Protection of graphite from salt and gas permeation in molten salt reactors

The reactor core, moderator and reflectors of a thermal spectrum advanced molten salt reactor will constitute multi-tons of graphite. Porous reactor-grade graphite, if unprotected, can be permeated by molten salt depending on the infiltrating pressure differential and entrance diameters of accessibl...

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Published inJournal of nuclear materials Vol. 534; no. C; p. 152119
Main Authors Lee, Jo Jo, Arregui-Mena, José D., Contescu, Cristian I., Burchell, Timothy D., Katoh, Yutai, Loyalka, Sudarshan K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.06.2020
Elsevier BV
Elsevier
Subjects
Fission products
Gas permeation
Gas transport
Graphite
MATERIALS SCIENCE
Molten salt nuclear reactors
Nuclear fission
Nuclear reactors
Penetration
Permeability
Porosity
Radiation
Reactors
Reflectors
Retention
Salts
Tritium
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Summary:The reactor core, moderator and reflectors of a thermal spectrum advanced molten salt reactor will constitute multi-tons of graphite. Porous reactor-grade graphite, if unprotected, can be permeated by molten salt depending on the infiltrating pressure differential and entrance diameters of accessible graphite pores. Salt and gas permeation of graphite can affect microstructural properties and radiation behavior but also facilitate diffusion, deposition and retention of fission products and tritium. Because of the significant void volume of nuclear graphite, fission products and tritium retention due to salt permeation necessitates seal coatings or pore impregnation to reduce open porosity. Alternatively, very fine-grained graphite grades with low Xe permeability are being developed. Here, we survey the current technologies for mitigating salt and gas transport into graphite.
Bibliography:USDOE
AC05-00OR22725
ISSN:0022-3115
1873-4820
DOI:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152119