Retained Tritium and Structural Changes in Lithium Metasilicate Pellets Irradiated in EXOTIC Experiments 1 and 2

The irradiation experiments EXOTIC 1 and 2 fit in the European fusion technology programme and are carried out as a joint project by SNL Springfields, SCK/CEN Mol and ECN Petten in collaboration with JRC Petten. The SCK/CEN contribution to these experiments consists of five vented capsules containing lithium metasilicate pellets with varying stoichiometry, density, grain size, pore size and exp 6 Li content. The irradiations lasted, respectively, 25 and 50 FPD. The characteristics of the as-fabricated pellets are compared with the irradiated ones and the structural changes which occurred during irradiation are discussed. Results on retained tritium are also given. 4 ref.--AA