Study on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TRISO Microsphere
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摘要: 以ZrO2微球为模拟核芯,通过流化床化学气相沉积(FBCVD)工艺制备了三结构同向性包覆颗粒(TRISO)微球,利用扫描电镜、透射电镜等对TRISO微球各包覆涂层的微结构进行了观察分析,并采用微米压痕法测试了各包覆涂层的弹性模量和维氏硬度,在此基础上通过压溃实验对SiC涂层的断裂强度进行了测试。结果表明:①Buffer层由大量的球状碳颗粒组成,涂层中存在较多的大孔;②内PyC层和外PyC的结构类似,由大量表面包裹片层结构的球状碳颗粒组成,致密度相对较高;③SiC层以典型的β-SiC结晶态存在,原子层间距为0.26 nm;④各包覆涂层中,Buffer层的弹性模量和维氏硬度最低,分别在13.29 GPa和1.78 GPa左右,内PyC层的弹性模量和维氏硬度分别在25.80 GPa和3.18 GPa左右,外PyC层的弹性模量和硬度分别在28.15 GPa和3.66 GPa左右,SiC层的弹性模量与硬度均最高,分别在141.4 GPa和21.51 GPa左右;⑤通过压溃实验测得的SiC层平均断裂强度为2581 MPa。TRISO微球各包覆涂层不同的结构特征来源于不同的沉积工艺,前驱气体的热分解反应是控制包覆涂层结构的关键。本文对TRISO微球各涂层的结构和力学特征进行研究,获得相应的性能数据,对TRISO微球的设计应用和堆内辐照行为预测具有重要的指导意义。Abstract: The TRISO microspheres were prepared by fluidized-bed chemical vapor deposition (FBCVD) process with ZrO2 microspheres as simulated cores. The microstructures of the coating layers of the microspheres were inspected by SEM and TEM, and the elastic modulus as well as Vickers hardness of the coating layers were tested by micro indentation. Furthermore, the fracture strength of the SiC layer was tested by the crushing test. The results indicate that: ①the Buffer layer of the TRISO microspheres is composed of a large number of spherical particles, and there are many large pores in the coating layer; ②the microstructures of the IPyC and OPyC layers are similar, which are composed of a large number of spherical carbon particles coated with lamellar structure, with relatively high density; ③ the SiC layer exists in a typical β-SiC crystal state, and the atomic layer spacing is 0.26 nm; ④among all the coating layers, the Buffer layer has the lowest elastic modulus and hardness, which are about 13.29 GPa and 1.78 GPa respectively; however, the elastic modulus and hardness of inner PyC layer are about 25.80 GPa and 3.18 GPa respectively, and the elastic modulus and hardness of outer layer PyC are about 28.15 GPa and 3.66 GPa respectively; ⑤ for SiC layer, it has the highest elastic modulus and hardness, which are about 141.4 GPa and 21.3 GPa respectively, and its average fracture strength is 2581 GPa. The different structures of TRISO microspheres coatings come from different deposition process, and the thermal decomposition reaction of precursor gas is the key to controlling the coating structure. This paper studies the structure and mechanical characteristics of the TRISO microspheres, and obtains corresponding performance data, which has important guiding significance for the design and application of TRISO microspheres and the prediction of in-reactor radiation.
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Key words:
- TRISO microsphere /
- Pyrolytic carbon /
- SiC /
- Microstructure /
- Mechanical properties
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