Structure and mechanical properties of pyrolytic carbon produced by fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition

Pyrolytic carbon was deposited on spherical particles using a multi-spout fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition reactor to fabricate TRISO fuel for the High Temperature Reactor (HTR). Modern techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and nanoindentation supported by porosimetry, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were employed to analyze the particle coatings directly. Raman spectroscopy and nanoindentation were given special attention due to their capacity to provide information on the internal structure of pyrolytic carbon and its mechanical properties without the necessity of complex sample preparation. The results obtained were used to study the relationship deposition conditions–microstructure–mechanical properties in more detail. Increasing the deposition temperature reduced the density and Young's modulus as porosity and in-plane disorder of carbon domains increased. There was also a change from a laminar microstructure of PyC to that containing more spherical particles. It appeared that anisotropy, domain size and level of graphitization (examined by Raman and TEM) had a strong influence on the mechanical properties. Clear differences were observed between acetylene and the acetylene/propylene mixture as precursor gases.