Effect of grain size on the hardness and reactivity of plasma-sintered beryllium

Beryllium and its intermetallic compounds have attracted great attention as promising neutron multipliers in fusion reactors. In this study, mechanical and chemical properties of fabricated plasma-sintered beryllium (PS-Be) with different grain-sizes are investigated. Density and hardness analysis results of the fabricated PS-Be samples infer that a smaller grain size in the sintered Be indicates higher porosity and hardness. Sintered Be with a large grain size exhibits better resistance toward oxidation at 1273 K in dry air and at 1073 K in Ar/1% H₂O, since oxidation at the grain boundaries of the determines the rate. In contrast, at 1273 K in Ar/1% H₂O, a catastrophic oxidation is indicated by the increase of weight of the samples and the generation of H₂ from the bulk Be