The Effect of Helium Growth and Carbon Impurities on the Properties of Aged Metal Tritides
Fusion Science and Technology / Volume 28 / Number 3P2 / October 1995 / Pages 1227-1232
Tritium Properties and Interaction with Material / Proceedings of the Fifth Topical Meeting on Tritium Technology In Fission, Fusion, and Isotopic Applications Belgirate, Italy May 28-June 3, 1995 / dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST95-A30577
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The interaction of tritium with metals is made complex by two phenomena. The beta decay in the metal produces 3He. The helium moves to form bubbles. We shall show that the growth of the bubbles produces a two stage swelling of the metal coming first from the appearance of the helium and second from the relaxation of the lattice disorder caused by the bubble growth. The second phenomenon is the steady state ion and free radical concentration in the tritium over gas which interacts with impurities on the metal surface. We shall show that the reaction rates are much faster than for normal hydrogen cleaning.
