Fabrication and hydrogen generation reaction with water vapor of prototypic pebbles of binary beryllides as advanced neutron multiplier

Nakamichi, Masaru; Kim, Jae-Hwan

Advanced neutron multipliers with high stability at high temperatures are desired for the pebble bed blankets of DEMO reactors. Beryllium intermetallic compounds (beryllides) are the most promising material for this purpose. To fabricate the beryllide pebbles, a new granulation process has been established that combines a plasma sintering method for beryllide synthesis and a rotating electrode method using a plasma-sintered electrode for granulation. In granulation examinations, prototypic pebbles 1 mm in diameter of Be-V beryllide as well as Be-Ti beryllide were successfully fabricated. This study performed not only granulation of binary beryllides but also its characterization of the hydrogen generation reaction with water vapor compared with those of pure Be pebbles.