Study of lithium germanate additions to advanced ceramic breeder pebbles

摘要

Worldwide, lithium rich ceramic pebbles are being developed to be used as tritium breeders inside future fusion reactors. Upon irradiation, the pebbles will produce tritium which will be used alongside deuterium to fuel the fusion reaction. It is essential that these pebbles are of sufficient quality to withstand the various forces experienced within the wall of the reactor. Currently, a melt-based process is used at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology for the production of pebbles composed of lithium orthosilicate with a secondary strengthening phase of lithium metatitanate.