scholarly journals Effect of Structure on the Thermal-Mechanical Performance of Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated Fuel

Computation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Zhou ◽  
Zhong Xiao ◽  
Shichao Liu ◽  
Ping Chen ◽  
Hua Pang ◽  
...  

The effect of non-fuel part size on the thermal-mechanical performance of fully ceramic microencapsulated (FCMTM) Fuel was investigated, and the non-fuel part size was selected according to integrity maintaining of non-fuel part and silicon carbide (SiC) layers. The non-fuel part size can affect the FCMTM temperature and stress distribution greatly by changing the distance between tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particles. The maximum temperature of SiC matrix increased from 1220 K to 1450 K with the non-fuel part size increasing from 100 μm to 500 μm, and the matrix temperature of all the samples was lower than the decomposition point of SiC ceramics. The maximum hoop stress decreased with non-fuel part size, but the inner part exhibiteda crosscurrent trend. The inner part of the SiC matrix lost structure integrity because of the large hoop stress caused by the deformation of TRISO particles, however, the non-fuel parts of FCMTM pellet may maintain their integrity when the non-fuel part size was larger than 300 μm. SiC layers hoop stress increased with non-fuel part size, and the failure probability of SiC layer was lower than 2.2 × 10−4 for the FCMTM pellet with small non-fuel part size. The integrity of non-fuel and SiC layers can be maintained for the FCMTM pellet with the non-fuel part size from 300 μm to 400 μm.


Mathematics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Chen ◽  
Suizheng Qiu ◽  
Shichao Liu ◽  
Yi Zhou ◽  
Yong Xin ◽  
...  

In this paper, a two-dimensional characteristic unit was used to simulate the thermal–mechanical performance of a fully ceramic microencapsulated (FCM) fuel pellet, and the criterion of FCM structure integrity was discussed. FCM structure integrity can be reflected though the integrity of the silicon carbide (SiC) matrix or SiC layers because of the excellent fission retention capability of SiC ceramics. The maximum temperature of the SiC matrix under normal conditions of the pressure water reactor (PWR) environment was about 1390 K, which was lower than the decomposition point of SiC. The maximum hoop stress of the SiC matrix, especially the inner part, was up to about 1200 MPa, and the hoop stress of the non-fuel region part was lower than the inner part, which can be attributed to the deformation of tristructural-isotopic (TRISO) particles. The hoop stress of the SiC layers at the end of life was only about 180 MPa, which is much lower than the strength of the chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-SiC. The failure probability of the SiC layer was lower than 9 × 10−5; thus, the integrity of SiC layers and the fission retention capability were maintained. The structure integrity of FCM fuel was broken because the SiC matrix cracked.



2012 ◽  
Vol 512-515 ◽  
pp. 804-807
Author(s):  
Min Mei ◽  
Xin Bo He ◽  
Xuan Hui Qu ◽  
Hai Feng Hu ◽  
Yu Di Zhang ◽  
...  

The conversion of the liquid polycabosilane (LPCS) into silicon carbide was investigated by IR, XRD, which indicated the feasibility of the transition from LPCS to SiC ceramics above 900°C. The FTIR spectra and XRD Pattern of the Cf/SiC composites show that the matrix deposited at 1200°C has silicon carbide structure with the crystallite size of β-SiC phase of about 41 nm, while the SiC phase is amorphous at 900°C. The carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide composites (Cf/SiC) were hereby prepared at 900°C and 1200°C, through chemical liquid-vapor deposition (CLVD) process using LPCS as precursor. Flexural strength of 224 MPa for Cf/SiC specimen with density of 1.81g·cm-3was obtained after being prepared at 1200°C for 30 minutes. The load-deflection curve has shown that the fracture behavior of the Cf/SiC composites is a typical non-brittleness. The results indicate that the CLVD process has a great advantage and prospect to prepare Cf/SiC composites in future.



