This report, prepared for the Chicago Operations Office and the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) of the US Department of Energy (DOE), identifies and analyzes legal, political, administrative, and operational issues that could affect an OCRWM decision to develop an overweight truck cask fleet for the commercial nuclear waste repository program. It also provides information required by DOE on vehicle size-and-weight administration and regulation, pertinent to nuclear waste shipments. Current legal-weight truck casks have a payload of one pressurized-water reactor spent fuel element or two boiling-water reactor spent fuel elements (1 PWR/2 BWR). For the requirements of the 1960s and 1970s, casks were designed with massive shielding to accommodate 6-month-old spent fuel; the gross vehicle weight was limited to 73,280 pounds. Spent fuel to be moved in the 1990s will have aged five years or more. Gross vehicle weight limitation for the Interstate highway system has been increased to 80,000 pounds. These changes allow the design of 25-ton legal-weight truck casks with payloads of 2 PWR/5 BWR. These changes may also allow the development of a 40-ton overweight truck cask with a payload of 4 PWR/10 BWR. Such overweight casks will result in significantly fewer highway shipments compared …

This document reports all available dissolved gas concentration data for groundwaters from the Hanford Site as of June 1985. Details of the computational procedures required to reduce data obtained from the field measurements made by the Basalt Waste Isolation Project are provided in the appendix. Most measured values for methane concentration from reference repository boreholes are in the range of from 350 to 700 mg/L for the Cohassett flow top. Because of the uncertainties associated with these measurements, it is currently recommended that a conservative methane concentration of 1200 mg/L (methane saturated) in groundwater be considered the most reasonable upper-bounding value. 16 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.

An evaluation is given of DOE's recommendation of the Elk River complex in North Carolina for siting the second repository. Twelve recommendations are made including a strong suggestion that the Cherokee Tribe appeal both through political and legal avenues for inclusion as an affected area primarily due to projected impacts upon economy and public health as a consequence of the potential for reduced tourism.

We show that under very general conditions any inhomogeneous cosmological model with a positive cosmological constant, that can be described in a synchronous reference system will tend asymptotically in time towards the de Sitter solution. This is shown to be relevant in the context of inflationary models as it makes inflation very weakly dependent on initial conditions. 8 refs.

Muon fluence (muons cm/sup -2/) was measured downstream of the experimental area beamlines, just beyond the Fermilab site boundary at Route 38. The purpose of these measurements was to obtain an estimate of the yearly off-site radiation exposure to the general population due to accelerator-produced muons during the 1985 800 GeV run.

Ten 1-m long dipole magnets of the SSC design ''D'' cross section have been constructed and tested. In each model a collar type structure was used to contain and support the coil assembly at assembly and during operation at 4K. The collar structure must provide enough coil compression to minimize training and guarantee the coil cross section dimensions. Three types of collar designs were used. The behavior, measured and predicted, of two types of 15 mm stainless steel collars used on eight of the ten models is examined. The mechanical measurement of the 15 mm stainless steel collars used on eight 1-m dipole models are given. Observed behavior and preliminary design criteria are discussed. In order to better understand observed collar behavior and to evaluate new designs, finite element analysis of the collar designs was undertaken, and results are correlated with measured behavior. The behavior of alternate collar designs is predicted. 3 refs., 19 figs. (LEW)

The electrical characteristics of large lead-acid cells from nuclear power plants were studied. The overall goal was to develop nondestructive tests to predict cell failure using this easily obtained information. Cell capacitance, internal resistance, reaction resistance for hydrogen evolution and cell capacity were measured on a lead-calcium cell in good condition. A high float voltage and low internal resistance were found to correlate with good cell capacity in cells selected from a set of six lead-antimony cells in poor condition.

In measurements of fully-damped yields for the /sup 16/O + /sup 40,44Ca and /sup 32/S + /sup 24/Mg reactions, evidence for a fusion-fission reaction mechanism were found. The experiments were performed at the Argonne tandem-linac booster facility. Reaction products with masses 22 < A < 36 for the /sup 16/O + /sup 40,44Ca reactions and 10 < A < 28 for the /sup 32/S + /sup 24/Mg reaction were detected and identified using the time-of-flight technique. The /sup 16/O + /sup 40,44Ca reactions were measured at several center-of-mass energies from 49.5 to 62.5 MeV, while the /sup 32/S + /sup 24/Mg data were obtained at a single energy of E/sub cm/ = 60 MeV. The resulting total kinetic energies (calculated assuming two-body kinematics), angular distributions, and mass distributions of the fragments are found to be consistent with a fusion-fission reaction mechanism. An alternative explanation of the yields in terms of a deep-inelastic scattering mechanism is ruled out by the asymmetric nature of the mass distributions: the maximum cross section for the /sup 32/S + /sup 224/Mg reaction is detected in the mass 12 channel whereas the maximum cross sections for deep-inelastic scattering would be expected to occur near the target-projectile …

