A Basic Study of Tritium Behavior in Molten FLiBe

Abstract

The behavior of tritium in molten FLiBe, including in the presence of He, at LSR operating temperatures was investigated. It was established that the presence of helium in the fluoride melt does not significantly change the partial radial distribution function of tritium-fluorine. In the salt melt, there is a preferential binding of tritium with one or two fluorine ions, when the bond length between tritium and fluorine is limited by the radius of the first coordination sphere. It is shown that at a temperature of 1073 K tritium more often binds to one fluorine ion, but in the presence of He this advantage is not obvious and the change in tritium coordination is enhanced. Lower temperatures (T ≤ 973 K) promote ³H binding with two fluorine ions, but the presence of He, which creates a temperature-increasing effect, can disrupt this trend. It was concluded that tritium very rarely forms bonds simultaneously with three fluorine ions. The form of tritium binding by fluorine influences the kinetic characteristics of tritium in molten FLiBe.