High-Speed Camera-Based Analysis of the Lithium Ceramic Pebble Fabrication Process

• Published in: Chemical engineering & technology Vol. 37; no. 10; pp. 1654 - 1662
• Main Authors: Waibel, Patrick, Matthes, Jörg, Leys, Oliver, Kolb, Matthias, Keller, Hubert B., Knitter, Regina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 01.10.2014; WILEY‐VCH Verlag
• Subjects: Agglomeration; Ceramics; Droplets; Dynamics; Fabrication process; High speed; High-speed camera-based analysis; Image processing; Lithium; Lithium orthosilicate; Melts; Process parameters
• ISSN: 0930-7516; 1521-4125
• DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201300769

Lithium ceramic pebbles are a main component of the tritium breeding blanket in a future thermonuclear fusion plant. The melt‐based fabrication of the pebbles using the Plateau–Rayleigh instability emerged to be a promising approach in past investigations. However, the influence of process parameter variations on the pebble fabrication process is not yet well understood. Here, a new high‐speed camera‐based method to analyze the melt jet and the droplets directly in their formation phase is presented. Via special image processing algorithms, various individual properties such as dynamic changes, velocities, or agglomerations of the droplets are extracted. This new high‐speed camera‐based method provides additional information on the process state during the fabrication process. It is therefore an essential part in adapting and improving process parameters with respect to an overall enhanced product quality. Regarding the melt‐based fabrication of lithium ceramic pebbles, a high‐speed camera‐based method enabling the analysis of the melt jet and the droplets directly in their formation phase is presented. The image‐based extraction of individual droplet properties such as dynamic changes or agglomerations provided deeper insights into the melt‐based fabrication process.