Silicon carbide drill

The fuel pins used in the core are a new type for OCR s. The vast majority of OCR reactors use a TRISO type fuel embedded in a graphite matrix and are thermal neutron spectrum reactors. TRISO fuels are small UC spheres coated with layers of silicon carbide and pyrolitic carbon. While this results in fuels that can be used to extremely high bumup, the uranium density of the fuel is low. A coolant hole is then drilled through the blocks of fuel and these blocks are put in a prismatic array. 

Tungsten-carbide cutting tools Titanium-nitride coatings on high-speed steel drill bits Silicon-carbide fibers and whiskers Boron-carbide abrasive blast nozzles... 

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