Tritium calorimeter setup and operation

The LBNL tritium calorimeter is a stable instrument capable of measuring tritium with a sensitivity of 25 Ci. Measurement times range from 8-hr to 7-days depending on the thermal conductivity and mass of the material being measured. The instrument allows accurate tritium measurements without requiring that the sample be opened and subsampled, thus reducing personnel exposure and radioactive waste generation. The sensitivity limit is primarily due to response shifts caused by temperature fluctuation in the water bath. The fluctuations are most likely a combination of insufficient insulation from ambient air and precision limitations in the temperature controller. The sensitivity could probably be reduced to below 5 Ci if the following improvements were made: (1) Extend the external insulation to cover the entire bath and increase the top insulation. (2) Improve the seal between the air space above the bath and the outside air to reduce evaporation. This will limit the response drift as the water level drops. (3) Install an improved temperature controller, preferably with a built in chiller, capable of temperature control to +-0.001 C.