Application of general methods for the study of porous materials to the determination of the characteristics of barriers

Barriers foreseen for the separation of uranium isotopes by gaseous diffusion must posses pores of about 100 Angstrom radius and as high an output as possible. They should thus be of small but uniform thickness. In view of these conditions it is necessary to adapt the normal methods available for studying porous materials in order to check the characteristics of the prototypes examined. It has been found that only by cross-comparison of data from various methods can progress in the development of different prototypes be followed. The following account consists of two parts: 1) A review of the main experimental methods we have used: a) various absorption methods, b) electron microscopy, c) X-ray studies, d) mercury porosimetry, e) liquid permeability, f) gas permeability, g) measurement of separation efficiency. 2) Comparison of the results obtained using these various methods and their application with a view to acquiring as complete a knowledge as possible of the structure of the barrier. (author)