The Doublet III device is designed to study noncircular plasmas, including doublet and dee-shaped cross-sections. The plasma shape is determined by a system of 24 field-shaping coils which surround the vacuum vessel. Control of the magnetic flux linking these coils allows the plasma shape to be varied and controlled. This paper describes the high-speed dc chopper which is a major component of the field-shaping coil power system. The high-speed dc choppers, with a frequency response of up to 5 kHz and a switching power capability of 1.5 megawatts are used for fine tuning and feedback control of the plasma position and shape. The design and operation of two 1.5 megawatt, 3 kHz choppers used on closed loop plasma control experiments will be presented.

The coils major diameter is 1.0 meter and it occupies a cross-section which is about 0.2 meter minor in diameter. The prototype coil will carry four times the current of the largest such magnet built to date. As a result, the peak induction in the coil is about 8 T and the stored magnetic energy will be around 3 MJ. The paper describes the proposed Nb/sub 3/SN superconductor, the quench protection system which is based on the LBL shorted secondary concept, the isochroic refrigeration storage system which stores about 5 kJ of refrigeration between 4.5/sup 0/K and 7/sup 0/K, and the persistent switch.

The negative and positive ion systems have both common goals and common problems. In fact, we have identified five items that must be developed before any large, neutral-beam injector, operating continuously or almost so, can be engineered. The five items are: (1) a continuous or almost continuous ion source, with 1A designating a source of positive ions and 1B a direct extraction source of negatives, (2) a recirculating metal-vapor cell, (3) a computer code with which to calculate beam trajectories in three dimensions, (4) a resistive coating to bleed stray charges from the surface of high-voltage vacuum insulators, and (5) an arc suppression technique for large systems. These items are discussed and it is shown how their development is prerequisite to the design of a 24-MW, 400-keV neutral hydrogen injector such as might be required for a fusion power reactor.

The Containment Systems Test Facility (CSTF) provides the capability of performing large-scale aerosol behavior experiments at a scale factor of approximately 0.5 in height for a typical reactor containment building. The containment height is 20.3 m, the volume is 850 m/sup 3/, the design pressure is 5 bar, and quantities of sodium up to 1250 kg can be sprayed or spilled for sodium combustion product aerosol sources. Instrumentation is provided for characterization of the aerosol and the containment atmosphere. This paper describes the aerosol sampling techniques and instruments used in the CSTF and discusses their accuracy and reproducibility.

Over the past few years, several laser systems have been considered as possible laser fusion drivers. Recently, there has been an increasing effort to evaluate these systems in terms of a reactor driver application. The specifications for such a system have become firmer and generally more restrictive. Several of the promising candidates such as the group VI laser, the metal vapor excimers and some solid state lasers can be eliminated on the basis of inefficiency. New solid state systems may impact the long range development of a fusion driver. Of the short wavelength gas lasers, the KrF laser used in conjunction with Raman compression and pulse stacking techniques is the most promising approach. Efficiencies approaching 10% may be possible with this system. While technically feasible, these approaches are complex and costly and are unsatisfying in an aethetic sense. A search for new lasers with more compelling features is still needed.

One objective of research on inertial confinement fusion is the development of a power generating system based on this concept. Realization of this goal will depend on the availability of a suitable laser or other system to drive the power plant. The primary laser systems used for laser fusion research, Nd/sup 3 +/: Glass and CO/sub 2/, have characteristics which may preclude their use for this application. Glass lasers are presently perceived to be incapable of sufficiently high average power operation and the CO/sub 2/ laser may be limited by and issues associated with target coupling. These general perceptions have encouraged a search for alternatives to the present systems. The search for new lasers has been directed generally towards shorter wavelengths; most of the new lasers discovered in the past few years have been in the visible and ultraviolet region of the spectrum. Virtually all of them have been advocated as the most promising candidate for a fusion driver at one time or another.

The MFTF mirror device considers all low-energy species to be contaminants, since their primary effect is to erode the plasma boundary by charge-exchange reactions. Confinement for other than hydrogen isotypes is far from complete and confinement time is hardly more than transit time from the source to the end wall. The brevity of the confinement time makes it all the more necessary to prevent any contamination which might further reduce it. At Livermore, the historical solution to contaminant control has been to evaporate titanium onto cold surfaces. An alternative to this approach and its implications are considered. (MOW)

This paper describes an analysis of biological shield materials for elements that could produce long-lived activation products. 13 figs.

In discussions of the spectra of diatomic molecules, it is common in many physical chemistry and spectroscopy texts to introduce the Morse potential function V(R) = D{sub e}(1-exp(-{beta}(R-R{sub e}))) as representative of the real potential. The length scaling factor, {beta}, is usually expressed in terms of the harmonic vibration constant, {omega}{sub e}, the molecular reduced mass, {mu}, and the well depth, D{sub e}, via {beta} = k {omega}{sub e}(2{pi}{sup 2}{mu}/D{sub e}){sup 1/2} where k is a collection of physical constants appropriate to the units used for {omega}{sub e}, d{sub e}, {mu}, and {beta}. The Morse potential has the advantage that many simple, analytical expressions, such as eqn. (2), exist among the parameters of the potential function and observable spectroscopic constants.

This paper describes the Doublet III Vacuum Control System in which all input signals and output loads are connected to a programmable controller (PC) for logical interfacing. Input signals derived from CAMAC, control panels, limit switches, etc., are implemented as output signals to CAMAC, vacuum valves, pump motors, etc., according to a logic program stored in the PC memory. The memory can be easily programmed by anyone familar with either Boolean algebra or relay-ladder network diagrams. The program data is entered with the aid of a calculator like, keyboard instrument with LED readout displays. The PC system contains a 1024 word RAM memory with a battery backup system to provide 72 hours protection of contents in case of power failure. (MOW)

The design of an arc current modulator for a 10 x 40 cm neutral beam source is described. The arc modulator has been designed for the TFTR Neutral Beam Source Test Facility. The purpose of the arc modulator is twofold; first, the arc modulator shapes the current rise during the turn on time of the source arc current so that good beam optics are maintained throughout the rise; second, the arc modulator has the capability of regulating the arc current to compensate for power supply ripple and other acceleration voltage fluctuations during the pulse flat top. The maximum current through the arc modulator is 4000 amps which can be switched from the neutral beam source to a parallel circuit of the modulator in the order of a few microseconds, which is required when sparkdown occurs in the source. The arc modulator design is a fast voltage to current converter. (MOW)

An availability analysis of reprocessing systems in a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel recycle facility was completed. This report summarizes work done to date to define and determine reprocessing system availability for a previously planned HTGR recycle reference facility (HRRF). Schedules and procedures for further work during reprocessing development and for HRRF design and construction are proposed in this report. Probable failure rates, transfer times, and repair times are estimated for major system components. Unscheduled down times are summarized.

The magnetized coaxial plasma gun (located on the east end of the Beta II facility at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory) will be used to test a new method of initiating a field reversed mirror plasma. The field-reversed mirror is expected to improve the mirror-fusion reactor by enhancing the ratio of fusion power to injected power. This paper concentrates on the mechanical design and construction of the magnetized coaxial plasma gun and also discusses the diagnostic devices necessary to demonstrate the formation of field-reversed rings.

Recent reports have demonstrated the possibility of employing photoactive, biological membrane components in photoelectrochemical cells. Such systems have produced small photovoltages and photocurrents. Present studies in our laboratories have led to the attachment of a much simpler biological complex, the bacterial photosynthetic reaction center isolated from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides, directly onto an SnO/sub 2/ electrode. The light-induced primary charge separation processes which occur across the reaction center macromolecule have been coupled to the electrode, and in a two-electrode configuration photovoltages as high as 70 mV and photocurrents as high as 0.5 ..mu..A/cm/sup 2/ have been observed in an external circuit. The phenomena are not due to biological Dember effects. Such reaction center electrodes may be the forerunner of future biological solar cells or may serve as model systems for future organic photovoltaic devices.

A double-peak, energy-dependent Breit-Wigner model of the E1 gamma-ray strength function was applied to nuclei from As to Rh, to predict their neutron capture cross sections and capture gamma-ray spectra. A consistent set of model parameters was obtained in this mass region to describe the step in the low-energy tail of the E1 strength function. This step allows agreement with photonuclear data at high energies, the correct GAMMA/sub gamma/ to be obtained for agreement with neutron capture cross-section data, and the calculation of the observed hardness in the capture gamma-ray spectra. For nuclei at or near the closed, N = 50 shell, however, the double-peak assumption breaks down. In these cases, good results are still obtained if the same set of model parameters is applied, except that the E1 strength function is formulated in terms of the first, narrower peak. 8 figures.

