Contributing Editors

Contributing Editors Loren A. Jacobson Robert J. Hanrahan Los Alamos National Laboratory, Retired National Nuclear Security Agency Dennis R. Floyd Richard Alan Patterson Science Applications International Corp. Los Alamos National Laboratory Gilbert London James C. Foley U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, Retired Los Alamos National Laboratory George Fulton Frank Gibbs Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Colorado School of Mines Don H. Hashiguchi Curtis Salmon Brush Wellman, Inc. Colorado School of Mines Mark N. Emly Angelique Lasseigne Brush Wellman, Inc. Colorado School of Mines Warren Haws Erik A. Pfeif Brush Wellman, Inc. Colorado School of Mines Christopher Dorn Donald J. Kaczynski Brush Wellman, Inc. Brush Wellman, Inc., Retired About the cover: The James Webb Space Telescope scheduled to launch in 2013 is a large infrared telescope. The 6.5 m (21 ft) primary mirror contains 18 hexagonal segments made of beryllium. Credit: NASA (www.jwst.nasa.gov) Beryllium Chemistry and Processing Kenneth A. Walsh Deceased Edited by Edgar E. Vidal Brush Wellman, Inc. Alfred Goldberg Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Edward N.C. Dalder Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory David L. Olson Colorado School of Mines Brajendra Mishra Colorado School of Mines www.asminternational.org Copyright © 2009 by ASM International® All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright owner. First printing, July 2009 Great care is taken in the compilation and production of this book, but it should be made clear that NO WAR- RANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MER- CHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE GIVEN IN CONNECTION WITH THIS PUBLICATION. Although this information is believed to be accurate by ASM, ASM cannot guarantee that favorable results will be obtained from the use of this publication alone. This publication is intended for use by persons having technical skill, at their sole discretion and risk. Since the conditions of product or material use are outside of ASM’s control, ASM assumes no liability or obligation in connection with any use of this information. No claim of any kind, whether as to products or information in this publication, and whether or not based on negligence, shall be greater in amount than the purchase price of this product or publication in respect of which damages are claimed. THE REMEDY HEREBY PROVIDED SHALL BE THE EXCLUSIVE AND SOLE REMEDY OF BUYER, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE FOR SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHETHER OR NOT CAUSED BY OR RESULTING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF SUCH PARTY. As with any material, evaluation of the material under end-use conditions prior to specification is essential. Therefore, specific testing under actual conditions is recommended. Nothing contained in this book shall be construed as a grant of any right of manufacture, sale, use, or reproduc- tion, in connection with any method, process, apparatus, product, composition, or system, whether or not cov- ered by letters patent, copyright, or trademark, and nothing contained in this book shall be construed as a defense against any alleged infringement of letters patent, copyright, or trademark, or as a defense against liability for such infringement. Comments, criticisms, and suggestions are invited, and should be forwarded to ASM International. Prepared under the direction of the ASM International Technical Book Committee (2008–2009), Lichun L. Chen, Chair. ASM International staff who worked on this project include Scott Henry, Senior Manager of Product and Service Development; Charles Moosbrugger and Eileen DeGuire, Technical Editors; Ann Britton, Editorial Assistant; Bonnie Sanders, Manager of Production; Madrid Tramble, Senior Production Coordinator; Diane Whitelaw, Production Coordinator; Patty Conti, Production Coordinator; and Kathryn Muldoon, Production Assistant Library of Congress Control Number:2009923299 ISBN-13: 978-0-87170-721-5 ISBN-10: 0-87170-721-7 SAN: 204-7586 ASM International® Materials Park, OH 44073-0002 www.asminternational.org Printed in the United States of America Dedication Dr. Kenneth A. Walsh Kenneth Walsh was a scientist, technologist, and corporate leader in the beryllium industry. Dr. Ken Walsh was a South Dakota native who attained the love of chemistry from Dr. Gregg Evans, professor of chemistry at Yankton College in South Dakota. Ken received his A.B. degree in chemistry from Yankton College in 1942. He continued his studies in chemistry at Iowa State University at Ames, Iowa until his education was in- terrupted in 1943 by an invitation to join the Manhattan Project. He started his profes- sional career at Los Alamos where he was working on the task to convert enriched ura- nium from oxide to fluoride which was then reduced to metal. His Los Alamos experiences allowed him to be a contributor to chemical metallurgy at the beginning of the atomic energy age. He also worked on the chemistry of