Oxidation rate of nuclear-grade graphite NBG-18 in the kinetic regime for VHTR air ingress accident scenarios

One of the most severe accident scenarios anticipated for VHTRs is an air ingress accident caused by a pipe break. Graphite oxidation could be severe under these conditions. In this work, the oxidation rate of NBG-18 nuclear-grade graphite was studied thermogravimetrically for different oxygen concentrations and with temperatures from 873 to 1873 K. A semi-empirical Arrhenius rate equation was developed for the temperature range of 873-1023 K. The activation energy of NBG-18 was 187 kJ/mol and the order of reaction was 1.25. The penetration depth of oxidant was about 3-4 mm for NBG-18 oxidized at 973 K. Increased porosity and changes in external geometry became more prominent at higher temperatures from about 1173 to 1873 K. The surface of oxidized NBG-18 was characterized by SEM, EDS, FTIR and XPS.