Irradiation test plan of oxidation-resistant graphite in WWR-K research reactor

Sumita, Junya ; Shibata, Taiju ; Sakaba, Nariaki ; Osaki, Hiroki*; Kato, Hideki*; Fujitsuka, Kunihiro*; Muto, Takenori*; Gizatulin, S.*; Shaimerdenov, A.*; Dyussambayev, D.*; Chakrov, P.*

Graphite materials are used for the in-core components of High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor(HTGR)which is a graphite-moderated and helium gas-cooled reactor. In the case of air ingress accident in HTGR, SiO protective layer is formed on the surface of SiC layer in TRISO CFP and oxidation of SiC does not proceed and fission products are retained inside the fuel particle. A new safety concept for the HTGR, called Naturally Safe HTGR, has been recently proposed. To enhance the safety of Naturally Safe HTGR ultimately, it is expected that oxidation-resistant graphite is used for graphite components to prevent the TRISO CFPs and fuel compacts from failure. SiC coating is one of candidate methods for oxidation-resistant graphite. JAEA and four graphite companies launched R&Ds to develop the oxidation-resistant graphite and the International Science and Technology Center(ISTC) partner project with JAEA and INP was launched to investigate the irradiation effects on the oxidation-resistant graphite. To determine grades of the oxidation-resistant graphite which will be adopted as irradiation test, a preliminary oxidation test was carried out. This paper described the results of the preliminary oxidation test, the plan of out-of-pile test, irradiation test and post-irradiation test(PIE)of the oxidation-resistant graphite.