As a special functional and structural material, metal beryllium was initially used in the nuclear field and X-ray field. In the 1970s and 1980s, it began to turn to the defense and aerospace fields, and was used in inertial navigation systems, infrared optical systems and aerospace vehicles. Structural parts have been continuously and widely used.
Applications in nuclear energy
The nuclear properties of metal beryllium are very excellent, with the largest thermal neutron scattering cross-section (6.1 barn) in all metals, and the mass of Be atomic nucleus is small, which can reduce the speed of neutrons without losing neutron energy, so it is a good neutron Reflective material and moderator. my country has successfully developed a micro-reactor for neutron irradiation analysis and detection. The reflector used includes a short cylinder with an inner diameter of 220 mm, an outer diameter of 420 mm, and a height of 240 mm, as well as upper and lower end caps, with a total of 60 beryllium components. my country’s first high-power and high-flux test reactor uses beryllium as the reflective layer, and a total of 230 sets of precision beryllium components are used. The main domestic beryllium components are mainly provided by the Northwest Institute of Rare Metal Materials.
3.1.2. Application in Inertial Navigation System
Beryllium’s high micro-yield strength ensures the dimensional stability required for inertial navigation devices, and no other material can match the precision achieved by beryllium navigation. In addition, the low density and high stiffness of beryllium are suitable for the development of inertial navigation instruments towards miniaturization and high stability, which solves the problems of rotor stuck, poor running stability and short life when using hard Al to make inertial devices. In the 1960s, the United States and the former Soviet Union realized the transformation of inertial navigation device materials from duralumin to beryllium, which improved the navigation accuracy by at least one order of magnitude, and realized the miniaturization of inertial devices.
In the early 1990s, my country has successfully developed a hydrostatic floating gyroscope with a full beryllium structure. In my country, beryllium materials are also applied to different degrees in static pressure air-floating gyroscopes, electrostatic gyroscopes and laser gyroscopes, and the navigation accuracy of domestic gyroscopes has been greatly improved.

C17510 Beryllium Nickel Copper( CuNi2Be)

Applications in Optical Systems
The reflectivity of polished metal Be to infrared (10.6μm) is as high as 99%, which is especially suitable for optical mirror body. For a mirror body working in a dynamic (oscillating or rotating) system, the material is required to have a high deformability, and the rigidity of Be satisfies this requirement well, making it the material of choice compared to glass optical mirrors. Beryllium is the material used for the primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope manufactured by NASA.

my country’s beryllium mirrors have been successfully used in meteorological satellites, resource satellites and Shenzhou spacecraft. The Northwest Institute of Rare Metal Materials has provided beryllium scanning mirrors for Fengyun Satellite, and beryllium double-sided scanning mirrors and beryllium scanning mirrors for the development of the resource satellite and the “Shenzhou” spacecraft.
3.1.4. As aircraft structural material
Beryllium has low density and high elastic modulus, which can optimize the mass/volume ratio of components, and ensure high natural frequency of structural parts to avoid resonance. Used in the aerospace field. For example, the United States used a large number of metal beryllium components in the Cassini Saturn probe and the Mars rovers in order to reduce weight.