Tritium trapping in silicon carbide in contact with solid breeder under high flux isotope reactor irradiation

The trapping of tritium in silicon carbide (SiC) injected from ceramic breeding materials was examined via tritium measurements using imaging plate (IP) techniques. Monolithic SiC in contact with ternary lithium oxide (lithium titanate and lithium aluminate) as a ceramic breeder was irradiated in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. The distribution of photo-stimulated luminescence (PSL) of tritium in SiC was successfully obtained, which separated the contribution of ¹⁴C β-rays to the PSL. The tritium incident from ceramic breeders was retained in the vicinity of the SiC surface even after irradiation at 1073 K over the duration of ∼3000 h, while trapping of tritium was not observed in the bulk region. The PSL intensity near the SiC surface in contact with lithium titanate was higher than that obtained with lithium aluminate. The amount of the incident tritium and/or the formation of a Li₂SiO₃ phase on SiC due to the reaction with lithium aluminate under irradiation likely were responsible for this observation.