Multiscaled and multilayered structures of the SIC_f/SIC composite nuclear fuel cladding tubes

The aim of the study is to examine the complicated multiscaled and multilayered microstructures of the SiC_f/SiC composite fuel cladding tube for PWR. Firstly, the two dimensional braided SiC_f/SiC composite tube is prepared using the isothermal isobaric CVI process. Secondly, the X-ray computed tomography imaging analysis is used to characterize the tube internal structure non-destructively. And then, the tube is cut into several pieces and section analysis is also conducted using the scanning electric microscopy (SEM) assisted with the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) to further investigate the internal microstructures and determine the different substructures of the SiC_f/SiC composite.