This device is a combined pressure relief valve and check valve providing overpressure protection and preventing back flow into an inert atmosphere enclosure. The pressure relief is embodied by a submerged vent line in a mercury reservior, the releif pressure being a function of the submerged depth. The pressure relief can be vented into an exhaust system and the relieving pressure is only slightly influenced by the varying pressure in the exhaust system. The check valve is embodied by a ball which floats on the mercury column and contacts a seat whenever vacuum exists within the glovebox enclosure. Alternatively, the check valve is embodied by a vertical column of mercury, the maximum back pressure being a function of the height of the column of mercury.

An overview is given of research programs at a two-stage light-gas gun facility. Representative gas-gun experiments are described, and the impact of this research on other LLNL programs and on high-pressure physics work in general are discussed. Particular applications reported include: measurement of equations of state for various materials, synthesis and study of novel materials, and studies of high explosives. Specialized diagnostic techniques for gas-gun experiments are reviewed. (LEW)

This report documents the seismic analyses performed by SMA for the MFTF-B Axicell vacuum vessel. In the course of this study we performed response spectrum analyses, CLASSI fixed-base analyses, and SSI analyses that included interaction effects between the vessel and vault. The response spectrum analysis served to benchmark certain modeling differences between the LLNL and SMA versions of the vessel model. The fixed-base analysis benchmarked the differences between analysis techniques. The SSI analyses provided our best estimate of vessel response to the postulated seismic excitation for the MFTF-B facility, and included consideration of uncertainties in soil properties by calculating response for a range of soil shear moduli. Our results are presented in this report as tables of comparisons of specific member forces from our analyses and the analyses performed by LLNL. Also presented are tables of maximum accelerations and relative displacements and plots of response spectra at various selected locations.

Three laboratory-scale devices were utilized to investigate the mechanisms of the initiation, growth and sintering process involved in the formation of boiler deposits. Sticking apparatus investigations were conducted to study deposit initiation by comparing the adhesion behavior of the ash drops on four types of steel-based heat exchanger materials under the conditions found in a utility boiler and an entrained slagging gasifier. In addition, the adhesion behavior of the ash drops on a reduced steel surface were investigated. All the ash drops studied in this investigation were produced from bituminous coals.

Tests were conducted by Pacific Northwest Laboratory in FY 1984 to examine the influence of heat and radiation on the chemical environment of a high-level nuclear waste package in a repository in salt and to determine the solubility of key radionuclides in site-specific brines. These tests are part of an ongoing effort by the Waste Package Program, whose objective is to help develop a data base on package components and system interactions necessary to qualify a nuclear waste package for geologic disposal. Specifically, tests performed in FY 1984 involved alpha and gamma radiolysis of brines, americium solubility in brines, the influence of heat and radiation on rock salt, and the influence of temperature on brine chemistry.

Dipoles and quadrupoles for any new, large proton ring must be stronger, smaller and have better field shape (systematic error) than those used in the Doubler. The present two-shell designs are rigid in that the coils are too thin but cannot be relatively fatter without destroying the field quality. An examination of the coil shapes for dipoles and quadrupoles which produce perfect fields from a uniform current density shows clearly that our persistent use of a circular form for the inner surface of the coils is a poor approximation. When this is corrected by ''offsets'' there is a striking improvement both in the strength of fields and in the field quality. The same analysis makes clear that the efficient use of superconductor and the overall magnet size is determined by the perfect coil shapes. Any reasonable magnet will not differ significantly from the ideal for these parameters. This will be particularly helpful in setting design goals for very large quadrupoles. The offset two-shell dipole design preserves the mechanical features of the highly successful, resilient doubler magnets while greatly extending the performance.

The work of Steve Jones and others in muon-catalyzed cold fusion of deuterium and hydrogen suggests the possibility of such fusion catalyzed by ions, or combinations of atoms, or more-or-less free electrons in solid and liquid materials. A hint that this might occur naturally comes from the heat generated in volcanic action in subduction zones on the earth. It is questionable whether the potential energy of material raised to the height of a midocean ridge and falling to the depth of an ocean trench can produce the geothermal effects seen in the volcanoes of subduction zones. If the ridge, the trench, the plates, and the asthenosphere are merely visible effects of deeper density-gradient driven circulations, it is still uncertain that observed energy-concentration effects fit the models.

