰 입자는 주로 재순환 영역에서 표면에서의 입자들의 뭉침의 결과이다. 흡입 공기의 온도가 높으면 연소 효율이 좋았는데 이는 확산 영역에서 연소하는 큰 보론 카바이드 입자의 연소 촉진 결과로 보인다.

• 한국수소및신에너지학회논문집
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.28-38
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• 2014

The organic-inorganic composite membrane in polymer exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have several fascinating technological advantages such as a proton conductivity, thermal stability and mechanical properties. As the inorganic filler, silicon carbide (SiC) fiber have been used in various fields due to its unique properties such as thermal stability, conductivity, and tensile strength. In this study, composite membrane was successfully fabricated by modified-silicon carbide fiber. Modified process, as a novel process in SiC, takes reaction by phosphoric acid after oxidation process (generated homogeniusly $SiO_2$ layer on SiC fiber). The mechanical property which was conducted by tensile test of the 5wt% modified-$SiO_2@SiCf$ composite membrane was better than that of Aquivion casting membrane as well as ion cxchange capacity(IEC) and proton conductivity. In addition, the single cell performance was observed that the 5wt% modified-$SiO_2@SiCf$ composite membrane was approximately $0.2A/cm^2$ higher than that of a Aquivion casting electrolyte membrane and electrochemical impedance was improved with the charge transfer resistance and membrane resistance.

• 한국수소및신에너지학회논문집
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.419-424
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• 2014

Direct ethanol fuel cell has been fabricated with ceramic membrane. A porous silicon carbide (SiC) membrane having approximately 30% porosity has been applied for a direct ethanol proton exchange membrane (DE-PEM) fuel cell. A horizontal type cell having Pt ($18mg/cm^2$) catalyst layer on both side of the ceramic membrane was used for the demonstration test. The ethanol oxidation based-fuel cell stack showed very high voltage (1.289V) and measurable current level (68mA) even though at room temperature.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권1호
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• pp.249-256
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• 2019

The 9Cr-1Mo ferritic-martensitic ODS steel is a promising structural material for the next generation nuclear power plants including fast reactors for application in reactor vessels and nuclear fuel. The ODS steel was cooled down by furnace cooling, air cooling, oil quenching and water quenching, respectively, after normalizing it at $1150^{\circ}C$ for 1 h and then tempering at $780^{\circ}C$ for 1 h. It is found that grain size, a relative portion of ferrite and martensite, martensitic lath configuration, behaviors of carbide precipitates, and hardness of the ODS steel are strongly dependent on a cooling rate. The grain size and martensitic lath width become smaller with the increase in a cooling rate. The carbides were precipitated at the grain boundaries formed between the ferrite and martensite phases and at the martensitic lath interfaces. In addition, the carbide precipitates become smaller and more widely dispersed with the increase in a cooling rate, resulting in that the faster cooling rate generated the higher hardness of the ODS steel.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제48권3호
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• pp.650-659
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• 2016

As a type of accident-tolerant fuel, fully ceramic microencapsulated (FCM) fuel was proposed after the Fukushima accident in Japan. The FCM fuel consists of tristructural isotropic particles randomly dispersed in a silicon carbide (SiC) matrix. For a fuel element with such high heterogeneity, we have proposed a two-temperature homogenized model using the particle transport Monte Carlo method for the heat conduction problem. This model distinguishes between fuel-kernel and SiC matrix temperatures. Moreover, the obtained temperature profiles are more realistic than those of other models. In Part I of the paper, homogenized parameters for the FCM fuel in which tristructural isotropic particles are randomly dispersed in the fine lattice stochastic structure are obtained by (1) matching steady-state analytic solutions of the model with the results of particle transport Monte Carlo method for heat conduction problems, and (2) preserving total enthalpies in fuel kernels and SiC matrix. The homogenized parameters have two desirable properties: (1) they are insensitive to boundary conditions such as coolant bulk temperatures and thickness of cladding, and (2) they are independent of operating power density. By performing the Monte Carlo calculations with the temperature-dependent thermal properties of the constituent materials of the FCM fuel, temperature-dependent homogenized parameters are obtained.

