Performance of ceramic breeder materials in the SIBELIUS experiment

Abstract

Lithium-containing ceramics are among the leading candidates for use as tritium breeding materials in a fusion reactor. An issue affecting both the safety and economics of the reactor is the tritium inventory. The SIBELIUS experiment was designed to examine material compatibility between the different components of a breeder blanket (ceramic breeder, beryllium neutron multiplier, steel structural material) and to examine the tritium inventory in the ceramic and beryllium. The tritium inventories in four candidate ceramics, as determined by measurements at the end of life, were found to be low and unchanged by the presence of beryllium. The inventory increased in the order lithium zirconate < lithium oxide < lithium orthosilicate < lithium aluminate, with the inventory in the zirconate less than 0.03 wppm at 550°C.