Elementary development for beryllide pebble fabrication by rotating electrode method

Beryllides (Be12Ti, Be12V, etc.) are expected to be promising candidates for advanced neutron multipliers for the DEMO blanket. However, it has been difficult to fabricate beryllide pebbles by rotating electrode method (REM) that is the standard fabrication process for the beryllium (Be) pebbles, because of the brittleness of beryllide electrode rod. In this study, the chemical composition of the materials and the fabrication process of the electrode were surveyed. Then the small-scale electrode was fabricated and preliminary trials of pebbles production were conducted by REM. The electrode of the improved material withstood the thermal stress under arc heating and a certain amount of pebbles were obtained. These pebbles by REM were dense and had fine structure. The feasibility of the production of beryllide pebbles by REM was confirmed.