High concentration of deuterium in palladium

Journal Article · Tue Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1991 · Fusion Technology; (United States)

OSTI ID:5811310

Uhm, H S; Lee, W M ^[1]

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1. Naval Surface Warfare Center, White Oak, Silver Spring, MD (US)

In this paper, based on theoretical calculations, new schemes to increase the deuterium density in palladium over its initial value are presented. A high deuterium concentration in palladium is needed for application to solid-state fusion. The first deuterium enrichment scheme makes use of plasma ion implantation, which consists of a cylindrical palladium rod (target) preloaded with deuterium atoms, coated with diffusion barrier material, and immersed in a deuterium plasma. The palladium rod is connected to a high-power modulator, which provides a series of negative voltage pulses. During these negative pulses, deuterium ions fall on the target, penetrate the diffusion barrier, and are implanted inside the palladium. For reasonable system parameters allowed by current technology, theoretical calculations indicate that the saturation deuterium density after prolonged ion implantation can be several times the palladium atomic number density. The second deuterium enrichment scheme makes use of temperature gradient effects on the deuterium solubility in palladium. A heat source at temperature T{sub 2} and a heat sink at temperature T{sub 1} (where T{sub 2} {gt} T{sub 1}) are in contact with two different parts of a palladium sample, which has been presoaked with deuterium atoms and has been coated with diffusion barrier material or has been securely locked in a metal case. The temperature gradient created in the sample from such an arrangement forces the deuterium atoms in the hot region to migrate into the cold region, resulting in higher deuterium density in the cold region.

• OSTI ID: 5811310
• Journal Information: Fusion Technology; (United States), Journal Name: Fusion Technology; (United States) Vol. 21:1; ISSN 0748-1896; ISSN FUSTE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES
070000 -- Isotope & Radiation Source Technology
663440* -- D-
T-
& He-induced Reactions & Scattering-- (1992-)
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
ATOMIC NUMBER
AUGMENTATION
COATINGS
COLD FUSION
CONCENTRATION RATIO
CYLINDERS
DEUTERIUM
DIFFUSION
ELEMENTS
ENRICHMENT
HEAT SOURCES
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ION IMPLANTATION
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
METALS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PALLADIUM
PLASMA
PLATINUM METALS
PULSES
SATURATION
SOLUBILITY
STABLE ISOTOPES
TARGETS
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS