Tritium release from highly neutron irradiated constrained and unconstrained beryllium pebbles

Abstract Beryllium is the reference neutron multiplier material in the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) breeding blanket of fusion power plants. Significant tritium inventory accumulated in beryllium as a result of neutron-induced transmutations could become a safety issue for the operation of such blankets as well as for the nuclear waste utilization. To provide a related materials database, a neutron irradiation campaign of beryllium pebbles with diameters of 0.5 and 1 mm at 686–1006 K, the HIDOBE-01 experiment, has been performed in the HFR in Petten, the Netherlands, producing up to 3020 appm helium and 298 appm tritium. Thermal desorption tests of irradiated unconstrained and constrained beryllium pebbles were performed in a purge gas flow using a quadrupole mass-spectrometer (QMS) and an ionization chamber. Compared to unconstrained pebbles, constrained beryllium pebbles have an enhanced tritium release at all temperatures investigated. Small elongated sub-grains formed under irradiation in the constrained pebbles promote formation of numerous channels for facilitated tritium release.