Simulation of tritium release processes from lithium ceramics under reactor irradiation conditions with varying reactor power
Kulsartov T. Kenzhina I. Kenzhin Y. Chikhray Y. Shaimerdenov A. Zaurbekova Z. Yelishenkov A. Samarkhanov K. Begentayev M. Askerbekov S. Tolenova A.
September 2025Elsevier B.V.
Journal of Nuclear Materials
2025#615
It is known that one of the most important parameters for lithium ceramics, promising for use in solid-state fusion blankets, includes their properties regarding tritium. Tritium generated in lithium ceramics (as a result of reaction of 6Li atom with neutron) is released from the surface after passing through a chain of processes: 1. it is initially thermalized in the ceramic volume (it should be noted that at this stage, if the reaction of its generation has occurred in the near-surface region, it can be released from the sample in an inactivation-free manner), 2. after that it diffuses to the open surface, interacting with traps in the ceramic volume (here both reversible and non-reversible capture of tritium by traps, which are usually defects in the structure, is possible); 3. tritium atoms associate with each other or with hydrogen impurities on the surface, after which the resulting molecules are desorbed. To determine the parameters of gas release from ceramics generated by neutron irradiation of tritium, reactor studies are usually carried out. Analysis of the results of such reactor experiments is usually complicated by the need to consider various factors and requires careful consideration of these factors while creating and selecting model parameters. The present work presents data on modeling the results of a previously conducted reactor experiment. Modeling was carried out by the finite element method (FEM) based on a complex model that considers temperature gradients across the ceramics during the reactor experiment, as well as the processes of tritium diffusion in the volume and desorption of tritium molecules from the ceramic surface. We investigated the sections of the reactor experiment where the reactor power was varied, leading to changes in the temperature fields in the ceramic samples and the released flux of tritium molecules.
Blanket , Lithium ceramics , Modelling , Reactor irradiation , Tritium , WWR-K reactor
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Satbayev University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Institute of atomic energy Branch of National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kurchatov, Kazakhstan
Kazakh-British Technical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Institute of Experimental and Theoretical Physics, al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Institute of Nuclear Physics, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Satbayev University
Institute of atomic energy Branch of National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Kazakh-British Technical University
Institute of Experimental and Theoretical Physics
Institute of Nuclear Physics
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026