We are investigating the interactive process between turbulent flow and dispersed phase particles. We are focusing on the mechanisms that appear to result in a reduction of local turbulent intensity and a corresponding reduction in wall heat transfer and subsequent wall erosion in turbulent solid propellant combustion flow. We apply computational simulations and physical experiments specialized to a developing free shear layer over a rearward facing step and over a parallel splitter plate. The flow configuration evolves in a two-dimensional, steady, combustion and non-combustion turbulent free shear mixing region, with and without particle additives. The computational simulations combine three basic components: gas phase Navier-Stokes solutions, Lagrange particle field solutions and a Monte Carlo technique for the random encounters, forces and accelerations between the two fields. We concentrate here on relatively large sized additive particles (of the order of tens of microns to 100 microns mean diameter). We examine their apparent influence in breaking up the larger, energy bearing eddy structures into smaller structures which are more readily dissipated.

There are new requirements emerging in the field of tomography: the need for spatial resolution in the micrometre range, atomic species specificity, and quantitative density discrimination.

The double-cone-shaped Cascade reaction chamber rotates at 50 rpm to keep a blanket of ceramic granules in place against the wall as they slide from the poles to the exit slots at the equator. The 1 m-thick blanket consists of layers of carbon, beryllium oxide, and lithium aluminate granules about 1 mm in diameter. The x rays and debris are stopped in the carbon granules; the neutrons are multiplied and moderated in the BeO and breed tritium in the LiAlO/sub 2/. The chamber wall is made up of SiO tiles held in compression by a network of composite SiC/Al tendons. Cascade operates at a 5 Hz pulse rate with 300 MJ in each pulse. The temperature in the blanket reaches 1600 K on the inner surface and 1350 K at the outer edge. The granules are automatically thrown into three separate vacuum heat exchangers where they give up their energy to high pressure helium. The helium is used in a Brayton cycle to obtain a thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency of 55%. Studies have been done on neutron activation, debris recovery, vaporization and recondensation of blanket material, tritium control and recovery, fire safety, and cost. These studies indicate that Cascade appears to …

We have conducted parametric economic studies for heavy-ion-fusion electric power plants. We examined the effects on the cost of electricity of several design parameters: cost and cost scaling for the reactor, driver, and target factory; maximum achievable chamber pulse rate; target gain; electric conversion efficiency; and net electric power. Using the most recent estimates for the heavy-ion-driver cost along with the Cascade reactor cost and efficiency, we found that a 1.5 to 3 GWe heavy-ion-fusion power plant, with a pulse rate of 5 to 10 Hz, can be competitive with nuclear and coal power plants.

A suppressed-fission ICF hybrid reactor has been designed to maximize the production of /sup 233/U. In this design, Be is used as a neutron multiplier. An annular array of Be columns surrounds the fusion pulse inside the reaction chember. The Be columns consist of short cylinders of Be joined together with steel snap rings. Vertical holes in the Be carry liquid lithium coolant and steel-clad thorium fuel pins. The lithium coolant is supplied at the top of the chamber, traverses through the Be columns and exits at the bottom. The columns are attached to top and bottom plates in such a way as to tolerate radiation-induced swelling and the vibrations resulting from each fusion pulse. A thin (10 cm) liquid Li fall region protects the Be columns from direct exposure to the X-rays and debris emitted by the fuel capsule. A neutronics study of this design indicates that the specific production of /sup 233/U fuel is increased by operating at relatively large thorium volume fractions. A design at a fertile fuel fraction of 30 vol % produces a total breeding ratio of over 2.1. The /sup 6/Li to /sup 7/Li ratio is adjusted to keep the tritium breeding ratio at …

