The influence of dissolved oxygen and hydrogen and dilute sulfuric acid in 289/sup 0/C water on the stress-corrosion-cracking susceptibility of lightly and moderately sensitized Type 304 stainless steel was determined in constant-extension-rate tensile (CERT) tests. The CERT parameters and the fracture surface morphologies were correlated with the concentrations of dissolved oxygen and sulfate, and the electrochemical potentials of platinum and Type 304 stainless steel electrodes in simulated boiling-water reactor (BWR) environments. A particularly high susceptibility to intergranular cracking was found for the steel in the lightly sensitized condition at oxygen concentrations between approx. 0.05 and 0.2 ppM under slightly acidic conditions (pH approx. 6.0 at 25/sup 0/C), which may, in part, account for the pervasive nature of intergranular cracking in BWR piping systems. Scanning-transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed significant differences between samples in the lightly and the moderately sensitized condition with respect to the width, but not the depth, of the chromium-depleted region at the grain boundaries. The addition of 0.5 ppM hydrogen to the water had only a small mitigating effect on intergranular cracking in water containing oxygen and sulfuric acid at low concentrations; however, oxygen suppression to less than or equal to 0.05 ppM in the reactor-coolant water, …

The Direct Chlorination Process removes hydrogen sulfide from geothermal off-gases by reacting hydrogen sulfide with chlorine in the gas phase. Hydrogen chloride and elemental sulfur are formed by this reaction. The Direct Chlorination Process has been successfully demonstrated by an on-site operation of a pilot plant at the 3 M We HPG-A geothermal power plant in the Puna District on the island of Hawaii. Over 99.5 percent hydrogen sulfide removal was achieved in a single reaction stage. Chlorine gas did not escape the pilot plant, even when 90 percent excess chlorine gas was used. Because of the higher cost of chemicals and the restricted markets in Hawaii, the economic viability of this process in Hawaii is questionable.

This paper analyzes the geometrically nonlinear bending and collapse behavior of an elastic, simply supported cylindrical shell subjected to an inward-directed point load applied at midlength. The large displacement analysis results for this thin (R/t = 638) poked cylinder were obtained from the STAGSC-1 finite element computer program. STAGSC-1 results are also presented for two other point-loaded shell problems: a pinched cylinder (R/t = 100), and a venetian blind (R/t = 250).

The results of a program to provide an experimental data base for estimating the radiological consequences from a hypothetical sabotage attack on a light-water-reactor spent fuel shipping cask in a densely populated area are presented. The results of subscale and full-scale experiments in conjunction with an analytical modeling study are described. The experimental data were used as input to a reactor-safety consequence model to predict radiological health consequences resulting from a hypothetical sabotage attack on a spent-fuel shipping cask in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The results of these calculations are presented.

Optical second-harmonic generation (SHG) is sensitive enough to respond to a submonolayer of surface atoms or molecules. It can therefore be used to probe surfaces or interfaces between two centrosymmetric media. The surface-specific nature of this optical method offers some advantages. We have demonstrated in recent experiments that resonant SHG can allow us to obtain spectroscopic data of submonolayers of adsorbed molecules on a surface. The signal was so strong that less than one tenth of a monolayer of dye molecules could be easily detected. The method can be applied to molecules adsorbed at an interface between two dense media such as a liquid/solid interface. Then, using SHG, adsorption isotherms of adsorbates on substrates can be measured. One is often interested in how large the bulk contribution to SHG is in comparison with the surface contribution. Second-order nonlinear optical processes are forbidden in a medium with inversion symmetry only in the electric-dipole approximation. Could SGH from electric-quadrupole and magnetic-dipole contributions in the bulk be so strong as to mask out the electric-dipole contribution from the surface. We have found that the SH signal from a centrosymmetric substrate can be changed appreciably by the adsorption of a monolayer. This clearly indicates …

Lower hybrid current-drive experiments have been carried out on the PLT Tokamak. Steady currents up to 175 kA have been maintained for three seconds and 400 kA for 0.3 sec by the rf power alone. The principal current carrier appears to be a high energy (approx. 100 keV) electron tail, concentrated in the central 20 to 40 cm diameter core of the 80-cm PLT discharge. Effective current drive is observed only for anti n/sub e/ less than or equal to 8 x 10/sup 12/ cm/sup -3/. This limitation may be a wave propagation phenomenon and not a fundamental plasma physics effects.

