Open Access"A New Class od Functionally Graded Cearamic-Metal Composites for Next Generation Very High Temperature Reactors"
Author(s) -
Mohit Jain,
Ganesh Skandan,
Gordon E. Khose,
J. Maro
Publication year - 2008
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/927780
Subject(s) - materials science , microstructure , composite number , ceramic , composite material , irradiation , characterization (materials science) , ceramic composite , thermal , nanotechnology , physics , meteorology , nuclear physics
Generation IV Very High Temperature power generating nuclear reactors will operate at temperatures greater than 900 oC. At these temperatures, the components operating in these reactors need to be fabricated from materials with excellent thermo-mechanical properties. Conventional pure or composite materials have fallen short in delivering the desired performance. New materials, or conventional materials with new microstructures, and associated processing technologies are needed to meet these materials challenges. Using the concept of functionally graded materials, we have fabricated a composite material which has taken advantages of the mechanical and thermal properties of ceramic and metals. Functionally-graded composite samples with various microstructures were fabricated. It was demonstrated that the composition and spatial variation in the composition of the composite can be controlled. Some of the samples were tested for irradiation resistance to neutrons. The samples did not degrade during initial neutron irradiation testing