Experiments using the harmonically converted Nd:glass lasers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Novette with 2 to 10 kJ at 0.26 and 0.53 micron and Nova with 30 to 80 kJ at 0.35 and 0.53 micron) have demonstrated favorable coupling of laser light to fusion targets. The coupling of short-wavelength laser light to these plasmas is now well understood and is primarily collisional in nature, in contrast to previous experiments at 1.06 microns and 10 microns, where the coupling was collective. Increased absorption and conversion to x-rays and decreased production of suprathermal electrons was measured with decreasing wavelength. Stimulated Raman scattering was identified as the primary source of the suprathermal electrons. The collisionality of the laser target coupling can be controlled by the proper selection of laser wavelength and target material. The coupling improvements led directly to the demonstration of higher-density ablative implosions of DT fusion fuel. Experiments on Novette demonstrated a better than 100-fold compression of the DT fuel with two-sided illumination. The Nova laser is extending laser-plasma studies to plasmas several times larger than those used on Novette. Recent experiments have produced a yield of over 10/sup 13/ neutrons. Temporally shaped pulses on Nova will be used to …

Systems and conceptual design studies have been carried out on the following three hybrid types: (1) The fission-suppressed hybrid, which maximizes fissile material produced (Pu or /sup 233/U) per unit of total nuclear power by suppressing the fission process and multiplying neutrons by (n,2n) reactions in materials like beryllium. (2) The fast-fission hybrid, which maximizes fissile material produced per unit of fusion power by maximizing fission of /sup 238/U (Pu is produced) in which twice the fissile atoms per unit of fusion power (but only a third per unit of nuclear power) are made. (3) The power hybrid, which amplifies power in the blanket for power production but does not produce fuel to sell. All three types must sell electrical power to be economical.

The Tandem Mirror exhibits several distinctive features which make the reactor embodiment of the principle very attractive: Simple low-technology linear central cell; steady-state operation; high-..beta.. operation; no driven current or disruptions; divertorless operation; direction conversion of end-loss power; low-surface heat loads; and advanced fusion fuel capability. In this paper, we examine these features in connection with two tandem mirror reactor designs, MARS and MINIMARS, and several advanced reactor concepts including the wall-stabilized reactor and the field-reversed mirror. With a novel compact end plug scheme employing octopole stabilization, MINIMARS is expressly designed for short construction times, factory-built modules, and a small (600 MWe) but economic reactor size. We have also configured the design for low radioactive afterheat and inherent/passive safety under LOCA/LOFA conditions, thereby obviating the need for expensive engineered safety systems. In contrast to the complex and expensive double-quadrupole end-cell of the MARS reactor, the compact octopole end-cell of MINIMARS enables ignition to be achieved with much shorter central cell lengths and considerably improves the economy of scale for small (approx.250 to 600 MWe) tandem mirror reactors. Finally, we examine the prospects for realizing the ultimate potential of the tandem mirror with regard to both innovative configurations and novel neutron …

Fermilab found that the standard VMS batch configuration options were inadequate for the job mix that exists on the Fermilab central computer facility VAX cluster. Accordingly, Fermilab designed and implemented a class based batch queue scheduler. This scheduler makes use of the standard VMS job controller and batch system. Users interact with the scheduler at job submission time by specification of CPU time limits and batch job characteristics. This scheduler allows Fermilab to make efficient use of our large heterogeneous VAX cluster which contains machines ranging from a VAX 780 to a VAX 8800. The scheduler was implemented using the VMS system services $GETQUI and $SNDJBC, without changes to the existing VMS job scheduler. As a result, the scheduler should remain compatible with future VMS versions. This session will discuss the design goals, implementation, and operational experience with Fermilab's class based batch queue scheduler.

The FASTBUS subsystem of the LANSCE data acquisition system consists of a single FASTBUS crate segment with four custom modules and a QPI interface for the VAX. Since experiments at the LANSCE facility always include a time-of-flight parameter for the detected neutron and may optionally include additional position parameters characterizing the event, a time stamp is generated for each event by the Programmable Master Clock (PMC) module. The time and any position information are latched into the Time-Of-Flight buffer (TOF) module. After all events associated with a single neutron burst have been captured in a frame buffer internal to the TOF module, each event is analyzed by the MAPPER module and reduced to a histogram address to increment in the BULKSTORE module. Software access to the histogram is provided through the QPI interface.

Topics discussed include thrashing in an RSX11M system - what to do; using solid state disk emulators as the swapping device - performance improvement, performance measurement techniques; capacity planning; bis buffering; and DECNET-11M optimization - performance that can be expected for real environments.