| Abstract Scope |
Material bonding using electric field assisted sintering (EFAS), a.k.a. spark plasma sintering (SPS) has been used widely in literature as a novel way to join various materials, both similar and dissimilar. The technique has a range of applications in light weighting vehicles, aerospace, nuclear cladding, etc. but scaling up the process remains a challenge. A brand-new technology, continuous electric field assisted sintering (CEFAS), has been built at Idaho National Laboratory. This work showcases the use of the CEFAS system for bonding layered metallic and ceramic composites, with specific utilization for plate-type nuclear fuel. Surrogate materials have been selected and processed. Analysis of the resultant microstructure, chemical interactions, and processing conditions of the composite interlayers will be discussed and compared to traditional batch style EFAS processes. |