Ceramics composites for next generation nuclear reactors

Silicon carbide and carbon based composite materials are promising candidates for structural components of future nuclear systems. From non nuclear applications, both, the silicon carbide and the carbon matrix are well known for their excellent high temperature behavior and in case of the carbide, for the chemical inertness. The usage of these materials in their composite variant is inevitable, as the additionally introduced ductility is absolutely necessary in safety relevant components. Possible applications are structural components in high temperature reactors and claddings of advanced reactor systems, such as gas cooled fast reactors, including subcritical ones. The basic mechanical behavior of many of these composite materials is well known, however, little data is available about the degradation in mechanical performance after irradiation. The present paper investigates the mechanical behavior of four different composite materials before and after proton and neutron irradiation. The testing method is a three point bend experiment on non-notched sample bars. Four kinds of materials were tested. Two chemically vapor infiltrated CVI composites with silicon carbide matrices, one with a 2D silicon carbide fiber structure, and the other one with carbon fibers woven in a 2D structure. The two others were liquid silicon infiltrated LSI, both with carbon fibers, but one with a random and the other one with a 2D woven structure. The CVI samples with carbon fibers showed the highest mechanical strength after irradiation. The CVI material with silicon carbide fibers degraded most, but starting from a very high strength before irradiation. Both LSI materials showed a quite constant performance, before and after irradiation. (author)