Comparison of irradiation behaviour of HTR graphite grades

Abstract The INNOGRAPH irradiations were executed in the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten by NRG supported by the European Framework programs HTR-M, RAPHAEL, and ARCHER to generate data on the irradiation behaviour of graphite grades for High Temperature Reactor (HTR) application available at that time. Samples of the graphite grades NBG-10, NBG-17, NBG-18, NBG-20, NBG-25, PCEA, PPEA, PCIB, and IG-110 have been irradiated at 750 °C and 950 °C. The inherent scatter induced by the probabilistic material behaviour of graphite requires uncertainty and scatter induced by test conditions and post-irradiation examination to be minimized. The INNOGRAPH irradiations supplied an adequate number of irradiated samples to enable accurate determination of material properties and their evolution under irradiation. This allows comparison of different graphite grades and a qualitative assessment of their appropriateness for HTR applications, as a basis of selection, design and core component lifetime. The results indicate that coarse grained graphite grades exhibit more favourable behaviour for application in HTRs due to their low dimensional anisotropy and fracture propagation resilience.