This study presents a novel combined generative shaping and material-forming (GSM) approach for preparing tritium breeder units for fusion reactors using 3D printing technology . For the first time, defect-free lithium-rich Li 4 SiO 4 porous structures were successfully prepared by combining photopolymerization and reaction sintering processes based on the use of low-cost Li 2 CO 3 and SiO 2 ceramic powders . Investigation was conducted on the preparation of the ceramic powder-based mixture slurry as well as the photopolymerization 3D printing and reaction sintering processes . Li 4 SiO 4 -based porous lattice ceramics with high purity, no obvious defects, and adjustable packing fraction were fabricated. The mechanical properties of the samples prepared with different packing fractions were then evaluated. The prepared samples showed better mechanical properties than the pebble bed structures with similar packing fractions. At a packing fraction of 92.10%, the crushing strength and elastic modulus reached 186.49 ± 0.04 MPa and 16.47 ± 0.03 GPa, respectively. These results show that the combination of photopolymerization 3D printing and reaction sintering processes based on the use of low-cost ceramic powders has significant advantages in terms of flexibility and efficiency in structure design and fabrication and cost-effectiveness in material forming with enhanced performance, providing a promising route to produce high-performance tritium breeder structures for fusion technologies. In particular, the present combined method also paves a promising generalized way to enable effective generative structure-shaping and material-forming in the advanced ceramic manufacturing industry, not to mention that the preparation of high-performance Li 4 SiO 4 tritium breeder units for fusion technologies.
Li 2 TiO 3 is a vital candidate breeder to solve tritium self-consistency of fusion reaction. In this study, Digital Light Processing (DLP) based on Stereolithography technology was used to fabricate Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles for the first time. Ceramic suspensions with different solid loadings were prepared by mixing modified Li 2 TiO 3 powder with UV-curable premixture. The size error of Li 2 TiO 3 green pebbles was corrected by adjusting the deformation factor of equatorial radius, and the Li 2 TiO 3 green pebbles were successfully fabricated with an accurate size. After sintering processing, the Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles with a uniform diameter of 1.5 mm and better sphericity of 1.01 were yielded. The sintering behavior of Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles were investigated. Results showed that the Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles formed with 35 vol% solid loading, and sintered at 1050 ℃ had a uniform pore distribution, and also had optimal properties, such as high relative density of 93.6 %TD, and prominent crush load of 92.3 N.
Li 2 TiO 3 -Li 4 SiO 4 biphasic ceramic has attracted increasing attention because of its unique advantages for tritium breeding in fusion reaction. To overcome the critical limitations of conventional Li 2 TiO 3 -Li 4 SiO 4 pebbles, particularly their inadequate mechanical strength and low packing density, this work developed high-performance Li 2 TiO 3 -Li 4 SiO 4 cubic units via digital light processing (DLP). The purge gas flow behavior in stacked cubic unit structure was studied by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method to evaluate its structural characteristics. The photosensitivity and rheological properties of precursor suspension were studied to verify the printing feasibility. Solid loading and sintering process were optimized to yield the defect-free Li 2 TiO 3 -Li 4 SiO 4 cubic unit. The results show that the purge gas had periodic velocity distribution and extremely low pressure drop in the stacked cubic unit structure. Li 2 TiO 3 -Li 2 SiO 3 -Li 2 CO 3 ceramic suspension possessed suitable photosensitivity and thixotropy, and its optimal solid loading was 40 vol%. After sintering at 1100 °C, the Li 2 TiO 3 -Li 4 SiO 4 cubic unit with high relative density (92.8 %TD), high crush load (2000.3 N) and favorable open-pore structure can be prepared. Comparative analyses of Li-based cubic units indicate that the Li 2 TiO 3 -Li 4 SiO 4 cubic unit not only addresses the limitations of single-phase variants but also demonstrates superior intrinsic characteristics, including excellent mechanical& thermomechanical properties and distinct hydrogen isotope release behavior. This work proves the feasibility of Li 2 TiO 3 -Li 4 SiO 4 biphasic strategy and potential of Li 2 TiO 3 -Li 4 SiO 4 cubic units for the future tritium breeding design.
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）