The requirements to be met by Pockels cell drivers for incorporation into the Novette and Nova Laser systems are presented, and critical aspects of the specification examined. A high-performance pulse generator has been developed to meet these requirements using new thyratron technology from the English Electric Valve Co. Ltd. Two closely related versions have been built; a 10KV output unit with 9 nsec risetime into five parallel 50-ohm loads and a faster 5KV output driver with 3.5 nsec risetime into a single 50-ohm load. The design approach for optimizing performance, using the new tubes in relation to the LLNL specification is described, including the techniques used for control of electromagnetic interference.

Increasing effort is being put into engineering designs of reactors and reactor-like magnetic confinement experiments. A central question concerns the methods of heating, fueling, and maintaining the plasmas, functions that primarily are now performed by neutral beams. Planning in the USA does not include the use of neutral beams on tokamaks in the 1990's and beyond. Tandem mirrors, however, will use energetic beams (sloshing ion beams) in the end plugs to produce electrostatic potentials that will confine plasma ions. These systems will be based on the production, acceleration, transport, and neutralization of negative hydrogen-ion (D/sup -/), multiampere beams with energies of 200-to 500-keV. In addition, lower-energy D and T beams may be used. These systems must operate steady state, with high reliability, and be compatible with radiation from a D-T burning plasma.

A regional model that can predict groundwater movement through the reference repository location and surrounding area is essential to assessing the site suitability for a nuclear waste repository. During the last two decades, several models have been developed to handle complicated flow patterns through complex geologic materials. The basic problem, however, is obtaining the data base needed to apply these models. The hydrological data needed include the spatial distribution of effective porosity, the hydraulic conductivity tensor and its variation in space, values of specific storage, the hydraulic head distribution, and the fluid properties. In this report, we discuss conventional methods of obtaining vertical hydraulic conductivity and examine their applicability to the BWIP site. 39 references, 12 figures, 4 tables.

Progress is reported in research on: the baseline ecology of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), the effects of disturbance on animal and plant communities, and the behavior of radionuclides in the environment surrounding radioactive waste sites. Separate abstracts have been prepared for individual reports. (ACR)

This report presents a method for evaluating relative environmental impacts of coal transportation modes (e.g., unit trains, trucks). Impacts of each mode are evaluated (rated) for a number of categories of environmental effects (e.g., air pollution, water pollution). The overall environmental impact of each mode is determined for the coal origin (mine-mouth area), the coal or coal-energy product destination (demand point), and the line-haul route. These origin, destination, and en route impact rankings are then combined into a systemwide ranking. Thus the method accounts for the many combinations of transport modes, routes, and energy products that can satisfy a user's energy demand from a particular coal source. Impact ratings and system rankings are not highly detailed (narrowly defined). Instead, environmental impacts are given low, medium, and high ratings that are developed using environmental effects data compiled in a recent Argonne National Laboratory report entitled Data for Intermodal Comparison of Environmental Impacts of Inland Transportation Alternatives for Coal Energy (ANL/EES-TM-206). The ratings and rankings developed for this report are generic. Using the method presented, policy makers can apply these generic data and the analytical framework given to particular cases by adding their own site specific data and making some informed judgements. …

Progress is reported in the following research areas: (1) high resolution, high sensitivity luminescence and other spectroscopic techniques, and (2) advanced methodologies for measurement of toxic effluents from energy processes. (ACR)

We have measured the production cross section and momentum distribution of K/sup -/ produced at 0/sup 0/ in /sup 28/Si + /sup 28/Si collisions at an energy of 2.1 GeV/nucleon. The K/sup -/ spectrum is approximately exponential. The large yield in the subthreshold production of K/sup -/ that we observe corresponds to a production rate of 1K/sup -/ per 50 collisions at impact parameters less than 1f. Productions mechanisms involving collective effects and thermal equilibration are discussed.

