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DTRA’s advancements in nuclear and radiological detection
A new, more complex nuclear age has begun. Echoing the tensions of the Cold War amid rapidly evolving nuclear and radiological threats, preparedness in the modern age is a contest of scientific innovation. The Research and Development Directorate (RD) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is charged with winning this contest.
Dustin Olson, Kirk Shanahan, Binod Rai, Dale Hitchcock, Catherine Housley, George Larsen
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 79 | Number 2 | February 2023 | Pages 95-103
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2022.2116224
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The study of tritium aging effects on materials requires a significant time commitment as a consequence of its 12.3-year half-life, making developmental studies prohibitively difficult and expensive. However, detailed knowledge of long-term aging effects is critical to the development of structural and storage materials for future fusion reactor technologies. As a result, multiple approaches to simulated aging effects have been investigated. We report a method of simulated tritium aging achieved though the incorporation of trapped gases via high-energy ball milling of LaNi4.25Al0.75 alloy storage material. Experimental results verify the presence of trapped gases by a combination of temperature programmed desorption and LECO chemical analysis. Following gas incorporation, we find that many of the degraded hydrogen sorption properties found in aged storage materials are reproduced by the ball milled powders.