• 한국분말재료학회지
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• 제23권5호
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• pp.384-390
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• 2016

Tri-isotropic (TRISO) coatings on zirconia surrogate beads are deposited using a fluidized-bed vapor deposition (FB-CVD) method. The silicon carbide layer is particularly important among the coated layers because it acts as a miniature pressure vessel and a diffusion barrier to gaseous and metallic fission products in the TRISO-coated particles. In this study, we obtain a nearly stoichiometric composition in the SiC layer coated at $1400^{\circ}C$, $1500^{\circ}C$, and $1400^{\circ}C$ with 20 vol.% methyltrichlorosilane (MTS), However, the composition of the SiC layer coated at $1300-1350^{\circ}C$ shows a difference from the stoichiometric ratio (1:1). The density decreases remarkably with decreasing SiC deposition temperature because of the nanosized pores. The high density of the SiC layer (${\geq}3.19g/cm^2$) easily obtained at $1500^{\circ}C$ and $1400^{\circ}C$ with 20 vol.% MTS did not change at an annealing temperature of $1900^{\circ}C$, simulating the reactor operating temperature. The evaluation of the mechanical properties is limited because of the inaccurate values of hardness and Young's modulus measured by the nano-indentation method.

• 한국입자에어로졸학회지
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.189-197
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• 2009

Wet-type particulate removal system is employed in most of ironmaking processes. These de-dusting systems require additional downstream aggregates for treatment of water and for drying of the collected slurry. Thus dried slurry can be pressed in shape of briquettes and recycled in the steelmaking process. Different from the wet-type, the dry-type particulate removal systems generate no slurry. A high-temperature, high-pressure de-dusting system with inertial inlet was developed. The target application of this system was to remove particulate matter generated from the novel ironmaking process and other steelmaking processes. In this study we conducted tests with this newly developed system to evaluate the performance of the silica-carbide (SiC) ceramic filters. In addition, for purpose of comparison, we also conducted tests with a unit which has conventional direct inlet. Fe-Particles collected from the novel ironmaking process were used in our tests as test dusts. The temperature and the pressure were kept constant at their respective values $800^{\circ}C$ and $3kg_f/cm^2$.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제39권5호
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• pp.603-616
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• 2007

Roy Huddle, having invented the coated particle in Harwell 1957, stated in the early 1970s that we know now everything about particles and coatings and should be going over to deal with other problems. This was on the occasion of the Dragon fuel performance information meeting London 1973: How wrong a genius be! It took until 1978 that really good particles were made in Germany, then during the Japanese HTTR production in the 1990s and finally the Chinese 2000-2001 campaign for HTR-10. Here, we present a review of history and present status. Today, good fuel is measured by different standards from the seventies: where $9*10^{-4}$ initial free heavy metal fraction was typical for early AVR carbide fuel and $3*10^{-4}$ initial free heavy metal fraction was acceptable for oxide fuel in THTR, we insist on values more than an order of magnitude below this value today. Half a percent of particle failure at the end-of-irradiation, another ancient standard, is not even acceptable today, even for the most severe accidents. While legislation and licensing has not changed, one of the reasons we insist on these improvements is the preference for passive systems rather than active controls of earlier times. After renewed HTGR interest, we are reporting about the start of new or reactivated coated particle work in several parts of the world, considering the aspects of designs/ traditional and new materials, manufacturing technologies/ quality control quality assurance, irradiation and accident performance, modeling and performance predictions, and fuel cycle aspects and spent fuel treatment. In very general terms, the coated particle should be strong, reliable, retentive, and affordable. These properties have to be quantified and will be eventually optimized for a specific application system. Results obtained so far indicate that the same particle can be used for steam cycle applications with $700-750^{\circ}C$ helium coolant gas exit, for gas turbine applications at $850-900^{\circ}C$ and for process heat/hydrogen generation applications with $950^{\circ}C$ outlet temperatures. There is a clear set of standards for modem high quality fuel in terms of low levels of heavy metal contamination, manufacture-induced particle defects during fuel body and fuel element making, irradiation/accident induced particle failures and limits on fission product release from intact particles. While gas-cooled reactor design is still open-ended with blocks for the prismatic and spherical fuel elements for the pebble-bed design, there is near worldwide agreement on high quality fuel: a $500{\mu}m$ diameter $UO_2$ kernel of 10% enrichment is surrounded by a $100{\mu}m$ thick sacrificial buffer layer to be followed by a dense inner pyrocarbon layer, a high quality silicon carbide layer of $35{\mu}m$ thickness and theoretical density and another outer pyrocarbon layer. Good performance has been demonstrated both under operational and under accident conditions, i.e. to 10% FIMA and maximum $1600^{\circ}C$ afterwards. And it is the wide-ranging demonstration experience that makes this particle superior. Recommendations are made for further work: 1. Generation of data for presently manufactured materials, e.g. SiC strength and strength distribution, PyC creep and shrinkage and many more material data sets. 2. Renewed start of irradiation and accident testing of modem coated particle fuel. 3. Analysis of existing and newly created data with a view to demonstrate satisfactory performance at burnups beyond 10% FIMA and complete fission product retention even in accidents that go beyond $1600^{\circ}C$ for a short period of time. This work should proceed at both national and international level.