A sagger receiving element for burning powdery cathode materials for producing lithium ion accumulators including a rectangular shell comprising four side walls and a base, wherein the sagger receiving element is produced by a burning process from heat-resistant material which withstands temperatures of in particular more than 900° C., and wherein the material of the sagger receiving element is produced on the basis of oxide-bonded SiC, the material having the following chemical composition in percent by weight to a total of 100%: silicon carbide (SiC) content in a range of 40.0%-80.0%, Al.sub.2O.sub.3 content in a range of 10%-43%, total SiO.sub.2 content in a range of 5%-30%, and alkali oxide and iron oxide content of less than 2%.

A methodology is disclosed for compaction of a ceramic matrix of certain nuclear fuels incorporating neutron poisons, whereby those poisons aid in reactor control while aiding in fuel fabrication. Neutronic poisons are rare-earth oxides that readily form eutectics suppressing fuel fabrication temperature, of particular importance to the fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel form and fuel forms with volatile species.

According to the present invention, a dense composite material includes titanium silicide in an amount of 43 to 63 mass %; silicon carbide in an amount less than the mass percentage of the titanium silicide; and titanium carbide in an amount less than the mass percentage of the titanium silicide. In the dense composite material, a maximum value of interparticle distances of the silicon carbide is 40 μm or less, a standard deviation of the interparticle distances is 10 or less, and an open porosity of the dense composite material is 1% or less.

According to the present invention, a dense composite material includes titanium silicide in an amount of 43 to 63 mass %; silicon carbide in an amount less than the mass percentage of the titanium silicide; and titanium carbide in an amount less than the mass percentage of the titanium silicide. In the dense composite material, a maximum value of interparticle distances of the silicon carbide is 40 μm or less, a standard deviation of the interparticle distances is 10 or less, and an open porosity of the dense composite material is 1% or less.

A method of infiltrating a fiber preform comprises positioning an assembly in a process chamber, where the assembly includes a tool comprising through-holes, a fiber preform constrained within the tool, and a sacrificial preform disposed between the fiber preform and the tool. The sacrificial preform is gas permeable. The process chamber is heated, and gaseous reactants are delivered into the process chamber during the heating. The gaseous reactants penetrate the through-holes of the tool and infiltrate the sacrificial preform and the fiber preform. Deposition of reaction products occurs on exposed surfaces of the fiber preform and the sacrificial preform, and a coating is formed thereon. In addition, the sacrificial preform accumulates excess coating material formed from increased reactions at short diffusion depths. Accordingly, the coating formed on the fiber preform exhibits a thickness variation of about 10% or less throughout a volume of the fiber preform.

This SiC heater includes a heating element having a thin plate-shaped silicon carbide sintered body and an insulating coat film formed on a surface of the silicon carbide sintered body, a pair of electrodes for conducting electricity in the heating element, and a heater base that holds the heating element from one surface side while insulating the heating element from heat from the heating element, the insulating coat film is located on a surface of the silicon carbide sintered body opposite to the heater base, an electrical resistivity at room temperature of the insulating coat film is 10.sup.9 .Math.cm or more, a thermal expansion coefficient of the insulating coat film is 210.sup.6/K or more and 610.sup.6/K or less, SiO.sub.2 is included as a matrix, 1% by weight or more and 35% by weight or less of a first additive component including at least one of B.sub.2O.sub.3 and Al.sub.2O.sub.3 is contained, and 1% by weight or more and 35% by weight or less of a second additive component including at least one of MgO and CaO is contained.

This SiC heater includes a heating element having a thin plate-shaped silicon carbide sintered body and an insulating coat film formed on a surface of the silicon carbide sintered body, a pair of electrodes for conducting electricity in the heating element, and a heater base that holds the heating element from one surface side while insulating the heating element from heat from the heating element, the insulating coat film is located on a surface of the silicon carbide sintered body opposite to the heater base, an electrical resistivity at room temperature of the insulating coat film is 10.sup.9 .Math.cm or more, a thermal expansion coefficient of the insulating coat film is 210.sup.6/K or more and 610.sup.6/K or less, SiO.sub.2 is included as a matrix, 1% by weight or more and 35% by weight or less of a first additive component including at least one of B.sub.2O.sub.3 and Al.sub.2O.sub.3 is contained, and 1% by weight or more and 35% by weight or less of a second additive component including at least one of MgO and CaO is contained.

A method for producing microencapsulated fuel pebble fuel more rapidly and with a matrix that engenders added safety attributes. The method includes coating fuel particles with ceramic powder; placing the coated fuel particles in a first die; applying a first current and a first pressure to the first die so as to form a fuel pebble by direct current sintering. The method may further include removing the fuel pebble from the first die and placing the fuel pebble within a bed of non-fueled matrix ceramic in a second die; and applying a second current and a second pressure to the second die so as to form a composite fuel pebble.

A method for producing microencapsulated fuel pebble fuel more rapidly and with a matrix that engenders added safety attributes. The method includes coating fuel particles with ceramic powder; placing the coated fuel particles in a first die; applying a first current and a first pressure to the first die so as to form a fuel pebble by direct current sintering. The method may further include removing the fuel pebble from the first die and placing the fuel pebble within a bed of non-fueled matrix ceramic in a second die; and applying a second current and a second pressure to the second die so as to form a composite fuel pebble.

A ceramic substrate made of a dielectric material including silicon carbide particles, which is used as a forming material, in which the number of the silicon carbide particles per unit area on the surface of the substrate is smaller than the number of the silicon carbide particles per unit area in a cross section of the substrate.