About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Ceramics and Ceramic-Based Composites for Nuclear Applications III
|
| Presentation Title |
Understanding tritium trapping in permeation barrier coatings for fusion breeder blanket applications. |
| Author(s) |
Hazel Gardner, Emily Curtis, Elliot Helstrip, Imogen Haydon, Duc Nguyen-Manh, Prashanth Srinivasan, James Wade-Zhu |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Hazel Gardner |
| Abstract Scope |
Rare earth ceramic oxide coatings are being investigated as tritium permeation barriers for breeder blankets in fusion reactors, where controlling radioactive tritium is essential for safety and fuel efficiency. This study focuses on understanding hydrogen isotope trapping and transport in both coatings and structural materials.
Magnetron-sputtered rare earth oxide coatings were exposed to tritium gas, and their retention behaviour assessed using thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). A combined experimental and modelling approach was used to understand tritium trapping. First-principles modelling provided binding energies for tritium at trap sites in as-deposited and ion-irradiated erbium and yttrium oxides. This was fed into finite element modelling scale using McNabb-Foster transport equations that allow simulation of the thermal desorption spectroscopy curves for the given experimental conditions. Iterative comparison of experimental and simulated data revealed the nature of trap sites and emphasised the importance of microstructural control in minimising tritium retention in permeation barriers. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Ceramics, Thin Films and Interfaces, Nuclear Materials |