About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Ceramics and Ceramic-Based Composites for Nuclear Applications III
|
| Presentation Title |
Investigation of FLiBe salt infiltration into graphite for molten salt reactors |
| Author(s) |
Diego Alejandro Muzquiz, Anne Campbell, Jacob Eapen, Stephen Raiman |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Diego Alejandro Muzquiz |
| Abstract Scope |
Graphite is expected to be the leading candidate moderator material in Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs). However, salt infiltration into pores over time can lead to graphite degradation, buildup of fission products, and an overall decrease in moderating efficiency. For this work, several grades of graphite (ZXF-5Q, T6U, IG-110 and NBG-18) were submerged in molten FLiBe salt for 100 hours in a graphite crucible while hung from a carbon sample holder. Two temperatures were tested including 600 ˚ C and 800 ˚ C at varying pressures ranging from 1 bar to 7 bar. All Experiments were conducted under argon with oxygen and moisture content below 1 ppm. Samples were characterized to investigate mass change and salt infiltration using micro–X-ray Computational Tomography (µXCT) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Graphite with sub-micron pores exhibited less infiltration compared to samples with larger entrance pores. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Ceramics, Nuclear Materials, Other |