Characterization of vanadium beryllide pebble bed for the Japan DEMO blanket application

摘要

Beryllium intermetallic compounds (beryllides) are promising materials as advanced neutron multipliers for high-temperature applications. Methods of fabricating beryllides pebbles have been successfully developed by combining plasma sintering and rotating electrode granulation. To prevent an increase in the surface area and reactivity, as in the homogenized Be12Ti, we fabricated and characterized prototype pebbles of Be12 V, which do not undergo peritectic reactions during cooling. The Be12V pebbles were successfully fabricated without homogenization. The Be12V pebbles have good oxidation resistance with low hydrogen generation. The granulation yield of Be12 V pebbles was 70%. Packing fraction exhibited 60.5%. by vibration compaction with constrain. The effective thermal conductivity of a Be12V pebble bed with no-constraint was successfully measured.