A validation of the possibility of developing and the basic advantages of a high-temperature nuclear reactor where the first-loop coolant is a solid are presented. The basic requirements for a solid coolant are formulated, a technology for fabricating spherical graphite particles by gas-phase pyrolytic deposition is developed, and three experimental batches are prepared. The experimental facilities for investigating the motion and heat transfer, including coolant flow stability, heat exchange, and durability, are described. The results of a determination of the heat-emission coefficient during the flow of the solid coolant in a 10-mm in diameter circular channel with warming-wall temperatures in the range 373–1073 K and flow velocities 0.1–0.22 m/sec in vacuum, argon, and helium are presented. The requirements for a 500-kW bench model, on which the basic parameters of the nuclear power system with a solid coolant are to be obtained, are formulated.
