Effect of plasma-sintering consolidation on the reactivity of beryllium

Density measurements and hydrogen generation test were carried out to investigate sinterability as well as reactivity of a plasma-sintered beryllium (PS-Be) at high temperatures for different grade beryllium. Density evaluation clarified that PS-Be was fabricated with high sintering density and low number of open pores, which was similar to the commercial beryllium fabricated by a hot-pressing method with different grades. Additionally, surface observation results implied that the PS-Be was fabricated not only with smaller grain sizes but also with less impurity. Regarding the reactivity for dry air as well as 10,000 ppm H2O/Ar, it showed that the PS-Be exhibited larger weight gains and higher H2 concentration at 1073 K, as compared to other beryllium specimens. However, at 1273 K all specimens indicated similar oxidation behaviour and H2 gas generation.