General properties on compatibility between Be–Ti alloy and SS 316LN

Beryllium alloys such as Be–Ti and Be–V have been expected to be promising candidates for advanced neutron multipliers for their high melting point, high beryllium content, low activation, good chemical stability, etc. In previous results, the thickness of the reaction layer between Be12Ti and SS 316LN was much smaller than that between Be and SS 316. Recently, Be–Ti alloys with α-Be phase have been studied for pebble fabrication by the rotating electrode method. Therefore, the compatibility between Be–Ti alloys and SS 316LN was investigated. The reaction products, such as BeNi and Be2Fe, were revealed by X-ray analysis on the surface of SS 316LN after specimen annealing. The thickness of the reaction layer for the Be–5at%Ti and Be–7at%Ti specimens was almost the same, and the thickness for these alloys exposed at 800 °C during 1000 h was approximately 100 μm, which is much smaller than the previously obtained value, ∼300 μm, for Be under the same annealing conditions. Thus, the results of these compatibility tests showed that Be–Ti alloys which include αBe and Be12Ti have advantages for high temperature applications.