A PROTOTYPE FOUR INCH SHORT HYDRIDE (FISH) BED AS A REPLACEMENT TRITIUM STORAGE BED

Journal Article · Wed Feb 23 04:00:00 EST 2011 · Fusion Science and Technology

OSTI ID:1010507

Klein, J; Estochen, E; Shanahan, K; Heung, L

The Savannah River Site (SRS) tritium facilities have used 1st generation (Gen1) metal hydride storage bed assemblies with process vessels (PVs) fabricated from 3 inch nominal pipe size (NPS) pipe to hold up to 12.6 kg of LaNi{sub 4.25}Al{sub 0.75} metal hydride for tritium gas absorption, storage, and desorption for over 15 years. The 2nd generation (Gen2) of the bed design used the same NPS for the PV, but the added internal components produced a bed nominally 1.2 m long, and presented a significant challenge for heater cartridge replacement in a footprint limited glove-box. A prototype 3rd generation (Gen3) metal hydride storage bed has been designed and fabricated as a replacement candidate for the Gen2 storage bed. The prototype Gen3 bed uses a PV pipe diameter of 4 inch NPS so the bed length can be reduced below 0.7 m to facilitate heater cartridge replacement. For the Gen3 prototype bed, modeling results show increased absorption rates when using hydrides with lower absorption pressures. To improve absorption performance compared to the Gen2 beds, a LaNi{sub 4.15}Al{sub 0.85} material was procured and processed to obtain the desired pressure-composition-temperature (PCT) properties. Other bed design improvements are also presented.

• Research Organization: SRS
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-08SR22470
• OSTI ID: 1010507
• Report Number(s): SRNL-STI-2010-00076
• Journal Information: Fusion Science and Technology, Journal Name: Fusion Science and Technology
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
CHEMISORPTION
DESIGN
DESORPTION
GLOVEBOXES
HEATERS
LANTHANUM ALLOYS
NICKEL ALLOYS
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
STORAGE
STORAGE FACILITIES
TRITIUM