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conferenceseries
.com
Joint Conference
July 17-18, 2017 Chicago, USA
International Conference on
DIAMOND AND CARBON MATERIALS & GRAPHENE AND SEMICONDUCTORS
Volume 6, Issue 6 (Suppl)
J Material Sci Eng, an open access journal
ISSN: 2169-0022
Diamond and Carbon 2017 & Graphene 2017
July 17-18, 2017
Characterization of graphite components of FHR design
Ruchi Gakhar, Huali Wu, Allen Chen
and
Raluca Scarlat
University of Wisconsin, USA
T
wo types of graphite used in the core design of Fluoride Salt Cooled High Temperature Reactor (FHR) are Graphite
Matrix A3 and Nuclear Grade IG110. Matrix A3 forms the structural component for the fuel kernels, while IG110 forms
the reflector blocks and some of the internal core components. Graphite forms an integral component of this design because
it contributes to the structural integrity of the reactor as well as the pores of the graphite are considered as the main trapping
site for the tritium produced in the coolant salt. Matrix A3 graphite which forms fuel pebble contains fission product that are
produced during nuclear operation. In addition, the salt coolant or the corrosion products might intrude through the surface
into the pores of the graphite. Considering these attributes, the microstructure characterization of two grades of graphite
is important in developing knowledge of characteristics of graphite under FHR operating conditions. The microstructural
differences between A-3 and IG-110 are attributed to the differences in the raw materials and the heat treatment temperature
during manufacturing. The present study focuses on the microstructure examination of two types of graphite components using
X-ray Diffraction, Raman Spectroscopy, BET analysis, Mercury porosimetry and Scanning Electron Microscopy techniques.
The lattice parameters, crystallite size (parallel and perpendicular to the basal plane), anisotropy and degree of graphitization
estimated based on X-ray diffraction patterns and Raman spectra for both IG-110 and Matrix A3 graphite will be discussed.
The similarities and differences in microstructural characteristics between the two grades of graphite as obtained using the
XRD and Raman spectroscopy results will be presented and the factors causing such differences will be discussed.
Biography
Ruchi Gakhar is a Post-doctoral Research Associate at UW Madison in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics. She received her PhD
in Materials Science from University of Nevada, Reno in December 2015. She also holds an undergraduate and Master's degree in Chemistry and an additional
Master's in Nanotechnology. During her PhD, she worked on designing of new, affordable materials to harness solar energy for clean energy production. She
has published 15 journal articles and a book chapter so far. She has received several awards for academic excellence, including 2016 Nevada Regents' Scholar
Award. At UW Madison, she is involved in investigating materials aspects of advanced nuclear reactor design–fluoride salt cooled high temperature reactor (FHR)
rgakhar@wisc.eduRuchi Gakhar et al., J Material Sci Eng 2017, 6:6(Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2169-0022-C1-076