Predicting massive helium-3 release from metal tritides using simple mechanical modeling

TL;DR

This paper proposes a mechanical model explaining the delayed and sudden helium-3 release in metal tritides during aging, aligning well with experimental data on palladium tritide.

Contribution

It introduces a simple microstructural mechanical mechanism to explain helium-3 release dynamics in metal tritides, a novel approach in this context.

Findings

Model fits aging data on palladium tritide

Explains delayed helium-3 release during aging

Mechanism based on dislocation blocking hypothesis

Abstract

This letter is presenting a simple but effective mechanism that explains why ,during tritium aging, metal tritides retain most helium-3 for years and then suddenly release massive amount. The mechanism is based on the hypothesis that dislocations blocking could explain the sudden change of behavior. The modeling of this phenomenon combine a mechanical and microstructural approach. The calculations made with this mechanism fit all the aging data acquired on aged palladium tritide