Ceramic pebble bed development for fusion blankets

Conference · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:196846

Gierszewski, P ^[1]; Kawamura, H ^[2]; Donne, M D ^[3]

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1. CFFTP, Mississagua (Canada)
2. Jaeri, Oarai (Japan)
3. KfK, Karlsruhe (Germany); and others

Research on lithium ceramic breeders has been intensive since the late 1970`s. The bulk material properties of several candidate lithium ceramics are generally available, although there is still much work to be done on properties under irradiation and on overall behavior in blanket modules. Based on these results, lithium ceramic breeders have been selected in many fusion design studies. These lithium ceramics are incorporated into blankets typically as monolithic pellets of packed pebble beds. There is substantial industrial experience with pebble beds made from other ceramics, notably in chemical processes as catalyst supports and grinding media, and in advanced fission reactor fuels. In fusion blankets, the pebble bed form offers several attractive features, including simpler assembly into complex geometry, uniform pore network, and low sensitivity to cracking or irradiation damage. Ceramic breeder pebbles have been a focus for several research groups. In general, the database is similar to that of monolithic pellets for the materials studied: basic production and material property data are available, but the irradiation and engineering database remains sparse.

• OSTI ID: 196846
• Report Number(s): CONF-940664--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
BREEDING BLANKETS
BREEDING PELLETS
CERAMICS
LITHIUM COMPOUNDS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES