PART 1: The effectiveness of a neutron well correlation counter (NWCC) and a random driver (RD) for plutonium-containing item assay and loss detection has been studied. The items were 4 in. x 2 in. x 1/4 in. stainless steel-clad metal plates and 6 in. x 3/8 in. stainless steel-clad oxide rods, each in two types of containment. PART 2: A neutron-counting/fuel-weighting system has been developed to provide the capability to assay the ZPR-6 and -9 plutonium fuel canisters rapidly and accurately. This system makes feasible the inline monitoring of fuel transfer from the storage vault to the fuel loading hoods and vice-versa. To exploit fully the system's potential, the equipment is intended to be used in conjunction with an on-line computer having a fuel and fuel-canister data base.

Quarterly report of the Argonne National Laboratory Chemical Engineering Division regarding activities related to properties and handling of radioactive materials, operation of nuclear reactors, and other relevant research.

Three types of metallic thermal insulation were investigated analytically and experimentally: multilayer reflective plates, multilayer honeycomb composite, and multilayer screens. Each type was subjected to evacuated and non-evacuated conditions, where thermal measurements were made to determine thermal-physical characteristics. A variation of the separation distance between adjacent reflective plates of multilayer reflective plates and multilayer screen insulation was also experimentally studied to reveal its significance. One configuration of the multilayer screen insulation was further selected to be examined in sodium and sodium oxide environments. The emissivity of Type 304 stainless steel used in comprising the insulation was measured by employing infrared technology. A comprehensive model was developed to describe the different proposed types of thermal insulation. Various modes of heat transfer inherent in each type of insulation were addressed and their relative importance compared. Provision was also made in the model to allow accurate simulation of possible sodium and sodium oxide contamination of the insulation. The thermal-radiation contribution to heat transfer in the temperature range of interest for LMFBR's was found to be moderate, and the suppression of natural convection within the insulation was vital in preserving its insulating properties. Experimental data were compared with the model and other published results. …

A modified Newton method for unconstrained minimization is presented and analyzed. The modification is based upon the model trust region approach. This report contains a thorough analysis of the locally constrained quadratic minimizations that arise as sub-problems in the modified Newton iteration. Several promising alternatives are presented for solving these sub-problems in ways that overcome certain theoretical difficulties exposed by this analysis. Very strong convergence results are presented concerning the minimization algorithm. In particular, the explicit use of second-order information is justified by demonstrating that the iterates converge to a point that satisfies the second-order necessary conditions for minimization. With the exception of very pathological cases this convergence occurs whenever the algorithm is applied to problems with continuous second partial derivatives.

Nuclear fuel cycles safeguards should be considered in the dynamic context of a world deployment of various reactor types and varying availability of fuel-cycle services. There will be a close interaction between thermal-reactor cycles and the future deployment of fast breeders. The quantities of plutonium and the reprocessing, conversion, fabrication, and storage methods of the fuel for the fast breeders will have a significant impact on safeguards techniques. The approach to the fast breeder fuel cycle safeguards follows the general safeguards system approach proposed by the IAEA. Objective of IAEA safeguards is the detection of diversion of nuclear material and deterrence of such diversion. To achieve independent verification of material balance accountancy requires the capability to monitor inventory status and verify material flows and quantities of all nuclear materials subject to safeguards. Containment and surveillance measures are applied to monitor key measurement points, maintain integrity of material balance, and complement material accountancy. The safeguards study attempts to develop a generic reference IAEA Safeguards System and explores various system options using containment/surveillance and material accountancy instrumentation and integrated systems designs.

Quarterly report discussing fuel cell research and development work at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). This report describes efforts directed toward understanding and improving components of molten carbonate fuel cells and have included operation of 10-cm square cells.