Abstract Representative irradiated graphite properties are essential for the successful design, licensing and long term operation of a graphite moderated reactor. These properties are acquired from irradiation programs that are executed in different Materials Test Reactors around the world. Recently, the Nuclear Research and consultancy Group (NRG) has completed a graphite irradiation creep program by the name ACCENT to support long term operation of Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors in the UK. In a series of 4 irradiation steps, paired graphite specimens are irradiated at a temperature of 440 °C under loaded and non-loaded conditions. By using a modular design with pressurized bellows, a load of 5 or 10 MPa is applied to the specimens. Characterization of the graphite specimens is performed before, between and after the irradiation steps to generate graphite property curves in a range of 0 to 14 DPA. This paper describes the different design, construction and operational aspects of graphite irradiation (creep) facilities that are fundamental to successfully acquire representative irradiation data. It will be demonstrated how these different aspects are controlled for the ACCENT graphite irradiation creep facility.

中文翻译：

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石墨辐照蠕变设施的设计、建造和运行

摘要 具有代表性的辐照石墨特性对于石墨慢化反应堆的成功设计、许可和长期运行至关重要。这些特性是从在世界各地不同的材料测试反应器中执行的辐照程序中获得的。最近，核研究与咨询集团 (NRG) 完成了名为 ACCENT 的石墨辐照蠕变计划，以支持英国先进气冷反应堆的长期运行。在一系列 4 个辐照步骤中，成对的石墨样品在 440 °C 的温度下在加载和非加载条件下进行辐照。通过使用带有加压波纹管的模块化设计，对试样施加 5 或 10 MPa 的载荷。石墨样品的表征是在之前进行的，在辐照步骤之间和之后，生成 0 至 14 DPA 范围内的石墨特性曲线。本文描述了石墨辐照（蠕变）设施的不同设计、建造和操作方面，这些方面是成功获取代表性辐照数据的基础。将演示如何为 ACCENT 石墨辐照蠕变设施控制这些不同方面。