Thermal enhancement cartridge heater modified tritium hydride bed development, Part 2 - Experimental validation of key conceptual design features

Journal Article · Sun Mar 15 04:00:00 EDT 2015 · Fusion Science and Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.13182/FST14-T32· OSTI ID:22429720

Heroux, K. J.; Morgan, G. A. ^[1]

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1. Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States)

The Thermal Enhancement Cartridge Heater Modified (TECH Mod) tritium hydride bed is an interim replacement for the first generation (Gen1) process hydride beds currently in service in the Savannah River Site (SRS) Tritium Facilities. 3 new features are implemented in the TECH Mod hydride bed prototype: internal electric cartridge heaters, porous divider plates, and copper foam discs. These modifications will enhance bed performance and reduce costs by improving bed activation and installation processes, in-bed accountability measurements, end-of-life bed removal, and He-3 recovery. A full-scale hydride bed test station was constructed at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) in order to evaluate the performance of the prototype TECH Mod hydride bed. Controlled hydrogen (H{sub 2}) absorption/ desorption experiments were conducted to validate that the conceptual design changes have no adverse effects on the gas transfer kinetics or H{sub 2} storage/release properties compared to those of the Gen1 bed. Inert gas expansions before, during, and after H{sub 2} flow tests were used to monitor changes in gas transfer rates with repeated hydriding/de-hydriding of the hydride material. The gas flow rates significantly decreased after initial hydriding of the material; however, minimal changes were observed after repeated cycling. The data presented herein confirm that the TECH Mod hydride bed would be a suitable replacement for the Gen1 bed with the added enhancements expected from the advanced design features. (authors)

• OSTI ID: 22429720
• Journal Information: Fusion Science and Technology, Journal Name: Fusion Science and Technology Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 67; ISSN 1536-1055
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ABSORPTION
DESIGN
DESORPTION
HEATERS
HELIUM 3
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN
HYDROGEN STORAGE
HYDROGEN TRITIDE
POROUS MATERIALS
TRITIUM
TRITIUM EXTRACTION PLANTS