Absorption of deuterium in titanium plates induced by electric discharges

Abstract

In this work, the absorption of deuterium in titanium plates induced by electric discharges is studied. The objective was to measure the amount of deuterium that is absorbed in the titanium structure under the influence of an electric discharge. The ionization and the free radicals produced by the electric field act as a promoter to the absorption mechanism. Thus, the absorption can be enhanced by the use of an electric discharge. The results indicated that there was a rapid desorption of deuterium at the beginning of the discharge, followed by an additional absorption to higher levels than those before the discharge. The additional absorption of deuterium was about 20% of the initial absorption. When the titanium was completely saturated with the gas, no additional absorption occurred through the electric discharges. As a result of the absorption conditions of deuterium in the titanium structure, anomalous emission of neutrons was recorded as tracks in a CR39 type plastic solid-state nuclear-track detector.