Investigation of fabrication process of SiC matrix fuel compacts for high temperature gas-cooled reactors by reaction sintering

Yoshida, Katsumi*; Gubarevich, A.*; Tachibana, Yukio ; Takamatsu, Kuniyoshi ; Okita, Shoichiro  ; Nishimura, Yosuke*; Okamoto, Koji*

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs) adopting silicon carbide (SiC) instead of conventional graphite for fuel compacts with TRISO fuel particles have been proposed to improve the power density and to enhance the oxidation resistance of the fuel elements in the air ingress accident. In this study, we selected reaction sintering method, which is capable of fabricating dense SiC at lower temperature in a short time without mechanical pressure, and the fabrication process of the dense SiC matrix fuel compacts by reaction sintering was studied, and characterization and thermal conductivity measurement of the reaction-sintered SiC were conducted.