Tritium production resulting from deuteration of different metals and alloys

Previous experiments have shown that tritium is produced in deuterated titanium. To better define the phenomenon a series of tests have been performed using various metals and alloys and different deuterating conditions. Sheets and shavings of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, Zircaloy 2 and Ti-Zr 50% alloy have been tested. A statistical analysis of the tritium production shows that significant differences are obtained depending the type of metal used. Using pure metals the tritium production increases with the increase of the atomic number of the metal. Moreover higher productions of tritium have been obtained using materials of technical purity as tantalum, Zircaloy 2 and Ti-Zr alloy.