Modeling of Tritium Transport in Lithium Aluminate Fusion Solid Breeders

Lithium aluminate is a candidate tritium-breeding material for fusion reactor blankets. One of the concerns with using LiAlO₂ is tritium recovery from this material, particularly at low operating temperatures and high fluences. The data from various tritium release experiments with γ-LiAlO₂ and related materials are reviewed and analyzed to determine under what conditions bulk diffusion is the rate-limiting mechanism for tritium transport and what the effective bulk diffusion coefficient should be. Steady-state and transient models based on bulk diffusion are developed and used to interpret the data. Design calculations are then performed with the verified models to determine the steady-state inventory and time to reach equilibrium for a full-scale fusion blanket.