Fracture strength estimation of SiC block for IS process

Takegami, Hiroaki ; Terada, Atsuhiko  ; Onuki, Kaoru; Hino, Ryutaro

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency has been conducting R&D on thermochemical water-splitting Iodine-Sulfur (IS) process for hydrogen production. A concept of sulfuric acid decomposer was developed featuring a heat exchanger block made of SiC. Although knowing the strength of the SiC block is important for the reliability assessment, it is difficult to evaluate a large-scale ceramics structure without destructive test. In this study, a novel approach for strength estimation of SiC structure was proposed. Optimum value of the Weibull modulus was determined for evaluating the lowest strength estimation. The strength estimation line was developed by using the determined modulus. The validity of the line was verified by destructive test of SiC block model, which is small-scale model of the SiC block. The fracture strength of small-scale model satisfied the predicted strength of the model.