Irradiation resistance of silicon carbide joint at light water reactor-relevant temperature

Monolithic silicon carbide (SiC) to SiC plate joints were fabricated and irradiated with neutrons at 270-310 °C to 8.7 dpa for SiC. The joining methods included solid state diffusion bonding using titanium and molybdenum interlayers, SiC nanopowder sintering, reaction sintering with a Ti-Si-C system, and hybrid processing of polymer pyrolysis and chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). All the irradiated joints exhibited apparent shear strength of more than 84 MPa on average. Significant irradiation-induced cracking was found in the bonding layers of the Ti and Mo diffusion bonds and Ti-Si-C reaction sintered bond. The SiC-based bonding layers of the SiC nanopowder sintered and hybrid polymer pyrolysis and CVI joints all showed stable microstructure following the irradiation.