Characterization of graphite dust produced by pneumatic lift

Abstract

Graphite dust is an important safety concern of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR). The graphite dust could adsorb fission products, and the radioactive dust is transported by the coolant gas and deposited on the surface of the primary loop. The simulation of coagulation, aggregation, deposition, and resuspension behavior of graphite dust requires parameters such as particle size distribution and particle shape, but currently very limited data on graphite dust is available. The only data we have are from AVR and THTR-300, however, the AVR result is likely to be prejudiced by the oil ingress. In pebble-bed HTR, graphite dust is generally produced by mechanical abrasion, in particular, by the abrasion of graphite pebbles in the lifting pipe of the fuel handling system. Here we demonstrate the generation and characterization of graphite dust that were produced by pneumatic lift. This graphite dust could substitute the real dust in HTR for characterization. The dust, exhibiting a lamellar morphology, showed a number-weighted average particle size of 2.38μm and a volume-weighted average size of 14.62μm. These two sizes were larger than the AVR and THTR results. The discrepancy is possibly due to the irradiation effect and prejudice caused by the oil ingress accident. It is also confirmed by the Raman spectrum that both the filler particle and binder contribute to the dust generation.