Development of a flange type hydrogen permeation sensor for liquid breeders

Test Blanket Modules (TBMs), using liquid metal as a breeder, have been studied during the past decades to develop tritium breeding technology in the ITER project. One of the major issues of the studies is how to measure the tritium from the liquid breeder. In present study, a vacuum flange type permeation sensor with a porous disk inside is proposed to dramatically improve response time of the sensor and to endure hydraulic pressure in the liquid breeder during operation. The permeation sensor was tested with 0.3 mm thickness of Nb membrane in a vacuum chamber with 10,000 Pa of hydrogen pressure. The verification test results show very long response time and no reproducibility. Therefore, it will be investigated by literature survey and complementary tests.