Estimation of tritium and helium inventory in the tritium handling system in Korea

Journal Article · Tue Jul 15 04:00:00 EDT 2008 · Fusion Science and Technology

OSTI ID:22109375

Yook, D.; Lee, S.; Lee, K. ^[1]; Song, K. M.; Shon, S. H. ^[2]

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1. Dept. of Nuclear Eng., KAIST, 373-1, Kusong-dong, Yusong-gu, Daejon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of)
2. KEPRI, 103-16 Munji-Dong, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon, 305-380 (Korea, Republic of)

In Korea, the Wolsong Tritium Removal Facility (WTRF) is under construction to reduce the amount of tritium present in the moderator and coolant of the CANDU type Wolsong nuclear power plants. Recently, a study on the tritium handling system for recovery of the tritium collected from the WTRF was started. Some tritium would enter the steel of the container walls and subsequently decay to helium. This helium can deteriorate the mechanical properties of the material of the tritium handling system. To evaluate the tritium and helium inventory in the stainless steel wall of this system, the time-dependent diffusion equation was developed, solved and the results are presented in this paper. These results were compared to previous work that evaluated the tritium inventory in the stainless steel wall of 50-L tritium containers. Tritium and helium concentration profiles and the corresponding inventories were evaluated with respect to the various parameters such as exposure time, temperature, and partial pressure. After 24 years, the helium inventory in the wall of the tritium handling system exceeds the tritium inventory. (authors)

• OSTI ID: 22109375
• Journal Information: Fusion Science and Technology, Journal Name: Fusion Science and Technology Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 54; ISSN 1536-1055
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
CANDU TYPE REACTORS
CONTAINERS
DIFFUSION EQUATIONS
ELECTRIC POWER
HELIUM
INVENTORIES
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
NUCLEAR ENERGY
NUCLEAR POWER
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
PARTIAL PRESSURE
REMOVAL
STAINLESS STEELS
TRITIUM