Effect of heat treatment of titanium beryllide on tritium/hydrogen release

In the present paper, a homogenization heat treatment at 1473 K for 8 h was carried out with the aim to obtain the single-phase Be12Ti structure in the pebbles of three Be-Ti compositions: Be-7.0Ti, Be-7.3Ti, Be-7.7Ti at.%. After the heat treatment the average porosity in the pebbles increased from 5 to 8% to 36-47%, which resulted in lower amount of tritium/hydrogen retention during the loading. Temperature-programmed desorption tests showed that the performed heat treatment facilitates tritium/hydrogen release from Be-Ti pebbles. Assessment of the effective activation energies of tritium desorption reveals that the tritium release from titanium beryllide occurs much more easier than from pure beryllium.