A Review of Candidate Ceramic Materials for Use as Heat Shield Tiles in a Supercritical-Water-Cooled-Reactor

Abstract

The proposed Canadian supercritical-water-cooled reactor (SCWR) utilizes a reactor shell made of a zirconium alloy insulated with a ceramic tile heat shield. The main consideration in the selection of a tile material will be resistance to corrosion in supercritical water and long term microstructure stability, in addition to thermal conductivity. This paper provides a review of the literature on corrosion behaviours of ceramic materials in supercritical water and ranks candidate ceramic materials accordingly. Materials reviewed include alumina, zirconia, silica glasses, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, sialon, mullite, and aluminum nitride.