Author(s):  
Chunyu Yin

Abstract SiC has become a candidate cladding material of Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATF) due to its excellent irradiation stability and corrosion resistance. However, because SiC is a ceramic material with low toughness, brittle failure is a significant concern. In order to improve the toughness, SiC fiber is required to manufacture multi-layer SiC composites. But the current performance model or analysis tool is not available for SiC composites cladding due to its obviously difference with Zr alloy cladding. On one side, Finite element method was used in this paper to analyze the performance of SiC composites cladding under operation conditions which include normal, transient conditions and LOCA conditions; on the other side, this paper gives the performance of the SiC composites with two layers under multiple operating conditions. The result showed that the temperature was stable and the maximum hoop stress was reached at about 70d under normal condition. The power ramp can increase the cladding temperature and has visible influence on the stress distribution. The hoop stress of the cladding reversed under LOCA condition. The tensile hoop stress on the outer surface significantly increased, which caused the obvious increase of failure probability of monolithic SiC, and the failure probability of SiC layer is significantly increased. The conclusion of the analysis has guiding significance for the theoretical design of SiC composites.



2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (03) ◽  
pp. 1950032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuchen Deng ◽  
Yaming Zhang ◽  
Nanlong Zhang ◽  
Qiang Zhi ◽  
Bo Wang ◽  
...  

Pure dense silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics were obtained via the high-temperature physical vapor transport (HTPVT) method using graphite paper as the growth substrate. The phase composition, the evolution of microstructure, the thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity at RT to 200∘C were investigated. The obtained samples had a relative density of higher than 98.7% and a large grain size of 1[Formula: see text]mm, the samples also had a room-temperature thermal conductivity of [Formula: see text] and with the temperature increased to 200∘C, the thermal conductivity still maintained at [Formula: see text].



Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1124
Author(s):  
Zhifang Liang ◽  
Hongwu Wu ◽  
Ruipu Liu ◽  
Caiquan Wu

Green biodegradable plastics have come into focus as an alternative to restricted plastic products. In this paper, continuous long sisal fiber (SF)/polylactic acid (PLA) premixes were prepared by an extrusion-rolling blending process, and then unidirectional continuous long sisal fiber-reinforced PLA composites (LSFCs) were prepared by compression molding to explore the effect of long fiber on the mechanical properties of sisal fiber-reinforced composites. As a comparison, random short sisal fiber-reinforced PLA composites (SSFCs) were prepared by open milling and molding. The experimental results show that continuous long sisal fiber/PLA premixes could be successfully obtained from this pre-blending process. It was found that the presence of long sisal fibers could greatly improve the tensile strength of LSFC material along the fiber extension direction and slightly increase its tensile elongation. Continuous long fibers in LSFCs could greatly participate in supporting the load applied to the composite material. However, when comparing the mechanical properties of the two composite materials, the poor compatibility between the fiber and the matrix made fiber’s reinforcement effect not well reflected in SSFCs. Similarly, the flexural performance and impact performance of LSFCs had been improved considerably versus SSFCs.



Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 2133
Author(s):  
Helena Oliver-Ortega ◽  
Josep Tresserras ◽  
Fernando Julian ◽  
Manel Alcalà ◽  
Alba Bala ◽  
...  

Packaging consumes around 40% of the total plastic production. One of the most important fields with high requirements is food packaging. Food packaging products have been commonly produced with petrol polymers, but due to environmental concerns, the market is being moved to biopolymers. Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) is the most promising biopolymer, as it is bio-based and biodegradable, and it is well established in the market. Nonetheless, its barrier properties need to be enhanced to be competitive with other polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Nanoclays improve the barrier properties of polymeric materials if correct dispersion and exfoliation are obtained. Thus, it marks a milestone to obtain an appropriate dispersion. A predispersed methodology is proposed as a compounding process to improve the dispersion of these composites instead of common melt procedures. Afterwards, the effect of the polarity of the matrix was analyzing using polar and surface modified nanoclays with contents ranging from 2 to 8% w/w. The results showed the suitability of the predispersed and concentrated compound, technically named masterbatch, to obtain intercalated structures and the higher dispersion of polar nanoclays. Finally, the mechanical performance and sustainability of the prepared materials were simulated in a food tray, showing the best assessment of these materials and their lower fingerprint.



