Thermocouples For High Temperature In-Pile Testing

Many advanced nuclear reactor designs require new fuel, cladding and structural materials. Data are needed to characeterize the performance of these new materials in high temperature, oxidizing and radiation conditions. To obtain this data, robust instrumentation is needed htat can survive proposed test conditions. Traditional methods for measuring temperature in-pile degrade at temperatures above 1080 degrees C. Hence, a project was intiated to develop specialized thermocouples for high temperature in-pile applications (see Rempe and Wilkins, 2005). This paper summarizes efforts to develop, fabricate and evaluate these specialized thermocouples