Research in three areas is described: (1) we are analyzing designs and materials for improving tank track pads to extend their service life and reduce their replacement costs; (2) after nearly a decade of study, we have arrived at two conclusions concerning ozone in the atmosphere: first, that the factors affecting atmospheric ozone concentrations are far more complex than first believed and, second, that compensating effects make the depletion of total ozone less than originally expected; (3) we have developed a systematic method for evaluating the relative importance of the factors involved in predicting the performance of a nuclear waste repository and for estimating the effects of individual uncertainties on the overall uncertainty in our predictions.

This project was a passive home heating system utilizing solar collectors that are part of the roof structure of a 15' x 30' greenhouse. The design utilized solar air collectors constructed on site that are actually part of the roof of the greenhouse. The flow of air is from the storage to the collectors then back to the storage. The storage bin consists of a 5' x 19' concrete insulated bin built into the floor of the greenhouse. The storage mass was gallon plastic jugs. The plastic jugs did not work properly, so they are being replaced by salt rods. This replacement will be an after the fact project by the owner. The concrete storage bin was insulated with 2'' plastic foam insulation, applied to the 8'' concrete wall. The ducts entering and leaving the storage bin have low voltage (12 volt) electric dampers. A cross flow system was used. The heated air circulates from the collectors to storage via ducts in the walls of the lean-to design. The removal of heat from the storage bin was from end to end via the ducts to the central air system for the house. In addition, the greenhouse is connected to the …

Research on the effect of composition on the cryogenic mechanical properties of high-Mn austenitic steels showed that both the yield strength and change of strength with alloy processing increased significantly with increasing interstitial content. Alloy toughness deteriorated if carbon content was raised to 0.1% or higher or if delta-ferrite was retained in the as-cooled alloy. On the basis of these investigations an alloy of nominal composition 18Mn-5Ni-16Cr-0.024C-0.22 N was made and tested at 4K. Both its strength-toughness characteristic and fatigue crack growth properties compared favorably to those of 304LN and 304N cryogenic steels.

The major objective of this study was to define and evaluate methods by which an optical system could be protected from performance degradation arising from exposure to a beam of heavy metal atoms. The optical system is coupled to a chamber in which the metal atoms are being produced and processed. The coupling aperture is the source of the contaminating metal atom beam, which, if un-attenuated, would degrade the system performance in an unacceptably short period of time. It was agreed early in the program to concentrate on a gaseous scattering technique, with a stated objective of metal beam flux reduction of about 10/sup 6/. Additional constraints require that the scattering gas must not effuse back into the main process chamber at such a rate that it has significant effect on the vacuum level in the chamber, which is of the order of 10/sup -6/ torr; finally, the path length between the main chamber and the optical system must not be increased unduly. This report summarizes the analyses that were performed under the program. Section 2 presents a summary review, while the details of the analyses are described in Section 3. Recommendations leading toward final system design are given in …

This report covers the activities of Los Alamos National Laboratory's Accelerator Technology Division during the first 6 months of calendar 1981. We discuss the Division's major projects, which reflect a variety of applications and sponsors. The varied technologies concerned with the Proton Storage ring are concerned with the Proton Storage Ring are continuing and are discussed in detail. For the racetrack microtron (RTM) project, the major effort has been the design and construction of the demonstration RTM. Our development of the radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linear accelerator continues to stimulate interest for many possible applications. Frequent contacts from other laboratories have revealed a wide acceptance of the RFQ principle in solving low-velocity acceleration problems. In recent work on heavy ion fusion we have developed ideas for funneling beams from RFQ linacs; the funneling process is explained. To test as many aspects as possible of a fully integrated low-energy portion of a Pion generator for Medical Irradiation (PIGMI) Accelerator, a prototype accelerator was designed to take advantage of several pieces of existing accelerator hardware. The important principles to be tested in this prototype accelerator are detailed. Our prototype gyrocon has been extensively tested and modified; we discuss results from our investigations. Our …

LBL safety policy (Pub 300 Appendix E) states that every research operation with a Class A risk potential (DOE 5484.1) should identify potentially hazardous procedures associated with the operation and develop methods for accomplishing the operation safely without personnel injury or property damage. The rules and practices that management deems to be minimally necessary for the safe operations of the Heavy Ion Spectrometer System (HISS) in the Bevatron Experimental Hall (51B) are set forth in this Operation Safety Procedures (OSP).

