• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.583-591
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• 2021

Various compositions of CeO₂-Ce₃Si₂ (0, 10, 30, 50, and 100 wt%Ce₃Si₂) composites were fabricated using conventional sintering and spark plasma sintering. Lower relative density, enhanced interdiffusion of oxygen and silicon, and silicide agglomerations from the congruent melting of Ce₃Si₂ at 1390 ℃ were only observed from conventionally-sintered pellets. Thermal conductivity of spark plasma sintered CeO₂-Ce₃Si₂ composites was calculated from the measured thermal diffusivity, specific heat, and density, which exhibited dense (>90 %TD) and homogeneous microstructure. The composite with 50 wt%Ce₃Si₂ exhibited 55% higher thermal conductivity than CeO₂ at 500 ℃, and 81% higher at 1000 ℃.