Improving the impermeability of nuclear graphite towards molten lead-bismuth eutectic in lead-cooled fast reactor by precursor impregnation and pyrolysis processes

IF 2.9 3区工程技术 Q1 NUCLEAR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Nuclear Engineering and Technology Pub Date : 2026-07-01 Epub Date: 2026-03-06 DOI:10.1016/j.net.2026.104250

Zhao He , Jinliang Song , Zhanjun Liu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The permeation of molten lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) in graphite coolant channel material is a big issue that influences the stable operation of lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR). In this study, a modification process is conducted on a commercial nuclear graphite to improve its impermeability to molten LBE used in LFR by impregnation and pyrolysis with polycarbosilane solution. Mercury and static molten LBE infiltration experiments are performed on pristine graphite and modified graphite to investigate and compare their differences in structural compactness and infiltration resistance to molten LBE. The experimental results demonstrate that the modification process can significantly improve the structural compactness of graphite substrate and thereby effectively enhance its infiltration resistance to molten LBE. Particularly, the infiltration amount of molten LBE into modified graphite is much less than that into pristine graphite under all infiltration pressures. Additionally, the dense SiC coating derived from polycarbosilane shows robust durability to stand up to the test of molten LBE infiltration experiments. These results preliminarily demonstrate that the modification process employed in this work is a feasible method to obtain graphite coolant channel material amenable to LFR.

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采用前驱体浸渍和热解工艺改善铅冷快堆中核石墨对熔融铅铋共晶的不渗透性

铅铋共晶熔融体在石墨冷却剂通道材料中的渗透是影响铅冷快堆稳定运行的一个重要问题。本研究采用聚碳硅烷溶液浸渍和热解的方法，对一种商用核石墨进行改性，以提高其对LFR中熔融LBE的不渗透性。对原始石墨和改性石墨进行了汞和静态熔融LBE渗透实验，研究并比较了它们在结构致密性和抗熔融LBE渗透性能方面的差异。实验结果表明，改性工艺可以显著提高石墨基体的结构致密性，从而有效增强其抗熔融LBE渗透能力。特别是在所有渗透压力下，熔融LBE对改性石墨的渗透量都远远小于对原始石墨的渗透量。此外，由聚碳硅烷衍生的致密SiC涂层具有强大的耐久性，可以经受熔融LBE渗透实验的测试。这些结果初步表明，本文所采用的改性工艺是获得适合LFR的石墨冷却剂通道材料的一种可行方法。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Nuclear Engineering and Technology 工程技术-核科学技术

CiteScore

4.80

自引率

7.40%

发文量

431

审稿时长

3.5 months

期刊介绍： Nuclear Engineering and Technology (NET), an international journal of the Korean Nuclear Society (KNS), publishes peer-reviewed papers on original research, ideas and developments in all areas of the field of nuclear science and technology. NET bimonthly publishes original articles, reviews, and technical notes. The journal is listed in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) of Thomson Reuters. NET covers all fields for peaceful utilization of nuclear energy and radiation as follows: 1) Reactor Physics 2) Thermal Hydraulics 3) Nuclear Safety 4) Nuclear I&C 5) Nuclear Physics, Fusion, and Laser Technology 6) Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Radioactive Waste Management 7) Nuclear Fuel and Reactor Materials 8) Radiation Application 9) Radiation Protection 10) Nuclear Structural Analysis and Plant Management & Maintenance 11) Nuclear Policy, Economics, and Human Resource Development