This report is organized in a fashion that is intended to explain the legal duties imposed on officials responsible for hazardous waste at each stage of its existence. Section 2 describes federal hazardous waste laws, explaining the legal meaning of hazardous waste and the protective measures that are required to be taken by its generators, transporters, and storers. In addition, penalties for violation of the standards are summarized, and a special discussion is presented of so-called imminent hazard provisions for handling hazardous waste that immediately threatens public health and safety. Although the focus of Sec. 2 is on RCRA, which is the principal federal law regulating hazardous waste, other federal statutes are discussed as appropriate. Section 3 covers state regulation of hazardous waste. First, Sec. 3 explains the system of state enforcement of the federal RCRA requirements on hazardous waste within their borders. Second, Sec. 3 discusses two peculiar provisions of RCRA that appear to permit states to regulate federal facilities more strictly than RCRA otherwise would require.

SERICPAC is a computer program developed to calculate average avoided cost rates for decentralized power producers and cogenerators that sell electricity to electric utilities. SERICPAC works in tandem with SERICOST, a program to calculate avoided costs, and determines the appropriate rates for buying and selling of electricity from electric utilities to qualifying facilities (QF) as stipulated under Section 210 of PURA. SERICPAC contains simulation models for eight technologies including wind, hydro, biogas, and cogeneration. The simulations are converted in a diversified utility production which can be either gross production or net production, which accounts for an internal electricity usage by the QF. The program allows for adjustments to the production to be made for scheduled and forced outages. The final output of the model is a technology-specific average annual rate. The report contains a description of the technologies and the simulations as well as complete user's guide to SERICPAC.

The study reported here was initiated to determine if, with the Cable Downhole System (CDS) currently under development, there is an advantage to using continuous wire rope to lower the emplacement package to the bottom of the hole. A baseline design using two wire ropes as well as several alternatives are discussed in this report. It was concluded that the advantages of the wire-rope emplacement system do not justify the cost of converting to such a system, especially for LLNL's maximum emplacement package weights.

The fluorocarbon absorption process for krypton and xenon removal from dissolver off-gas is based on exploitation of solubility differences which exist among noble gases and other gas-phase constituents in the fluorocarbon solvent dichlorofluoromethane (refrigerant-12). Process performance and reliability have been demonstrated on an engineering scale with over 10 years of pilot plant operation, including testing with /sup 85/Kr, /sup 133/Xe, and /sup 131/I. The culmination of this work is a single-column design which results in a simplified process with improved reliability and lower cost. Data are presented summarizing recent single-column development activities. These include data plots depicting decontamination factor vs feed gas flow rate, DF vs process absorption factor (kG/L), and location of the concentration peak via the solvent flow rate. In general, 99% removal is easily obtainable for Kr, Xe, and CO/sub 2/ while attaining concentration factors on the order of 10/sup 3/ to 10/sup 4/. Further concentration of the Kr product is investigated using solid sorbent and cold trapping technologies. Effective removal of entrained fluorocarbon solvent and CO/sub 2/ from the single-column product stream is demonstrated using 13X and 5A molecular sieves, respectively. Additional separation of Xe is studied using a silver mordenite bed and compared to existing …

This report documents the completion of development work on the Solvent Refined Coal Process by The Pittsburgh and Midway Coal Mining Co. The work was initiated in 1966 under Office of Coal Research, US Department of Interior, Contract No. 14-01-0001-496 and completed under US Department of Energy Contract No. DE-AC05-79ET10104. This report discusses work leading to the development of the SRC-I and SRC-II processes, construction of the Fort Lewis Pilot Plant for the successful development of these processes, and results from the operation of this pilot plant. Process design data generated on a 1 ton-per-day Process Development Unit, bench-scale units and through numerous research projects in support of the design of major demonstration plants are also discussed in summary form and fully referenced in this report.