Investigation of accelerator breeders at Brookhaven National Laboratory indicate that the AB-LWR fuel cycle is economically competitive with the LMFBR fuel cycle. The same can be said about the accelerator breeder-High Temperature Gas Reactor symbiosis. This system appears to be very competitive with the added real advantage of superior safety and proliferation resistance. This discussion would be incomplete if the real competitor to accelerator breeding was not mentioned, namely Fusion Hybrid Breeding (FHB). Fusion Hybrid Breeding is a nearer option than pure fusion, as the breakeven Q value requirements are much more modest. Fusion Hybrid Breeding, if successful and practical, has the potential for highly efficient fissile fuel breeding, leading to cheaper fuel. The system, however, has yet to be demonstrated scientifically and to be shown commercially feasible. This is in contrast with the AB system which is an extension of proven, state-of-the-art technology with implementation possible within twenty years. 25 references, 4 figures, 5 tables.

We perform an analytic study of some quantities relevant to the plasma beat-wave accelerator (PBWA) concept. We obtain analytic expressions for the plasma frequency, longitudinal electron velocity, plasma density and longitudinal plasma electric field of a nonlinear longitudinal electron plasma oscillation with amplitude less than the wave-breaking limit and phase velocity approaching the speed of light. We also estimate the luminosity of a single-pass e/sup +/e/sup -/ linear PBWA collider assuming the energy and collision beamstrahlung are fixed parameters.

This report summarizes the scientific research carried out within the Nuclear Science Division between July 1, 1981, and September 30, 1982. Heavy-ion investigations continue to dominate the experimental and theoretical research efforts. Complementary programs in light-ion nuclear science, in nuclear data evaluation, and in the development of advanced instrumentation are also carried out. Results from Bevalac experiments employing a wide variety of heavy ion beams, along with new or upgraded detector facilities (HISS, the Plastic Ball, and the streamer chamber) are contained in this report. These relativistic experiments have shed important light on the degree of equilibration for central collisions, the time evolution of a nuclear collision, the nuclear density and compressional energy of these collisions, and strange particle production. Reaction mechanism work dominates the heavy-ion research at the 88-Inch Cyclotron and the SuperHILAC. Recent experiments have contributed to our understanding of the nature of light-particle emission in deep-inelastic collisions, of peripheral reactions, incomplete fusion, fission, and evaporation. Nuclear structure investigations at these accelerators continue to be directed toward the understanding of the behavior of nuclei at high angular momentum. Research in the area of exotic nuclei has led to the observation at the 88-Inch Cyclotron of the ..beta..-delayed proton …

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is currently conducting research for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on uranium recovery process wastes for both active and inactive operations. NRC-sponsored uranium recovery research at PNL is focused on NRC regulatory responsibilities for uranium-recovery operations: license active milling and in situ extraction operations; concur on the acceptability of DOE remedial-action plans for inactive sites; and license DOE to maintain inactive sites following remedial actions. PNL's program consists of four coordinated projects comprised of a program management task and nine research tasks that address the critical technical and safety issues for uranium recovery. Specifically, the projects endeavor to find and evaluate methods to: prevent erosion of tailings piles and prevent radon release from tailings piles; evaluate the effectiveness of interim stabilization techniques to prevent wind erosion and transport of dry tailings from active piles; estimate the dewatering and consolidation behavior of slurried tailings to promote early cover placement; design a cover-protection system to prevent erosion of the cover by expected environmental stresses; reduce seepage into ground water and prevent ground-water degradation; control solution movement and reaction with ground water in in-situ extraction operations; evaluate natural and induced restoration of ground water in in-situ extraction operations; …

