Radiation Effects in SiC and SiC–SiC

Abstract

Silicon carbide has been studied for, and utilized by, nuclear systems for decades. Historically, it has been used as the micro pressure vessel in high-temperature gas-cooled reactor fuels, although it has been studied, and is currently being developed, in its composite form for structural application in gas-cooled and light water fission reactors. This article discusses in some detail the effects of neutron irradiation on the thermophysical properties of the currently known radiation-stable forms of silicon carbide.