Two sun trackers have been tested for tracking accuracy on an sun tracker. Both performed well during the entire test period. Their tracking performance as a function of insolation level was established, and their overall tracking accuracy (rms tracking error) was calculated. Both the flux-line and the shadowband tracker were found to have an effective rms error of about 1 milliradian. This information was used to determine the impact that the two trackers have on the annual energy performance of typical parabolic trough concentrating collectors. One milliradian rms tracking errors were found to result in negligibly small annual performance losses.

The effect of confining pressure on the pore volume of some tight sandstones from the Uinta Basin, Utah, was investigated. A new method based on the pressure-volume relationships of a gas was developed and used to measure pore volume reduction. The results were compared with the results obtained using the more common method that involves the measurement of liquid expelled from a saturated core and were found to be in good agreement. Pore volume compressibility of the samples studies is in the range of values reported by other investigators and ranges from 2.0 x 10/sup -6/ to 1.3 x 10/sup -5/ pv/pv/psi at a confining pressure of 5,000 psi.

The postclosure risk of REFERENCE and ALTERNATIVE waste forms for the defense high-level waste at the Savannah River Plant (SRP) were compared by analyses with a computer code, MISER, written to study the effects of repository features in a probabilistic framework. MISER traces radionuclide flows through a network of stream tubes from the repository to risk-sensitive points. Uncertainties in waste form, package properties, and geotechnical data are accounted for with Monte Carlo techniques. Our results show: (1) for generic layered-salt and basalt repositories, the difference in performance between the two waste forms is insignificant; (2) where the doses are sensitive to uncertainties in leaching rates, the doses are orders of magnitude below background; (3) disruptive events contribute only slightly to the risk of a layered-salt repository; (4) simple design alterations have strong effects on near field doses; (5) great care should be exercised in selecting the location at which repository risks are to be measured, calculated, or regulated.

Diagrams and slide reproductions of the system are presented; and performance, maintenance, and cost information is outlined. (WHK)

The Continental Scientific Drilling Program (CSDP) data base maintained at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is funded by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the Department of Energy. It is a central repository of information concerning approximately 1800 government funded and scientifically interesting drill holes in the United States. This data base can help reduce drilling costs and maximize scientific value of drilling efforts of government agencies and industry. The services of the CSDP data base are free of charge and available to all.

A theoretical analysis of the timing capabilities of Ge semiconductor detectors in time-of-flight positron emission tomography is presented. The effect of detector size on efficiency and time resolution is discussed. The relevant noise sources are determined and the optimum filter is derived to optimize the slope-to-noise ratio, while minimizing the effect of collection time variations on time resolution. The performance of the ideal filter is compared with a single RC integrator. For a lower energy threshold of 200 keV, time resolution of better than 250 ps seems to be a realistic goal for a detector of 0.5 x 0.5 cm cross section and 3 cm length. This detector would yield an overall efficiency of 36% for 511 keV gamma-rays and 80% of the detected photons would fall in the Gaussian part of the timing spectrum.

This report outlines the use of saturable inductors as switches in lumped-element, magnetic-pulse compression circuits is discussed and the characteristic use of each is defined. In addition, the geometric constraints and magnetic pulse compression circuits used in short-pulse, low-inductance systems are considered. The scaling of presaturation leakage currents, magnetic energy losses, and switching times with geometrical and material parameters are developed to aid in evaluating magnetic pulse compression systems in a particular application. Finally, a scheme for increasing the couping coefficient in saturable stripline transformers is proposed to enable their use in the short-pulse, high-voltage regime.

