TRISO coated fuel particles with enhanced SiC properties

Abstract

The silicon carbide (SiC) layer used for the formation of TRISO coated fuel particles is normally produced at 1500–1650 °C via fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition from methyltrichlorosilane in a hydrogen environment. In this work, we show the deposition of SiC coatings with uniform grain size throughout the coating thickness, as opposed to standard coatings which have larger grain sizes in the outer sections of the coating. Furthermore, the use of argon as the fluidizing gas and propylene as a carbon precursor, in addition to hydrogen and methyltrichlorosilane, allowed the deposition of stoichiometric SiC coatings with refined microstructure at 1400 and 1300 °C. The deposition of SiC at lower deposition temperatures was also advantageous since the reduced heat treatment was not detrimental to the properties of the inner pyrolytic carbon which generally occurs when SiC is deposited at 1500 °C. The use of a chemical vapor deposition coater with four spouts allowed the deposition of uniform and spherical coatings.