2011 ◽  
Vol 311-313 ◽  
pp. 276-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
You Jun Lu ◽  
Hong Fang Shen ◽  
Yan Ming Wang

High-temperature mechanical properties, machinability, oxidation resistance and thermal shock resistance of different content of carbon particles modified silicon carbide composite ceramics (Cp/SiC) prepared by pressureless sintering techniques were studied. Adhesion of Cp/SiC to melted glass under 1000°C was also observed. The results showed that 15-Cp/SiC had the optimum machinability and it also did not adhere to melted glass at high temperature. And flexural strength, hardness, and fracture toughness of 15-Cp/SiC is 136.5MPa, 274.6kgf/mm2, 2.58MPa•m1/2 respectively. The good performance of Cp/SiC made it possible to be used as high temperature glass fixture, which means that Cp/SiC can not only improve the service life of fixture materials, but also broaden the application fields of SiC ceramics.



Author(s):  
Youcef Ghernouti ◽  
Bahia Rabehi ◽  
Sabria Malika Mansour

In this paper, influence of heat treatment on evolution of mechanical strengths at early age, less than 24hours of self-compacting concretes containing limestone powder and silica fume as fine materials was investigated experimentally. Two compositions of self-compacting concrete have been studied; the first is elaborated with silica fume addition and the second with limestone powder, each mixture were prepared with a constant water/binder ratio of 0.39. Concrete samples were either cured in water at (23±1°C), or steam cured at 65°C maximum temperature over six hours (6h) curing period. Tests of mechanical strengths were performed on specimens cooled down slowly to room temperature after heating.The obtained results show that all self-compacting mixtures exhibited satisfying fresh properties and check EFNARC specifications of self-compacting concrete (slump flow diameter higher than 650mm, L-box ratio higher than 80% and sieve stability less than 17%).Mechanical strengths of concrete containing limestone addition are slightly lower than those of concrete based on silica fume at all ages. Moreover, heat treatment generates an improvement of compressive and flexural strength. Interesting compressive strengths are obtained. At 24 hours, after heat treatment, the strengths are already greater than 35 MPa. The values ​​are 37 MPa and 40 MPa for self-compacting concrete containing limestone powder and silica fume respectively compared to 40 MPa and 46 MPa obtained at 7 days for the corresponding non-heat treated concretes. Compressive strength gain of SCCs mixtures with limestone powder and with silica fume, undergoing heat treatment at the age of 24hours is 85% and 75% respectively compared to SCCs mixtures cured in water.



2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 1556-1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuang Wang ◽  
Cun-Fa Gao ◽  
Zeng-Tao Chen

In this paper, the plane problem of two elliptical nanoscale holes with surface tension is investigated. Firstly, the basic equations are given via the complex variable methods. Then, the stress boundary condition caused by surface tension is derived through the integral-form Gurtin–Murdoch model. The problem is finally solved by the conformal mapping along with the series expansion methods. The results show that the stress field decreases as the two holes become further away from each other. When the distance between the two holes is more than three times the sum of their sizes, the interaction between the two holes can be neglected. In addition, the stress field is greatly influenced by the orientation, aspect ratio and size of the holes. The positions of the maximum hoop stress are also discussed. When the two elliptical holes are put close horizontally, the hoop stress around one hole usually obtain its maximum at the endpoint close to the other hole. However, if one elliptical hole is not horizontal, the hoop stress around it will no longer attain its maximum at the endpoints. Another exception is that when one elliptical hole becomes larger, the hoop stress around the smaller hole would tend to achieve a local minimum at the endpoint close to the larger hole.



2012 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 41-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabia Galantini ◽  
Sabrina Bianchi ◽  
Valter Castelvetro ◽  
Irene Anguillesi ◽  
Giuseppe Gallone

Among the broad class of electro-active polymers, dielectric elastomer actuators represent a rapidly growing technology for electromechanical transduction. In order to further develop this applied science, the high driving voltages currently needed must be reduced. For this purpose, one of the most promising and adopted approach is to increase the dielectric constant while maintaining both low dielectric losses and high mechanical compliance. In this work, a dielectric elastomer was prepared by dispersing functionalised carbon nanotubes into a polyurethane matrix and the effects of filler dispersion into the matrix were studied in terms of dielectric, mechanical and electro-mechanical performance. An interesting increment of the dielectric constant was observed throughout the collected spectrum while the loss factor remained almost unchanged with respect to the simple matrix, indicating that conductive percolation paths did not arise in such a system. Consequences of the chemical functionalisation of carbon nanotubes with respect to the use of unmodified filler were also studied and discussed along with rising benefits and drawbacks for the whole composite material.



Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document