A Fast Neutron, In Situ Tritium Recovery Experiment on Solid Breeder Materials

Hollenberg, G.W.; Kurasawa, T.; Watanabe, Hitoshi; Berk, S.E.; Hastings, I.J.; Miller, J.M.; Baker, Donald W.; Bauer, R.E.; Puigh, R.J.

doi:10.13182/fst89-a39876

Cited by 15 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…The occurrence of small negative peaks preceding the larger positive peaks after temperature increases was observed in BEATRIX-11, Phase I, the CRITIC-I experiment [9,10] and by Tanaka, et al, [ll]. In BEATRIX-11, Phase I these negative peaks were only observed early in the experiment.…”

Section: Negative Recovery Peaksmentioning

confidence: 81%

In situ tritium from Li{sub 2}O and Li{sub 2}ZrO{sub 3} irradiated in a fast neutron flux: BEATRIX-II, Phase 1 and 2

Slagle¹,

Hollenberg

Kurasawa³

et al. 1994

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BEATRIX-I1 was an in situ tritium recovery experiment designed to characterize the behavior of lithium ceramics irradiated to high burnup in a fast neutron flux. This in situ tritium recovery experiment provided data on the performance of Li20 and Li,ZrO, under irradiation conditions covering a range of sweep gas compositions and temperatures. The experiment consisted o f two separate irradiation cycles which in turn included two vented tritium recovery canisters each. while Phase I1 operated for 203 EFPD of irradiation. resulted in lithium burnups in excess of 4%. Phase I operated for 300 Effective Full Power Days (EFPD) Both Phase I and I1 The tritium recovery behavior of Li,O and Li ZrO, was characterized using temperature transients, sweep gas composition changes and reactor power changes to effect changes in the tritium inventory. These parameter changes indicated that increasing temperatures or increasing concentrations of hydrogen in the sweep gas, in general, resulted in a decrease in the tritium inventories in the lithium ceramic. The results of these parameter changes allow comparison not only in the tritium recovery behaviors for Li,O versus Li,ZrO, but between different Li,O microstructures. The high neutron flux level in FFTF resulted in high tritium generation rates which combined with a responsive tritium measurement system allowed detailed observations on the tritium recovery behavior of Li,O and Li,ZrO,. During the course o f the experiment a number o f observations were made which did not appear consistent with a simplified view of the tritium recovery behavior of these materials. These observations included small negative tritium recovery peaks preceding the typical primary positive peaks; and, for specific temperature ranges, changes in tritium inventory which where opposite to the characteristic expected changes. extensive BEATRIX-I1 database o f tritium recovery results provides an opportunity for a better understanding of the tritium release behavior of these two candidates for a fusion solid breeder blanket. This anomalous behavior together with the (a) Pacific Northwest Laboratory is operated for the U. S. Department o f Energy by Battell e Memori a1 Institute under Contract DE-AC06-76RLO 1830,

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Section: Negative Recovery Peaksmentioning

confidence: 81%

In situ tritium from Li{sub 2}O and Li{sub 2}ZrO{sub 3} irradiated in a fast neutron flux: BEATRIX-II, Phase 1 and 2

Slagle¹,

Hollenberg

Kurasawa³

et al. 1994

Self Cite

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“…The BEATRIX-II experiment, including the design and operation of the tritium handling system were described in detail in the previous annual reports (Slagle andHollenberg 1990b, andHollenberg 1989) and other earlier reports (Hollenberg et al 1989;Puigh et al 198_;Baker et al 1991). The tritium measuring system provia=s capabilities for monitoring the tritium recovered from two in situ tritium solid breeder canisters.…”

Section: Phase Ii: Scopementioning

confidence: 99%

BEATRIX-II Program: ANNEX-III to IEA implementing agreement for a programme of research and development on radiation damage in fusion materials

Slagle¹,

Hollenberg²

1992

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“…Previously, lithium ceramics were irradiated both in the in-situ mode with simultaneous measurement of the levels of evolved gases [15][16][17][18][19] and in the passive mode. The post-irradiation tritium release from Li 2 TiO 3 -Li 4 SiO 4 two-phase ceramics has been studied in previous TDS studies [20][21][22][23][24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calculation of Temperature Fields in a Lithium Ceramic Pebble Bed during Reactor Irradiation in a Vacuum

Chikhray,

Kulsartov,

Zaurbekova

et al. 2023

Materials

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Two-phase lithium ceramic Li2TiO3-Li4SiO4 is considered as a tritium multiplier for use in the solid blanket of fusion reactors. To date, the most accurate understanding of the processes of tritium and helium production and release occurring in the breeder blanket materials under neutron irradiation can only be obtained from experiments in fission research reactors. At that, irradiations in vacuum give the possibility to register even very fast gas release processes (bursts) from the ceramics’ voids and pores, although it reduces the thermal conductivity of the pebble bed. The purpose of this work was to simulate the heating of mono-sized pebble bed (1 mm in diameter) of two-phase lithium ceramic 25 mol%Li2TiO3+75 mol%Li4SiO4 in an ampoule device during neutron irradiation at the WWR-K research reactor under vacuum conditions, and to determine experimental parameters in order to prevent heating of the lithium ceramics up to the Li4SiO4-Li2SiO3 phase transition temperatures (>900 °C). For the first time, it was obtained that the effective thermal conductivity of a 1 mm mono-sized pebble bed of 25 mol%Li2TiO3+75 mol%Li4SiO4 significantly decreases (four times) when it is irradiated with neutrons in a vacuum (at a helium pressure of approximately 10 Pa), compared to a similar calculation at 100 kPa of helium (when the He sweep is used). It was concluded that it is difficult to evaluate the maximal temperature of the ceramics in the capsule by measuring the temperature of its outer metal wall (according to thermocouple readings) without using the results of thermophysical calculations for each type of ceramic, taking into account its quantity, specific heat release and pebble size(s). To control the temperature of the ceramics during an irradiation experiment in a vacuum, an in-capsule thermocouple should be used, placed in the center of the pebble bed. Measuring the temperature of the pebble bed based on the capsule wall temperature can lead to overheating of the ceramics and phase changes.

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A Fast Neutron, In Situ Tritium Recovery Experiment on Solid Breeder Materials

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

In situ tritium from Li{sub 2}O and Li{sub 2}ZrO{sub 3} irradiated in a fast neutron flux: BEATRIX-II, Phase 1 and 2

In situ tritium from Li{sub 2}O and Li{sub 2}ZrO{sub 3} irradiated in a fast neutron flux: BEATRIX-II, Phase 1 and 2

BEATRIX-II Program: ANNEX-III to IEA implementing agreement for a programme of research and development on radiation damage in fusion materials

Calculation of Temperature Fields in a Lithium Ceramic Pebble Bed during Reactor Irradiation in a Vacuum

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