The LISA1 experiment: In-situ tritium release investigations

The LISA1 experiment is a test of in-situ tritium release. Conducted in the SILOE reactor at CEN Grenoble, the experiment uses the same facilities as the LILA1. The experiment has six capsules, four with Li 2 SiO 3 , one with Li 4 SiO 4 and one with LiAlO 2 . Each capsule is separately purged. The tritium activity is determined by ionization chambers and scintillation counting. An important difference as compared to LILA1 is the use of zinc beds to reduce tritiated water and thereby prevent sorption of T 2 O on the lines. Irradiation began on October 25, 1985 and was continued for three 3-week-cycles. The testing included systematic variation of four parameters: temperature (450 to 730°C), neutron flux (0.8 to 2.7 × 10 17 m −2 s −1 ), sweep gas flow rate (1.8 to 7.0 1/h), and sweep gas composition (He, He+0.1% H 2 , He+0.2% 0 2 ). Preliminary results are given.