Measurement of /sup 129/I at low levels is required for effluent control, environmental assessment and tracer studies in the natural environment. Low level /sup 129/I analysis has also been used for measurement of natural-fission-produced /sup 129/I in minerals and ores as well as meteorites. The most sensitive method for /sup 129/I measurements is neutron activation analysis of iodine separated from a suitable sample. Minimum sample processing prior to neutron activation is desirable in order to reduce chances of sample contamination with uranium or /sup 129/I. A potential interference in the activation analysis method is the production of /sup 129/I (/sup 130/I) from Te impurities in the irradiated ampoule. Procedures have been developed and applied to measurement of the magnitude of the potential Te interference. One-tenth of a microgram of Te in the irradiated ampoule is sufficient to produce interference in the analysis. This is detectable by either radiochemical Te measurements or by /sup 131/I detection in the iodine fraction from the irradiated ampoule. This paper discusses the procedures and results of Te interference studies in /sup 129/I activation analysis. The interference was found to be insignificant for most analyses. 5 tables.

The verification and adjustment of plant models for decay heat removal analysis using a mix of engineering judgment and formal techniques from control theory are discussed. The formal techniques facilitate dealing with typical test data which are noisy, redundant and do not measure all of the plant model state variables directly. Two pretest examples are presented.

Exposure to noise, H{sub 2}S, NH/sub 3/, hazardous chemicals and wastes, and heat are the major occupational health hazards associated with geothermal energy development - from drilling to power production. Exposures to these agents, although not unique to geothermal energy development, occur in situations peculiar to the industry. Reports show that occupational illnesses associated with geothermal energy development are increasing, while the corresponding rates from all power production are decreasing. Most of those related to geothermal energy result from the H{sub 2}S-abatement systems used in response to environmental pollution regulations.

The probabilistic approach to nuclear reactor safety is playing an increasingly significant role. For the liquid-metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) in particular, the ultimate application of this approach could be to determine the probability of achieving the goal of a specific line-of-assurance (LOA). Meanwhile a more pressing problem is one of quantifying the uncertainty in a calculated consequence for hypothetical core disruptive accident (HCDA) using large codes. Such uncertainty arises from imperfect modeling of phenomenology and/or from inaccuracy in input data. A method is presented to determine the confidence level in consequences calculated by a large computer code due to the known uncertainties in input invariables. A particular application was made to the initial time of pin failure in a transient overpower HCDA calculated by the code MELT-IIIA in order to demonstrate the method. A probability distribution function (pdf) for the time of failure was first constructed, then the confidence level for predicting this failure parameter within a desired range was determined.

A diametral extensometer was developed and employed during temperature ramp tests with the Fuel Cladding Transient Tester (FCTT). Plastic strain measurements were performed using unirradiated 20% cold-worked AISI 316 stainless steel tubing ramped at 5.6 and 111/sup 0/C/s with internal pressures from 3.4 to 93.1 MPa. Results demonstrated that plastic deformation can occur at stresses well below the conventional 0.2% yield strength and that most deformation in such tests occurs in the final 50/sup 0/C before failure. Postirradiation tests were performed on fuel pin cladding irradiated to 5.8 x 10/sup 22/ n/cm (E > 0.1 MeV) with irradiation temperatures to 540/sup 0/C. The tests showed that, for test pressures of 17.2 MPa or less, the stress-strain behavior was unchanged from unirradiated material behavior although the strains at failure were greatly decreased.

A comparison is made between three different dynamic analysis methods commonly used in the analysis of nuclear facilities. The methods are applied to a typical non-reactor type nuclear facility; namely, an early configuration of the High Performance Fuel Laboratory which was to have been designed and constructed to house an automated fuel process line on the Hanford Reservation near Richland, Washington. The fuel to be handled was mixed plutonium and uranium in powder and pellet form which, therefore, required design for severe earthquake and tornado conditions. The structure is a two-story reinforced concrete shear wall building with a high bay on one end. The comparison is made for earthquake motion in the lateral horizontal direction only. The first method employs a three degree of freedom spring mass system with the masses lumped at the three floor and roof slab levels. After shears are obtained they are distributed to the shear walls in proportion to their stiffnesses. Floor and roof slabs are assumed rigid but eccentricities are accounted for in the shear distribution. The second method utilizes a pseudo three-dimensional stick model. The shear walls and horizontal floor and roof diaphram are modeled as three dimensional beam elements using the SAP …

