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Published: 2001

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As a part of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Tritium Target Development Program, eleven tritium target rods were irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor located at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory during 1991. Both nondestructive and destructive post-irradiation examination on all eleven rods was planned under the Tritium Target Development Program. Funding for the program was reduced in 1991 resulting in the early removal of the program experiments before reaching their irradiation goals. Post-irradiation examination was only performed on one of the irradiated rods at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory before the program was terminated in 1992. On December 6, 1995, the Secretary of Energy announced the pursuit of the Commercial Light-Water Reactor option for producing tritium establishing the Tritium Target Qualification Program at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This program decided to pursue nondestructive and destructive post-irradiation examination of the ten remaining rods from the previous program. The ten rods comprise three experiments. The Loop-1 experiment irradiated eight target rods in a loop configuration for 217 irradiation days. The other two rods were irradiated in two separate irradiation experiments, designated as S1 and B1 for 143 effective full-power days, but at different power levels. After the ten rods were transferred from the ATR Canal to the Hot Fuels Examination Facility, the following examinations were performed: (1) visual examination and photography; (2) neutron radiography; (3) axial gamma scanning; (4) contact profilometry measurement; (5) bow and length measurements; (6) rod puncture and plenum gas analysis/measurement of plenum gas quantity; (7) void volume determination; and (8) internal pressure determination. This report presents the data collected during these examinations.