AbstractThe TRISO fuel that is intended to be used for the generation IV nuclear reactor design consists of a fuel kernel of Uranium Oxide (UOx) coated in several layers of materials with different functions. One consideration for some of these layers is Silicon Carbide (SiC) [1]. The design, manufacture and fabrication of SiC are done at the Center for Irradiation of Materials (CIM). This light weight material can maintain dimensional and chemical stability in adverse environments and very high temperatures. The characterization of the elemental makeup of the SiC material used is done using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Nano-indentation is used to determine the hardness, stiffness and Young's Modulus of the material. Raman Spectroscopy is used to characterize the chemical bonding for different sample preparation temperatures.
Microstructural characterization of reaction-formed silicon carbide ceramics