Isotopic tracing of hydrogen transport and trapping in nuclear materials

Abstract

Some illustrations of the use of deuterium or tritium for isotopic tracing of hydrogen absorption, transport and trapping in nuclear materials are presented. Isotopic tracing of hydrogen has been shown to be successful for the determination of the boundaries conditions for hydrogen desorption or absorption in a material exposed to a hydrogen source. Also, the unique capabilities of isotopic tracing and related techniques to characterize H interactions with point defects and dislocations acting as moving traps has been demonstrated. Such transport mechanisms are considered to play a major role in some stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms.This article is part of the themed issue 'The challenges of hydrogen and metals'.

Sub-second and ppm-level optical sensing of hydrogen using templated control of nano-hydride geometry and composition

“…For hydrogen leakage detection and concentration controls, it is essential that hydrogen sensors have good stability, high sensitivity, rapid response time, and most importantly be “spark-free” 3 , 4 . High performance hydrogen sensors are, however, not only of importance in future hydrogen economy but also the chemical industry 5 , food industry 6 , 7 , medical applications 8 , nuclear reactors 9 , and environment pollution control 10 .…”

Hydrogen transport and trapping: from quantum effects to alloy design: discussion

“…Moreover, as tensile straining is conducted in an inert organic scintillation cocktail, there is no local repassivation of the surface (on slip lines) after the very first step of plastic deformation. It is however usual to observe a drop in the tritium release rate when both tensile straining stops and stress relaxation drops [10]. This is a strong indication of a tritium release associated with dislocation dragging.…”