The Aquatic Species Program (ASP) addresses the utilization of plant biomass that naturally occurs in wetland or submerged areas. Processes are being developed through this program to make use of such aquatic species, capitalizing on their inherent capacity for rapid growth as well as their extraordinary chemical compositions.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL), operated for the Department of Energy by the Battelle Memorial Institute, is conducting a study for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the feasibility of altering current plutonium shipping forms to reduce or eliminate the airborne dispersibility of PuO/sub 2/ which might occur during a shipping accident. Plutonium used for fuel fabrication is currently shipped as a PuO/sub 2/ powder with a significant fraction in the respirable size range. If the high-strength container is breached due to stresses imposed during a transportation accident, the PuO/sub 2/ powder could be subject to airborne dispersion. The available information indicated that a potential accident involving fire accompanied by crush/impact forces would lead to failure of current surface shipping containers (no assumptions were made on the possibility of such a severe accident). Criteria were defined for an alternate shipping form to mitigate the effects of such an accident. Candidate techniques and materials were evaluated as alternate shipping forms by a task team consisting of personnel from PNL and Rockwell Hanford Operations (RHO). At this time, the most promising candidate for an alternate plutonium shipping form appears to be pressing PuO/sub 2/ into unsintered (green) pellets. These green pellets satisfy the criteria …

The Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 2 (EBR-II) has been modeled using a recently developed special purpose block oriented simulation language, the Dynamic Simulator for Nuclear Power Plants (DSNP). The purpose of the work was to develop and verify the code and use it to support the Operational Reliability Test Program at EBR-II. Designed to be set up directly from block diagrams of the reactor system, DSNP allows easy interchange of modules which simulate individual components of the plant with differing levels of complexity.

The work reported is part of a field experimental program to demonstrate and evaluate compressed air energy storage in a porous media aquifer reservoir near Pittsfield, Illinois. The reservoir is described. Numerical modeling of the reservoir was performed concurrently with site development. The numerical models were applied to predict the thermohydraulic performance of the porous media reservoir. This reservoir characterization and pre-test analysis made use of evaluation of bubble development, water coning, thermal development, and near-wellbore desaturation. The work was undertaken to define the time required to develop an air storage bubble of adequate size, to assess the specification of instrumentation and above-ground equipment, and to develop and evaluate operational strategies for air cycling. A parametric analysis was performed for the field test reservoir. (LEW)

Conventional wet processing of textiles - dyeing, or application of such surface finishes as soil and water repellents, antistatic agents, fire retardants, permanent press agents, and starch - consumes about 0.19 quadrillion Btu's of energy per year, the equivalent of 30 million barrels of oil. Because wet processing involves immersion of the fabric in a water bath, most of the energy used is in the form of heat for drying. In the newer foam finishing approach, the chemicals for surface finishes are dispersed in a mixture of water and air. The chemicals are concentrated in a relatively small amount of water, and air is injected to form a thick, stable foam. Because little water is involved, drying time and temperature may be drastically reduced. Authur D. Little, Inc., conducted an economic and energy audit of foam processing that considered the technical feasibility, reliability, energy savings, and economic incentives for using foam finishing. We monitored four plants that finish textiles (carpets, broad-woven fabrics, and tubular knits). The plants were selected by the developer of the foaming process (United Merchants and Manufacturers, Inc.) to represent a wide range of textile finishing applications.

This report defines the concept of maintaining occupational exposures to radiation as low as is reasonably achievable (ALARA) and describes the elements necessary for specific licensees to implement, operate, and evaluate an effective ALARA program. Examples of cost-effectiveness analysis and optimization are provided. The rationale for providing more detailed guidance to specific licensees stems from the current recommendations provided by the International Commission on Radiological Protection, as well as from the increased regulatory emphasis on maintaining occupational exposures ALARA. The objective of this work is to provide the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with a basis for updating Regulatory Guide 8.10.

This technical monthly report covers studies related to the use of /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/ in radioisotope power systems carried out for the Office of Special Nuclear Projects of the US Department of Energy by Los Alamos National Laboratory. Most of the studies discussed here are ongoing. Results and conclusions described may change as the work continues.