Evaluation of tritium behavior in concrete

Concrete walls used in a fusion reactor or a tritium handling facility have the important role of separating the atmosphere in a facility from environmental air, since substantial tritium leakage is possible from a tritium system to the atmosphere of a tritium handling facility. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the transfer behavior of tritium through concrete. The experiments of this study were performed to observe the change of the tritium distribution with time in columns made of cement paste, mortar or concrete. It was found that exposure of the surface of concrete materials to HTO vapor for two months produced tritium permeation to the depth of 30 mm. Estimation of tritium penetration behavior was also performed in this study by applying adsorption, desorption and isotope exchange reactions and the estimated tritium profile was in good agreement with observed values.