| Abstract Scope |
Nuclear-grade graphite is a critical material used as a moderator in many thermal molten salt reactors (MSRs), due to its excellent properties, including good chemical compatibility with molten salt environment, high temperature performance, and neutron economy. When corrosion products dissolve into salt and migrate, they can interact with the graphite surfaces, affecting their structure, chemistry, and performance. Interfacial interactions between corrosion products and graphite are critical to understanding the long-term integrity, performance, and safety of MSRs. In this study, intrusion and interfacial behavior of corrosion products from SS316H in FUNaK salt with graphite was investigated. The metallic carbides format with the graphite exposed to the NaF-KF-UF4 (FUNaK) molten salt. Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) was employed to examine the penetrate depth of metallic carbides into graphite samples. Impurities in the salt were analyzed using Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). |