Performance of a uranium getter bed for removing deuterium from a flowing inert gas

The performance of a uranium trap as a means of removing tritium from an inert gas was measured for varying trap conditions, using deuterium (to represent tritium) in argon at room temperature. Performance was expressed as a purification factor, which is the ratio of deuterium concentration at the inlet to that at the outlet of the trap. Purification factors vary inversely with both the ratio of deuterium to uranium already contained in the trap and with the rate of flow of gas through the trap. Varying the inlet deuterium concentration had no apparent effect. (auth)