It is estimated that high temperature (greater than 150/sup 0/C or 300/sup 0/F) hydrothermal resources in the western United States have the potential for producing about 140,000 megawatts of electric power for 30 years. The objectives of the present analysis were to realistically evaluate the extent to which these resources might be utilized over the next 20 years, and to assess the probably impact of Federal programs on that utilization. The R and D assessment team interviewed industry personnel to determine the nature and the relative significance of investment decision criteria for developers and utilities. The results of these interviews were used to develop a probabilistic model to simulate the investment decision behavior of these two groups toward hydrothermal resources. Estimations of the characteristics of anticipated available resources (e.g., temperature, salinity, depth) and predictions of the geographic distribution of new resource discoveries were based upon the characteristics and distribution of known reservoirs. The impact of a minimal R and D program and the impact of expanded R and D program were estimated on the basis of its effect upon industry investment decision criteria (e.g., the cost of power). The Task Force estimates comparing three different scenarios: (1) no program, (2) …

Information is presented concerning sodium fire prevention, and sodium fire mitigation.

Thermal-Hydraulic Test Facility (THTF) Test 3.05.5B was conducted by members of the ORNL PWR Blowdown Heat Transfer Separate-Effects Program on July 3, 1980. The objective of the program is to investigate heat transfer phenomena believed to occur in PWRs during accidents, including small and large break loss-of-coolant accidents. Test 3.05.5B was designed to provide transient thermal-hydraulics data in rod bundle geometry under reactor accident-type conditions. Reduced instrument responses are presented. Also included are uncertainties in the instrument responses, calculated mass flows, and calculated rod powers.

Beam loading and transverse emittance growth are studied in a disk-loaded accelerating structure which has been scaled to a wavelength of 10 ..mu..m. The resulting limitations on the charge per bunch which can be accelerated in such a scaled structure should provide a crude estimate of the charge per bunch which can be accelerated in a laser driven grating accelerator operating at the same wavelength. For an accelerator 100 m in length delivering an energy of 500 GeV, it is found that the number of particles per bunch that can be accelerated is on the order of 10/sup 5/-10/sup 6/.

Evaluation of an area near Mountain Home, Idaho, was performed to assess the hot dry rock (HDR) potential of the prospect. The techniques reported include telluric and gravity profiling, passive seismic, hydrology and water chemistry surveys, and lineament analysis. Gravity and telluric surveys were unsuccessful in locating fractures buried beneath recent volcanics and sediments of the plain because density and conductivity contrasts were insufficient. Gravity modeling indicated areas where granite was not likely to be within drilling depth, and telluric profiling revealed an area in the northwest part of the prospect where higher conductivity suggested the presence of fractures or water or both, thereby making it unsuitable for HDR. Water geochemistry indicated that (hot water) reservoir temperatures do not exceed 100/sup 0/C. An area in the east central part of the prospect was delineated as most favorable for HDR development. Temperature is expected to be 200/sup 0/C at 3-km depth, and granitic rock of the Idaho Batholith should be intersected at 2- to 3-km depth.

Mapping of high resistivity cap rock shales in the Frio Formation of the Texas Gulf Coast shows that few areas of thin cap rock occur in the upper Texas Gulf Coast, and more extensive, thicker cap rock occurs in the lower Texas Gulf Coast. Increases in (1) maximum shale resistivity, (2) unstable minerals (volcanic rock fragments, detrital carbonate grains), and (3) authigenic cementation parallel the increase in cap rock from the upper to the lower Gulf Coast. Similarity in cap rock distribution in two major Frio deltaic depocenters is not evident. Facies analysis of regional cross sections in the lower Texas Gulf Coast and of cross sections in Sarita East field, Kenedy County, shows preferential development of cap rock in the delta-front/slope facies of the Norias delta system. Sand content of the cap rock interval varies from 23 to 41 percent in part of Sarita East field, suggesting that if cap rock is due to authigenic cementation, such sands may act as fluid conduits during mineralization. Cap rock is rarely developed in the shale-rich prodelta and distal delta-front facies. High resistivity cap rock shales have been considered a result of authigenic calcite cementation, but definite evidence for this origin is …