The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project is tasked with selecting a high temperature gas reactor technology that will be capable of generating electricity and supplying large amounts of process heat. The NGNP is presently being designed as a helium-cooled high temperature gas reactor (HTGR) with a large graphite core. The graphite baseline characterization project is conducting the research and development (R & D) activities deemed necessary to fully qualify nuclear-grade graphite for use in the NGNP reactor. One of the major fundamental objectives of the project is establishing nonirradiated thermomechanical and thermophysical properties by characterizing lot-to-lot and billet-to-billet variations (for probabilistic baseline data needs) through extensive data collection and statistical analysis. The reactor core will be made up of stacks of graphite moderator blocks. In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the varying characteristics in a wide range of suitable graphites, any of which can be classified as "nuclear grade," an experimental program has been initiated to develop an extensive database of the baseline characteristics of numerous candidate graphites. Various factors known to affect the properties of graphite will be investigated, including specimen size, spatial location within a graphite billet, specimen orientation within a billet (either parallel to [P] or transverse to [T] the long axis of the as-produced billet), and billet-to-billet variations within a lot or across different production lots. Because each data point is based on a certain position within a given billet of graphite, particular attention must be paid to the traceability of each specimen and its spatial location and orientation within each billet. The evaluation of these properties is discussed in the Graphite Technology Development Plan (Windes et. al 2007). One of the key components in the evaluation of these graphite types will be mechanical testing of specimens drawn from carefully controlled sections of each billet. This report is confirmation that the test procedures are in place and approved, and that mechanical testing of graphite under the Baseline Graphite Characterization program has commenced.

Lists citations with abstracts for aerospace related reports obtained from world wide sources and announces documents that have recently been entered into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Database.

This report details the initial comparison of mechanical strength properties between the cylindrical nuclear-grade graphite specimens irradiated in the second Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC-2) experiment with the established baseline, or unirradiated, mechanical properties compiled in the Baseline Graphite Characterization program. The overall comparative analysis will describe the development of an appropriate test protocol for irradiated specimens, the execution of the mechanical tests on the AGC-2 sample population, and will further discuss the data in terms of developing an accurate irradiated property distribution in the limited amount of irradiated data by leveraging the considerably larger property datasets being captured in the Baseline Graphite Characterization program. Integrating information on the inherent variability in nuclear-grade graphite with more complete datasets is one of the goals of the VHTR Graphite Materials program. Between "sister" specimens, or specimens with the same geometry machined from the same sub-block of graphite from which the irradiated AGC specimens were extracted, and the Baseline datasets, a comprehensive body of data will exist that can provide both a direct and indirect indication of the full irradiated property distributions that can be expected of irradiated nuclear-grade graphite while in service in a VHTR system. While the most critical data will remain the actual irradiated property measurements, expansion of this data into accurate distributions based on the inherent variability in graphite properties will be a crucial step in qualifying graphite for nuclear use as a structural material in a VHTR environment.

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project Graphite Research and Development program is currently establishing the safe operating envelope of graphite core components for a very high temperature reactor design. To meet this goal, the program is generating the extensive amount of quantitative data necessary for predicting the behavior and operating performance of the available nuclear graphite grades. In order determine the in-service behavior of the graphite for the latest proposed designs, two main programs are underway. The first, the Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC) program, is a set of experiments that are designed to evaluate the irradiated properties and behavior of nuclear grade graphite over a large spectrum of temperatures, neutron fluences, and compressive loads. Despite the aggressive experimental matrix that comprises the set of AGC test runs, a limited amount of data can be generated based upon the availability of space within the Advanced Test Reactor and the geometric constraints placed on the AGC specimens that will be inserted. In order to supplement the AGC data set, the Baseline Graphite Characterization program will endeavor to provide supplemental data that will characterize the inherent property variability in nuclear-grade graphite without the testing constraints of the AGC program. This variability in properties is a natural artifact of graphite due to the geologic raw materials that are utilized in its production. This variability will be quantified not only within a single billet of as-produced graphite, but also from billets within a single lot, billets from different lots of the same grade, and across different billets of the numerous grades of nuclear graphite that are presently available. The thorough understanding of this variability will provide added detail to the irradiated property data, and provide a more thorough understanding of the behavior of graphite that will be used in reactor design and licensing. This report covers the development of the Baseline Graphite Characterization program from a testing and data collection standpoint through the completion of characterization on the first billet of nuclear-grade graphite. This data set is the starting point for all future evaluations and comparisons of material properties.

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project is tasked with selecting a high temperature gas reactor technology that will be capable of generating electricity and supplying large amounts of process heat. The NGNP is presently being designed as a helium-cooled high temperature gas reactor (HTGR) with a large graphite core. The graphite baseline characterization project is conducting the research and development (R & D) activities deemed necessary to fully qualify nuclear-grade graphite for use in the NGNP reactor. Establishing nonirradiated thermomechanical and thermophysical properties by characterizing lot-to-lot and billet-to-billet variations (for probabilistic baseline data needs) through extensive data collection and statistical analysis is one of the major fundamental objectives of the project. The reactor core will be made up of stacks of graphite moderator blocks. In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the varying characteristics in a wide range of suitable graphites, any of which can be classified as "nuclear grade," an experimental program has been initiated to develop an extensive database of the baseline characteristics of numerous candidate graphites. Various factors known to affect the properties of graphite will be investigated, including specimen size, spatial location within a graphite billet, specimen orientation within a billet (either parallel to [P] or transverse to [T] the long axis of the as-produced billet), and billet-to-billet variations within a lot or across different production lots. Because each data point is based on a certain position within a given billet of graphite, particular attention must be paid to the traceability of each specimen and its spatial location and orientation within each billet. The evaluation of these properties is discussed in the Graphite Technology Development Plan (Windes et. al, 2007). One of the key components in the evaluation of these graphite types will be mechanical testing on specimens drawn from carefully controlled sections of each billet. To this end, this report will discuss the machining of the first set of test specimens that will be evaluated in this program through tensile, compressive, and flexural testing. Validation that the test specimens have been produced to the tolerances required by the applicable ASTM standards, and to the quality control levels required by this program, will demonstrate the viability of sending graphite to selected suppliers that will provide valuable and certifiable data to future data sets that are integral to the NGNP program and beyond.