Novel mixed-oxide ceramic for neutron multiplication and tritium generation

Beryllium and lithium titanate (Li2TiO3), have limited use in blankets due to the swelling of beryllium and low thermal conductivity of Li2TiO3. A novel mixed oxide composite of beryllium oxide and lithium titanate (BeO–Li2TiO3) is proposed, which utilizes the high thermal conductivity of BeO and its favourable neutronics. Li2TiO3 was prepared using two different routes, one employing a solid-state reaction and the other through sol–gel route. The sintered BeO–Li2TiO3 is found to have no intermediate products and its thermal conductivity decreased from 36 to 14 W/m/K with the increase in temperature from 127 °C to 927 °C. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of BeO–Li2TiO3 is less than that of Li2TiO3. Thermodynamic calculations show that tritium cannot be trapped in BeO unless beryllium monotrioxide (BeOT) is formed. The merits of BeO are compared with beryllium metal and neutronic calculations on tritium production in this novel mixed oxide are also presented.