The report contains two sections, the first on a regional statistical survey of fault compartments, and the second on a revised theory of fluid migration and temperature history in the Frio formation. Separate abstracts were prepared for each section. (ACR)

This annual report, the seventh in a series, provides a brief description of fuel performance during 1984 in commercial nuclear power plants. Brief summaries of fuel design changes, fuel surveillance programs, fuel operating experience, fuel problems, high-burnup fuel experience, and items of general significance are provided. References to additional, more detailed information and related NRC evaluations are included. 279 refs., 11 figs., 29 tabs.

This report describes the progress made to investigate the use of various catalysts and methods of incorporation for the gasification of forest residue materials. Catalyst effectiveness was determined by measuring the gasification rate directly in a differential reactor that utilized approximately one gram samples and by gasifying approximately 10 to 20 gram samples in a batch-solids fluid bed (BSFB) to determine the effect of catalysts on product gas composition. 2 refs., 24 figs., 12 tabs.

To study problems associated with nondestructive assay (NDA) measurements of molten salt residues, a joint study was conducted by the Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, CO and Mound Laboratories, Miamisburg, OH. Extensive NDA measurements were made on nine containers of molten salt residues by both Rocky Flats and Mound followed by dissolution and solution quantification at Rocky Flats. Results of this study verify that plutonium and americium can be measured in such salt residues by a new gamma-ray spectral analysis technique coupled with calorimetry. Biases with respect to the segmented gamma-scan technique were noted.

We present here analyses of macro- and microscopic (intracrystalline) brines observed within the WIPP facility and in the surrounding halite, with interpretations regarding the origin and history of these fluids and their potential effect(s) on long-term waste storage. During excavation, several large fluid inclusions were recovered from an area of highly recrystallized halite in a thick salt bed at the repository horizon (2150 ft below ground level). In addition, 52 samples of brine ''weeps'' were collected from walls of recently excavated drifts at the same stratigraphic horizon from which the fluid inclusion samples are assumed to have been taken. Analyses of these fluids show that they differ substantially in composition from the inclusion fluids and cannot be explained by mixing of the fluid inclusion populations. Finally, holes in the facility floor that filled with brine were sampled but with no stratographic control; therefore it is not possible to interpret the compositions of these brines with any accuracy, except insofar as they resemble the weep compositions but with greater variation in both K/Mg and Na/Cl ratios. However, the Ca and SO/sub 4/ values for the floor holes are relatively close to the gypsum saturation curve, suggesting that brines filling floor holes …

This study was conducted to define and develop techniques that could be used to assess the complete spectrum of positive effects resulting from the Energy Conversion and Utilization Technologies (ECUT) Program activities. These techniques could then be applied to measure the benefits from past ECUT outputs. In addition, the impact of future ECUT outputs could be assessed as part of an ongoing monitoring process, after sufficient time has elapsed to allow their impacts to develop.

This document describes a rather general mathematical model of crack tip electrochemistry. First the general mass transport problem is discussed along with the chemistry expected to take place within the crack. The final equations used are extracted and the numerical algorithm presented for producing the final approximation to the original problem. At least two items have been ignored in the paper. A number of models for the crack tip exist. Only one is described here. Initial experience indicates that other geometries may complicate things during computation but have little effect on the final solution. The second item involves limiting the electrochemistry by solubility limits. Experiments indicate that when precipitation of Ni/sup + +/ occurs there is a dramatic reduction in anodic current. Indeed, examination of the boundary condition and other governing equations indicate that if precipitation occurs over any finite continuous interval which includes the tip, then the total anodic current at the tip vanishes. Hence the crack growth from corrosion stops. This observation indicates that more research is needed to obtain a useful model of the crack tip when precipitation occurs. 10 refs., 13 figs.

The theory of a microwave undulator utilizing a plane rectangular waveguide operating in the TE/sub 10n/ mode and other higher order modes is presented. Based on this, a possible undulator configuration is analyzed, leading to the conclusion that the microwave undulator represents a viable option for undulator wavelength down to about 1 cm where peak voltage and available microwave power considerations limit effectiveness. 4 refs., 4 figs. (LEW)

On March 30 and 31, 1986, a borehole gravity survey in the State 2-14 well located in Niland, California was performed. This report describes briefly the field operations and presents the field data and processed gravity data with resultant borehole gravity meter (BHGM) densities.