Mechanical behavior and design database of packed beds for blanket designs

The mechanical behavior and properties of particle beds relevant to fusion ceramic breeder blanket designs are addressed through a combination of experimental and analytical studies. A series of uniaxial compression tests are performed in a INSTRON hydraulic-press test facility in which compressive loads are applied to Li2ZrO3 and aluminum packed beds. The experimental data shows that the mechanical properties such as the bed effective modulus are stress dependent and consistent with the analytical model predictions. Nevertheless, the experimental data shows that the bed effective modulus is approximately two orders of magnitude lower than that of the solid material.