| Abstract Scope |
Graphite and carbon-based materials have been long used in the nuclear industry, from the first man-made critical pile to Gen-IV fission reactors and in fusion systems. Graphite inherently is a composite material because it contains three distinct phases: filler, binder, and pores, while carbon-composites contain similar phases: carbon fiber, binder/matrix, etc., making these arguably the most widely used composite nuclear material. Understanding the behaviors of these different phases, when exposed to the extreme environments in fission and fusion systems, including different forms of energetic particles and ionizing radiation and a range of temperatures, is critical to understand and predict the lifetime of components made from these materials. This talk will focus on what the current knowledge state about irradiation effects in the different phases present in graphite and carbon composites, where the knowledge is lacking, and future work that would be required to fill in the gaps. |