Toshiba and Ibiden have reported progress in their development of a technology that they say can produce silicon carbide for nuclear power applications 20 times faster than the conventional method.
Widely used in ceramics for semiconductors and other applications that need to withstand high heat and oxidation, SiC also has the potential to be used for in-core reactor components. The Japanese companies are among organizations researching better ways to manufacture nuclear SiC components, and they recently announced completion of a prototype fuel assembly cover using the material.
In a release, Toshiba reported that the efficient chemical vapor deposition manufacturing technique can currently make components more than 12 feet long. The process allows for high-precision molding that can create shapes that include thin-walled cylinders for potential use as fuel cladding tubes. The companies plan to test the fuel assembly cover in a research reactor in 2016 and hope to commercialize the component by 2025. Research partners also include Nuclear Fuel Industries Ltd. and professors from the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology and Tohoku University's Institute for Materials Research. The team plans to exhibit the technology at the 22nd International Conference on Nuclear Engineering in the Czech Republic this week.