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Conference Article: Mechanical properties and thermal shock resistances of recently developed high performance graphites

Abstract

Recently, owing to the improvement of coke properties and the advances in arrangements and molding techniques, many graphite products possessing superior mechanical and physical properties have been developed. These graphite products are being used in metallurgy and new advanced technological fields, such as semiconductor industry, aerospace rockets and first wall of plasma-facing nuclear fusion devices. At present, the candidate for use as principal core construction material in JAERI's High Temperature Engineering Testing Reactor (HTTR) is generally regarded as the isostatically molded near isotropic graphite, IG-110. For use in HTTR, it is desirable that the graphite material possesses superior mechanical and physical properties, as well as the ability to minimize neutron irradiation damage during reactor operations. This report introduces the experimental results of recent studies on the mechanical properties especially, their strength against thermal stress, fracture toughness and, for part of the graphites, the effects of neutron irradiation and thermal shock resistance of several representative graphite brands. Comparisons are made with those of IG-110. From these experimental results, these several brands of graphites appear to have far superior properties compared to IG-110. Therefore it can be expected that, following future construction of the HTTR and during the stage of its operational tests, these high-performance graphites may have an opportunity to be utilized as the core graphite component to replace IG-110.

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Reference:

Specialists' meeting on the status of graphite development for gas cooled reactors. Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). 9-12 Sep 1991

International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

IAEA-TECDOC--690, pp:140-146