Xinlei Cao, Zhenming Lu, Yuxiao Feng, Juan Bai, Bing Liu, Ke Shen*

Proceedings of 2022 ICONE29. (Best paper award)

https://doi.org/10.1115/ICONE29-92524

Abstract

Matrix graphite (MG) constitutes a major component of the fuel element in high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTRs), and its performance directly affects the economy and safety of HTRs. A3-3 MG, developed in Germany in the last century, is still used today without significant changes. However, with the successful commercialization of HTR, there is an urgent need to develop MG that is suitable for the characteristics of each country. In this paper, comparative studies on the powder processing of natural flake graphite were carried out based on the raw materials from Inner Mongolia. First, the influence of the sequence of purification and pulverization on the basic properties of graphite powder was studied. Second, the influence of the degree of spheroidization of the natural flake graphite powder on the properties of the MG was further investigated, and the controlling mechanism of the spheroidization process on the microstructure and physical properties of the MG was revealed. The results of this study provide important insights for optimizing the preparation process of HTR fuel element MG.