| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2023 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Ceramic Materials for Nuclear Energy Research and Applications
|
| Presentation Title |
Silica Formation on SiC Following Steam Attack |
| Author(s) |
Dina Elgewaily, Jacob Eapen |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Dina Elgewaily |
| Abstract Scope |
Silicon carbide composites (SiC/SiC) are being considered as accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding of light water reactors due to their low chemical reactivity, which allows a longer time window for accident response. Under high temperature and pressure, SiC reacts with steam to form silica and other oxides together with several volatile gases. In this investigation, Raman spectroscopy is used to identify the elemental and compositional nature of the formed oxide layer after a steam attack. At 1200°C and at pressures ranging from 0.45 to 1.38 MPa, the formation of α-cristobalite phase of SiO2 is established. At lower pressures, the dominant oxide appears to be non crystalline although trace amounts of cristobalite can be observed. A sharp increase in the integrated Raman intensity ratio from 0.1 MPa to 0.45 MPa indicates the onset of accelerated crystallization. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Characterization, Ceramics, Nuclear Materials |