MECHANICAL-BEHAVIOR AND DESIGN DATABASE OF PACKED-BEDS FOR BLANKET DESIGNS

The mechanical behavior and properties of particle beds relevant to fu sion ceramic breeder blanket designs are addressed through a combinati on of experimental and analytical studies. A series of uniaxial compre ssion tests are performed in a INSTRON hydraulic-press test facility i n which compressive loads are applied to Li2ZrO3 and aluminum packed b eds. The experimental data shows that the mechanical properties such a s the bed effective modulus are stress dependent and consistent with t he analytical model predictions. Nevertheless, the experimental data s hows that the bed effective modulus is approximately two orders of mag nitude lower than that of the solid material. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scienc e S.A. All rights reserved.