transuranic-metals and compounds. In addition, Ken met his future wife, Dorothy, at Los Alamos. In 1946, he returned to Iowa State University to continue his research for the Atomic Energy Com- mission and finish his Ph.D. degree. He returned to Los Alamos in 1951. During the period from 1957 to 1960, Dr. Walsh did inorganic chemical research for the International Mineral and Chemical Company in Mulberry, Florida. In 1960, Dr. Walsh joined the Brush Wellman Company as Research Manager and focused the rest of his career in the science and engineering of beryllium metal and its compounds and alloys. He made many contributions to the chemical and metallurgical processing of beryllium. From his contributions and experiences, he was recognized as an expert in most of the scientific and technology issues associated with production of beryllium. He has numerous publications and patents and was often called upon to give presentations on beryllium to the broader mineral and metallurgical engineering community. He retired as Associate Director of Technology in 1986 and moved to Tyler, Texas. Kenneth A. Walsh 1922–1999 Preface With the downturn in beryllium production due to changes in the international politi- cal, environmental, health and safety issues, there has been a curtailment in beryllium research and development and a significant loss in beryllium intellectual capacity. Dr. Walsh, knowing that beryllium exhibits unique and advantageous properties as a primary material and as an alloying addition, foresaw that beryllium offers significant advantages that can not be ignored if technology is to advance. Dr. Walsh envisioned a book, which would serve the function as an instructional tool to educate a scientist and engineer as to the chemistry and chemical and metallurgical processing of beryllium. This book should serve as a textbook for a short course or be complete enough to be used by an individual in self-education. This book is, also, to serve as an archive of the tremendous amount of generated knowledge, which does not need to be rediscovered. And finally, this book should offer the user a one stop resource for the necessary chemical and physical data that is often required by practitioners of the chemistry and/or chemical processing of beryllium. Dr. Walsh was concerned about the education of young engineers and wanted them to be fully prepared with both beryllium science and technology, but, also, to have cognizance about the health issues and the proper practices to handle and process beryllium ore, metals, chemicals and waste. The book is presented in the manner of an introduction of what beryllium is, its history, and its chemical and physical properties. The mineralogy of beryllium, the preferred sources, and the global source of ore bodies are presented. The identification and specifics of the industrial metallurgical processes used to form oxide from the ore and then metal from the oxide are thoroughly described. The special features of beryllium chemistry are introduced, including analytical chemical practices. Beryllium compounds of industrial interest are identified and discussed. Manufacturing processes of alloying, casting, powder metallurgy processing, forming, metal removal, joining, and others are introduced. The industrially interesting alloys are also identified and specified for their content and applications. The physical metallurgy chapter is offered to bring some con- formity between chemical and physical metallurgical processing of beryllium, metal, alloys, and compounds. The environmental degradation of beryllium and its alloys both in aqueous and high temperature condition are presented. The health issues are thoroughly presented in one chapter written by experienced professionals. Another chapter is offered to describe the various requirements to handle beryllium in the workplace and the estab- lished practices that are available to meet these continuing requirements. A thorough list of references will assist the user of this book in further investigation. Contributors to this book come from industry, the academic world, and national laboratories. Each group provides their insight on beryllium technology. We would like to extend a special note of appreciation for the support of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories in this project. David L. Olson Colorado School of Mines Edgar E. Vidal Brush Wellman, Inc. January 2009 vii Contents Preface . vii Chapter 1 Introduction . 1 1.1 Physical Properties . 4 1.2 Chemical Properties . 4 Chapter 2 History of Beryllium . 7 2.1 Early History. 7 2.2 Description of the Origin of the Domestic Beryllium Industry. 8 2.3 Description of Foreign Beryllium Production . 12 2.4 Current Status of the Beryllium Industry . 17 Chapter 3 Sources of Beryllium . 19 3.1 Mineralogy . 20 3.2 Geological Outcroppings . 22 3.3 Summary Statement . 25 Chapter 4 Physical and Nuclear Properties . 27 4.1 Introduction . 27 4.2 Atomic/Crystal Structure . 27 4.3 Elastic Properties . 27 4.4 Thermal Properties . 32 4.5 Nuclear Properties .

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