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Hydrogen and helium measurements in pure nickel irradiated to 100 dpa in HFIR at temperatures between 300 and 600°C show higher gas concentrations than predicted from fast-neutron reactions and the two-step 58Ni(n,γ)59Ni (n,p and n,α) reactions. This additional gas production suggests previously unidentified nuclear sources of helium and possibly hydrogen that assert themselves at very high neutron exposure. The elevated hydrogen measurements are especially surprising since it is generally accepted that hydrogen is very mobile in nickel at elevated temperatures and therefore is easily lost, never reaching large concentrations. However, it appears that relatively large hydrogen concentrations can be reached and retained for many years after irradiation at reactor-relevant temperatures. These new effects may have a significant impact on the performance of nickel-bearing alloys at high neutron fluences in both fission and fusion reactor irradiations.

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Experimental studies of helium release from aged PdT» show that the helium-to-metal-atom ratio saturates at a value of [He]/[Pd]=0. 5 under conditions of ambient-temperature storage. Below this value, very little helium release occurs. Thermal desorption experiments show that release from a sample with [He]/[Pd]=0. 3 requires temperatures in excess of -600 K, while release from a sample with [He]/[Pd] =0.02 requires temperatures in excess of at least 1300 K.These results are related to the question of the disposition of helium that would be produced by hypothetical fusion reactions in a Pdo"electrode.