Effects of neutron irradiation on thermal conductivity of SiC-based composites and monolithic ceramics

A variety of SiC-based composites and monolithic ceramics were characterized by measuring their thermal diffusivity in the unirradiated, thermal annealed, and irradiated conditions over the temperature range 400 to 1,000 C. The irradiation was conducted in the EBR-II to doses of 33 and 43 dpa-SiC (185 EFPD) at a nominal temperature of 1,000 C. The annealed specimens were held at 1,010 C for 165 days to approximately duplicate the thermal exposure of the irradiated specimens. Thermal diffusivity was measured using the laser flash method, and was converted to thermal conductivity using density data and calculated specific heat values. Exposure to the 165 day anneal did not appreciably degrade the conductivity of the monolithic or particulate-reinforced composites, but the conductivity of the fiber-reinforced composites was slightly degraded. The crystalline SiC-based materials tested in this study exhibited thermal conductivity degradation after irradiation, presumably caused by the presence of irradiation-induced defects. Irradiation-induced conductivity degradation was greater at lower temperatures, and was typically more pronounced for materials with higher unirradiated conductivity. Annealing the irradiated specimens for one hour at 150 C above the irradiation temperature produced an increase in thermal conductivity, which is likely the result of interstitial-vacancy pair recombination. Multiple post-irradiation anneals on CVD β-SiC indicated that a portion of the irradiation-induced damage was permanent. A possible explanation for this phenomenon was the formation of stable dislocation loops at the high irradiation temperature and/or high dose that prevented subsequent interstitial/vacancy recombination