Invited Review Paper -R2 CEI SUN 3 0 O S T ITritium retention inside the vacuum vessel has emerged as a potentially serious constraint in the operation of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). In this paper we review recent tokamak and laboratory data on hydrogen, deuterium and tritium retention for materials and conditions which are of direct relevance to the design of ITER. These data, together with significant advances in understanding the underlying physics, provide the basis for modelling predictions of the tritium inventory in ITER.We present the derivation, and discuss the results, of current predictions both in terms of implantation and codeposition rates, and critically discuss their uncertainties and sensitivity to important design and operation parameters such as the plasma edge conditions, the surface temperature, the presence of mixed-materials, etc. These analyses are consistent with recent tokamak findings and show that codeposition of tritium occurs on the divertor surfaces primarily with carbon eroded from a limited area of the divertor near the strike zones. This issue remains an area of serious concern for ITER. The calculated codeposition rates for ITER are relatively high and the in-vessel tritium inventory limit could be reached, under worst assumptions, in approximately a week of continuous operation.We discuss the implications of these estimates on the design, operation and safety of ITER and present a strategy for resolving the issues. We conclude that as long as carbon is used in ITER, the efficient control and removal of the codeposited tritium is essential. There is a critical need to develop and test in-situ cleaning techniques and procedures that are beyond the current experience of present-day tokamaks. We review some of the principal methods that are being investigated and tested, in conjunction with the R&D work still required to extrapolate their applicability to ITER. Finally, unresolved issues are identified and recommendations are made on potential R&D avenues for their resolution.

Metal borides have attracted the attention of researchers due to their useful physical properties and unique ability to form high hydrogen-capacity metal borohydrides. We demonstrate improved hydrogen storage properties of a nanoscale Mg–B material made by surfactant ball milling MgB2 in a mixture of heptane, oleic acid, and oleylamine. Transmission electron microscopy data show that Mg–B nanoplatelets are produced with sizes ranging from 5 to 50 nm, which agglomerate upon ethanol washing to produce an agglomerated nanoscale Mg–B material of micron-sized particles with some surfactant still remaining. X-ray diffraction measurements reveal a two-component material where 32% of the solid is a strained crystalline solid maintaining the hexagonal structure with the remainder being amorphous. Fourier transform infrared shows that the oleate binds in a “bridge-bonding” fashion preferentially to magnesium rather than boron, which is confirmed by density functional theory calculations. The Mg–B nanoscale material is deficient in boron relative to bulk MgB2 with a Mg–B ratio of ∼1:0.75. The nanoscale MgB0.75 material has a disrupted B–B ring network as indicated by X-ray absorption measurements. Hydrogenation experiments at 700 bar and 280 °C show that it partially hydrogenates at temperatures 100 °C below the threshold for bulk MgB2 hydrogenation. In addition, upon heating to 200 °C, the H–H bond-breaking ability increases ∼10-fold according to hydrogen–deuterium exchange experiments due to desorption of oleate at the surface. This behavior would make the nanoscale Mg–B material useful as an additive where rapid H–H bond breaking is needed.

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A continuum-scale, evolutionary model of helium (He) nano-bubble nucleation, growth and He release for aging bulk metal tritides is presented which accounts for major features of the experimental database. Bubble nucleation, modeled as self-trapping of interstitially diffusing He atoms, is found to occur during the first few days following tritium introduction into the metal and is sensitive to the He diffusivity and pairing energy. An effective helium diffusivity of 0 . 3~1 0 -l~ cm2/s at 300 K is required to generate the average bubble density of 5x 1017 bubbles/cm3 observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Early bubble growth by dislocation loop punching with a l/radius bubble pressure dependence produces good agreement with He atomic volumes and bubble pressures determined from swelling data, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements, and hydride pressure-compositiontemperature (PCT) shifts. The model predicts that later in life neighboring bubble interactions may first lower the loop punching pressure through cooperative stress effects, then raise the pressure by partial blocking of loops. It also accounts for the shape of the bubble spacing distribution obtained from NMR data. This distribution is found to remain fixed with age, justifying the separation of nucleation and growth phases, providing a sensitive test of the growth formulation, and indicating that further significant bubble nucleation does not occur throughout life. Helium generated within the escape depth of surfaces and surface-connected porosity produces the low-level early helium release. Accelerated or rapid release is modeled as inter-bubble fracture using an average ligament stress criterion. Good agreement is found between the predicted onset of fracture and the observed Hemetal ratio (HeM) for rapid He release from bulk palladium tritide. An examination of how inter-bubble fracture varies over the bubble spacing distribution shows that the critical H e m will be lower for thin films or small particle material. It is concluded that control of He retention can be accomplished through control of bubble nucleation.

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