Glassy polymeric carbon as a reactor core support

Polymeric carbon, often called 'Glassy Carbon', or GPC, is an ideal core support material for small, high temperature portable reactors, for example as in deep space nuclear powered rockets and in spacecraft thermoelectric power systems. It combines excellent mechanical properties with an ideal neutron moderator. We introduce production techniques developed at Alabama A and M University for the fabrication of GPC artifacts, and discuss the physical properties of the parts we have produced. We make long, thin wall, closed end tubes formed from sprayed phenolic resin precursor, and also small parts from molded resin. Refractory pure carbon samples exhibit a bulk density of 1.3 to 1.5 g/cc, tensile strength of 40 to 100 M Pa, Young's modulus of only 14 to 33 G Pa, thermal conductivity of 0.238 to 1.428 watts/meter-kelvin, and electrical conductivity of 10 to 50 x 10-6 ohm-meter. Working temperatures as high as 3000 K are easily obtained. We will begin with a brief justification for using the highest possible reactor temperature in spacecraft. (author)