Characterization of the thermal conductivity for ceramic pebble beds

The evaluation of the thermal conductivity of breeder materials is one of the main goals to find the best candidate material for the fusion reactor technology. The aim of this paper is to evaluate experimentally the thermal conductivity of a ceramic material by applying the hot wire method at different temperatures, ranging from 50 to about 800 degrees C. The updated experimental facility, available at the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering (DICI) of the University of Pisa, used to determine the thermal conductivity of a ceramic material (alumina), will be described along with the measurement acquisition system. Moreover it will be also provided an overview of the current state of art of the ceramic pebble bed breeder thermos-mechanics R&D (e.g. Lithium Orthosilicate (Li4SiO4) and Lithium Metatitanate (Li2TiO3)) focusing on the up-to-date analysis. The methodological approach adopted is articulated in two phase: the first one aimed at the experimental evaluation of thermal conductivity of a ceramic material by means of hot wire method, to be subsequently used in the second phase that is based on the test rig method, through which is measured the thermal conductivity of pebble bed material. In this framework, the experimental procedure and the measured results obtained varying the temperature, are presented and discussed.