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Title: Distribution of Tritium in the Near Surface of Type 316 Stainless Steel

Journal Article · · Fusion Science and Technology
 [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Lab. for Laser Energetics
  2. Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Lab. for Laser Energetics, and Dept. of Chemistry
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The distribution of tritium in the near surface of stainless steel, type 316, has been measured using a combination of a ZnCl2 wash and acid etching with diluted aqua regia. This method improves upon etching measurements reported in the literature: results show depth resolutions of ~10 nm using the diluted aqua regia. The ZnCl2 wash results show very high surface concentrations (~1.5 x1013 Bq/cm3), which decreases by a factor of 106 after etching to a depth of ~10 um. Further, the tritium concentrations in the near surface (<10 um) of unmodified stainless-steel samples do not change significantly over the course of 233 days, which indicates a quasi-equilibrium state has been reached. Tritium migration to the surface from the subsurface region was measured by etching a sample, then storing it in air for 2 to 4 days. After storing in air, the surface concentrations increased a thousandfold and rapidly decreased to base levels after etching an additional ~2 um. Finally, these measurements indicate that perturbing the quasi-equilibrium concentration profile results in tritium migration to the surface in order to reestablish the prior equilibrium state.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States). Lab. for Laser Energetics
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0003856
OSTI ID:
1574235
Journal Information:
Fusion Science and Technology, Vol. 75, Issue 8; ISSN 1536-1055
Publisher:
American Nuclear SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 5 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (12)

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Partitioning of tritium between surface and bulk of 316 stainless steel at room temperature journal May 2018
Sorption of gaseous tritium on the surface of type 316 stainless steel journal April 1984
Influence of Chromium Oxide Layer on Surface Tritium Contamination of Type 316 Stainless Steel journal November 2011
Tritium Migration to the Surfaces of Type 316 Stainless Steel; Aluminum 6061; and Oxygen-Free, High-Conductivity Copper journal July 2016
Detritiation of type 316 stainless steel by treatment with liquids at ambient temperature journal July 2006
Migration and release behavior of tritium in SS316 at ambient temperature journal June 2007
Comparative study of the native oxide on 316L stainless steel by XPS and ToF-SIMS
  • Tardio, Sabrina; Abel, Marie-Laure; Carr, Robert H.
  • Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 33, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4927319
journal September 2015
Active Hydroxyl Groups on Surface Oxide Film of Titanium, 316L Stainless Steel, and Cobalt-Chromium-Molybdenum Alloy and Its Effect on the Immobilization of Poly(Ethylene Glycol) journal January 2008
Contamination of Stainless Steel Type 316 by Tritium journal May 2002
Tritium trapping capacity on metal surface journal January 2000
New technique for the measurement of adsorbed moisture concentration on a solid surface journal September 1993

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
tritium
type 316 stainless steel
acid etching