Very High Temperature Measurements: Application to Nuclear Reactor Safety Tests

This PhD dissertation focuses on the improvement of very high temperature thermometry (1100C to 2480C), with special emphasis on the application to the field of nuclear reactor safety and severe accident research. Two main projects were undertaken to achieve this objective: -The development, testing and transposition of high-temperature fixed point (HTFP) metal-carbon eutectic cells, from metrology laboratory precision (0.001C) to applied research with a reasonable degradation of uncertainties (3-5C). -The corrosion study and metallurgical characterization of Type-C thermocouple (service temp. 2300C) prospective sheath material was undertaken to extend the survivability of TCs used for molten metallic/oxide corium thermometry (below 2000C).Thesis (Ph.D., Nuclear Engineering)--University of Idaho, May 201