The relationship between microstructure and oxidation effects of selected IG- and NBG-grade nuclear graphites

Abstract This study consists of three main parts. The first part characterizes IG- and NBG-grade nuclear graphites (IG-110, IG-430, NBG-18, and NBG-17) in terms of the size and shape of filler particles and how the forming method affects the pore distribution. The second part presents an experimental investigation of nuclear graphite oxidation at temperatures ranging from 700 to 1100 °C in air and correlates this with the theory of active sites on graphite. Mercury porosimetry is used to quantify the pore structure development at various temperatures. X-ray diffraction analysis of selected graphites is conducted to determine the crystallographic parameters. Results of mercury porosimetry and scanning electron microscopy images are correlated with the theory of active sites on graphite in order to demonstrate the relationship between pore distribution and active sites. The third part of the study presents two experiments. The first experiment considers the effects of size of samples with the same aspect ratio and the other considers actual-sized fuel pellets and graphite sleeves to evaluate the degradation of graphite components in an air-ingress scenario.