As now being explored for fusion applications confinement systems based on the mirror principle embody two kinds of plasma regimes. These two regimes are: (a) high-beta plasmas, stabilized against MHD and other low frequency plasma instabilities by magnetic-well fields, but characterized by non-Maxwellian ion distributions; (b) near-Maxwellian plasmas, confined electrostatically (as in the tandem mirror) or in a field-reversed region within the mirror cell. Common to both situations are the questions of anomalous transport owing to high frequency instabilities in the non-maxwellian portions of the plasmas. This report will summarize the status of theory and of experimental data bearing on these questions, with particular reference to the high temperature regimes of interest for fusion power.

Over 50 neutral beam sources (NBS) of the joint Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL)/Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) design have been manufactured, since 1973, in the LLL Neutral Beam Source Facility. These sources have been used to provide start-up and sustaining neutral beams for LLL mirror fusion experiments, including 2XIIB, TMX, and Beta II. Experimental prototype 20-kV and 80-kV NBS have also been designed, built, and tested for the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF). (MOW)

The physical properties of brittle materials are of interest because of the rapidly expanding use of these material in high-pressure and shock wave techology, e.g., geophysics and explosive compaction as well as military applications. These materials are characterized by unusually high sonic velocities, have large dynamic impedances and exhibit large dynamic yield strengths.

In conclusion, it may be stated that: Recycle processing of SRC-I coal extract produced an equilibrium recycle solvent containing 9 weight percent hydrogen after two recycle passes in the PDU; no refractory 850/sup 0/F+ material was detected when recycling 500/sup 0/F+ material; an 850/sup 0/F+ conversion of approximatly 87 weight percent (based on fresh SRC-I feed) was obtained during recycle processing at temperatures of 790 to 810/sup 0/F; a distillate product (390 to 850/sup 0/F) containing < 0.3 weight percent nitrogen was routinely obtained during recycle processing at the above noted high conversion; and in the recycle mode of processing coal extract at 780/sup 0/F, a catalyst addition rate of one pound of catalyst per ton of moisture-free coal gave an 850/sup 0/F+ conversion of 62 weight percent (based on fresh SRC-I feed) and a nitrogen content in the distillate fraction (390 to 850/sup 0/F) of 0.36 weight percent.

The separation of helium from hydrogen at the center of Jupiter is not likely even though phase separation is predicted at both higher and lower pressures.

A computer controlled ultrasonic scanning system and a data acquisition and analysis system have been developed to perform the inservice inspection of welds in stainless steel sodium piping in the Fast Flux Test Facility. The scanning equipment consists of a six axis motion mechanism and control system which allows full articulation of an ultrasonic transducer as it follows the circumferential pipe welds. The data acquisition and analysis system consists of high speed ultrasonic waveform digitizing equipment, dedicated processors to perform on-line analysis, and data storage and display equipment.

Effective intrusion protection for uninhabited sites scattered widely throughout a large geographic area can be a difficult and expensive proposition. When the sites are important enough to require continuous surveillance, the problem is even worse. Roving patrols are not effective, and conventional alarms don't provide enough information to allow a meaningful response. Television systems have possibilities but also disadvantages: the usual system is both costly and inflexible. This paper describes our solution to the problem: a cost effective instrusion protection system used to simultaneously protect many sites scattered over many square miles, with realtime surveillance from a central point. The system is based on a state-of-the-art FM CATV concept that is capable of providing surveillance for multiple sites, is modular in design for quick setup, flexible, and easily maintained. A electronic motion detector is incorporated for each site under surveillance, with a visual and audible alarm to alert the observer at the central control console. The observer can then bring the intruded site up on a large-screen monitor for detailed assessment. The system is relatively economical as all equipment is commercially available and all installation is straight-forward and follows usual CATV construction practices.

Of major technical and cost impact to Magnetic Fusion Energy development are the materials for the magnet structure. Those materials and fabrication techniques that are attractive to fusion magnets are discussed and relative comparisons made. Considerations such as strength, toughness, and joining techniques are balanced against recommended design criteria to reach an optimum design. Several examples of material selection are cited for large fusion magnets such as Base II, the Mirror Fusion Test Facility, the Toroidal Fusion Test Facility, and the Large Coil Project.