Seven papers are included, relating to the exploitation of the uranium contained in shales. One of these papers discusses the IGT Hytort process, and was previously abstracted. Separate abstracts were prepared for the remaining six papers. (DLC)

We have used a Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) version of the WOLF ion source extractor design computer code to determine tolerable accel current and voltage limits during startup of a prototype 80 kV Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF) sustaining neutral beam source. Arc current limits are also estimated. The source extractor has gaps of 0.236, 0.721, and 0.155 cm. The effective ion mass is 2.77 AMU. The measured optimum accel current density is 0.266 A/cm/sup 2/. The gradient grid electrode runs at 5/6 V/sub a/ (accel voltage). The suppressor electrode voltage is zero for V/sub a/ < 3 kV and -3 kV for V/sub a/ greater than or equal to 3 kV. The accel current density for optimum beam divergence is obtained for 1 less than or equal to V/sub a/ less than or equal to 80 kV, as are the beam divergence and emittance.

The prototype for the TFTR Neutral Beam Injection System has been assembled at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboraory, and is presently under test. Some of the construction features of the shielding enclosure, the cryogenic supply system, control and computer area, and the auxiliary vacuum and utility supply system are described. In addition, the paper describes the target chamber, its beam dump and cryopanels, and the duct that connects the target chamber to the injector vessel. (MOW)

A Data Base Management System (DBMS) is being written as an integral part of the Supervisory Control and Diagnostics System (SCDS) of programs for control of the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF). The data upon which the DBMS operates consist of control values and evaluative information required for facilities control, along with control values and disgnostic data acquired as a result of each MFTF shot. The user interface to the DBMS essentially consists of two views: a computer program interface called the Program Level Interface (PLI) and a stand-alone interactive program called the Query Level Interface to support terminal-based queries. This paper deals specifically with the data structure capabilities from the viewpoint of the PLI user.

This paper covers the design and construction of the MFTF cryogenic system and a description of the operating procedures throughout the many functional modes. The coils and the cryopanels for maintaining the high vacuum environment weigh 417,000 kg (920,000 lb) and must be cooled from room temperature to 4.5 k. The cryogenic system for MFTF consists of a closed-loop helium system with a 3000-W helium refrigerator that uses gas-bearing expansion turbines and oil-flooded screw compressors. In addition, liquid helium storage facilities have adequate capacity for standby operation, and a complete helium-purification plant is capable of processing 17 m/sup 3//min (600 scfm). An open-loop liquid nitrogen system (with provision for later addition of a nitrogen recondenser) provides the required refrigeration for the radiation shields that must be maintained at 85 K.

The data base management system (DBMS) for the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF) is described as relational in nature and distributed across the nine computers of the supervisory control and diagnostics system. This paper deals with a reentrant runtime package of routines that are used to access data items, the data structures to support the runtime package, and some of the utilities in support of the DBMS.

An extensive experimental study of the degradation of existing forms of defense-related, transuranic-contaminated (TRU) wastes is being conducted by and for Sandia Laboratories. Studies have been performed under environmental conditions expected for deep geologic isolation in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a bedded-salt TRU waste repository planned for southeastern New Mexico. A primary purpose of this program has been to support the US Department of Energy in establishing waste acceptance criteria for TRU wastes for isolation in the WIPP. TRU waste forms investigated include cellulosics (paper, rags, wood), plastics, rubbers, mixed organic composite, bitumen, a developmental concrete-TRU ash matrix, mild steel, and inorganic process sludges. This review includes laboratory and field results for waste degradation under a range of conditions, resultant gas generation rates, gas compositions, corrosion rates, and microbial formation and degradation of chelating agents.

This paper discusses the following decontamination techniques: immersion electropolishing, in-situ electropolishing, barrel electropolishing, vibratory finishing, high-pressure freon spray, centrifugation, acid adsorption, and solidification. (DLC)

The nuclear reactor designed for process heat has a power output of 842 MW(t), a core outlet temperature of 950/sup 0/C (1742/sup 0/F), and an intermediate helium loop to separate the heat source from the process heat exchangers. Steam-methane reforming is the reference process. As part of the development of a nuclear process heat system, a computer code, Process Heat Reactor Evaluation and Design, is being developed. This code models both the reactor plant and a steam reforming plant. When complete, the program will have the capability to calculate an overall mass and heat balance, size the plant components, and estimate the plant cost for a wide variety of independent variables.