Elemental development of beryllide electrode for pebble production by rotating electrode method

Uchida, Munenori*; Uda, Minoru*; Iwadachi, Takaharu*; Nakamichi, Masaru; Kawamura, Hiroshi

In this paper, an elemental technology to fabricate beryllide rods by the vacuum casting was researched. Furnace material study to prevent the chemical reaction with beryllide and casting procedure study to cast durable ingot without any shrinkages and cracks were performed. From the results of the reactivity test of refractory material with BeTi, it was clear that the BeO crucible had less reactivity with melt and no contamination. From the results of casting tests with a MgO cylindrical mold in a vacuum chamber, it was revealed that the mold dimension was critical to minimize shrinkages and cracks. It was also found that the forced cooling by the MgO cylindrical sleeve with water-cooled copper mold on the bottom was efficient to improve the shrinkages and the cracks.