Fabrication of a Li4SiO4–Pb tritium breeding material

PbO2-doped Li4SiO4 pebbles were successfully fabricated by a liquid-atmosphere sintering process. Those pebbles sintered at 1000 °C under atmospheric conditions were found to have an average diameter of 1.05 mm, a sphericity of 98%, a theoretical density of 90.9%, an average crush load of 24.3 N, and a main phase structure of Li4SiO4 with a small percentage of Li8PbO6. Subsequent optimization of this fabrication process yielded ceramic pebbles suitable for tritium breeding in a test blanket module (TBM).