Fabrication and Characterization of ⁶Li-Enriched Li₂TiO₃ Pebbles by Wet Process

抄録

Lithium titanate (Li₂TiO₃) pebbles are considered to be a candidate material of the tritium breeders for fusion reactor from viewpoints of good tritium recovery, chemical stability, etc. In the present study, fabrication tests of ⁶Li-enriched Li₂TiO₃ pebbles were carried out by a wet process with a dehydration reaction and their characteristics were evaluated in preparation of an irradiation experiment in a material testing reactor. Based on the results, ⁶Li-enriched Li₂TiO₃ pebbles and TiO₂-doped ⁶Li-enriched Li₂TiO₃ pebbles with the target values (density: 80-85%T.D., grain size:<5 μm, diameter: 0.85-1.18 mm) were successfully fabricated by this wet process. Sphericity of the Li₂TiO₃ pebbles, which is the ratio of the longest diameter to the shortest diameter, was a satisfying value of less than 1.1.