Experimental results show the sensitivity of hydrodynamically generated vertical loads to changes in the drywell pressurization rate, downcomer submergence, and vent-line loss coefficient. Insignificant effects on peak vertical loads were observed when the vent-line loss was varied. Peak vertical loads can be reduced by adding initial drywell overpressure so that the downcomers are partly cleared of water. Spatial variation of pressure at about the time of vent clearing is seen in comparisons of data from locations along the axis of the toroidal wetwell.

This report discusses an AP190L array processor (manufactured by Floating Point Systems of Beaverton, Oregon) interfaced to a PDP-10 (Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, Mass.). After AP software installation, an analysis of the overhead was performed. The results of these measurements and some conclusions are presented. An AP monitor and software interface were written to minimize the overhead from the PDP-10. A vector extension to the FORTRAN language called FIVE was developed to increase user access to the AP. Some of the problems associated with defining and implementing FIVE are discussed. Its successes and limitations are reviewed. 2 figures, 2 tables.

A numerical method for modeling stimulated Brillouin scatter (SBS) in a hydrodynamic simulation code is discussed. Preliminary results using the model show that scattering is reduced as shorter wavelengths are used and for spherical symmetry that ion heating by SBS is not significant since the ions cool by expansion.

A computer program, SCAP-BR, has been developed at Burns and Roe for the gamma-ray streaming analysis through multi-legged ducts. SCAP-BR is a modified version of the single scattering code, SCAP, incorporating capabilities of handling multiple scattering and volumetric source geometries. It utilizes the point kernel integration method to calculate both the line-of-sight and scattered gamma dose rates by employing the ray tracing technique through complex shield geometries. The multiple scattering is handled by a repeated process of the single scatter method through each successive scatter region and collapsed pseudo source meshes constructed on the relative coordinate systems. The SCAP-BR results have been compared with experimental data for a Z-type (three-legged) concrete duct with a Co-60 source placed at the duct entrance point. The SCAP-BR dose rate predictions along the duct axis demonstrate an excellent agreement with the measured values.

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.

A large glove-box facility for handling reactive metal tritides was decommissioned. Major sections of the glove box were decontaminated and disassembled for reuse at another tritium facility. To achieve the desired results, decontamnation required repeated washing, first with organic liquids, then with water and detergents. Worker protection was provided by simple ventilation combined with careful monitoring of the work areas and employees. Several innovative techniques are described.

In this paper we summarize characteristics of several cable configurations and consider one design in detail, which consists of twelve, 250 MCM arc cables, ten 4/0 filament cables, and accel, gradient grid, control, and instrumentation cables within a circular split Al pipe. The pipe is air insulated from an outer 24-in. x 24-in. steel duct by utility pin insulators. Varying run lengths require adjustment of the arc inductance by variation of cross sectional cable position. Equilibrium heat transfer analysis indicates the pulse-off time for source conditioning must be somewhat greater than 60 s to keep conductor temperatures below 90/sup 0/C. The results of a high voltage test of a model cable are presented.

A variety of systems are required for adequate diagnostics of laser fusion experiments. Picosecond scale temporal measurements are typically made with ultrafast streak cameras. Visible and x-ray sensitive streak cameras with resolutions of 6 psec and 15 psec, respectively, and dynamic recording range in excess of 10/sup 3/ are in regular use on experiments at Livermore. The characteristics of these cameras and their applications to target experiment diagnostics are described. The development and testing of a prototype ultrafast framing system is discussed. Because of the need for ''real time'' data acquisition, analysis, and control systems, techniques for providing directly computer interfaced image data from streak and framing cameras and optical imaging systems are being developed. The status of these developments and the characteristics of the computer interfaced data and control systems on Argus and Shiva are summarized.

None

The requirement for the design and construction of large superconducting magnet systems for fusion research has raised a number of new questions regarding the properties of composite superconducting conductors. One of these, the effect of mechanical stress on the current-carrying capacity of Nb/sub 3/Sn, is of major importance in determining the feasibility of constructing large magnets with this material. A typical experiment for determining such data involves the measurement of critical current versus magnetic field while the conductor is being mechanically strained to various degrees. Techniques are well developed for the current and field measurements, but much less so for the accurate measurement of strain at liquid-helium temperature in a high magnetic field. A study was made of commercial, metal-foil strain gages for use under these conditions. The information developed can also be applied to the use of strain gages as diagnostic tools in superconducting magnets.

The problem of collisional particle and energy transport in open-ended systems, where the axial transport is dominant, is considered. The Fokker-Planck equation for the distribution function has previously been solved in two limits: when the mean-free-path lambda/sub mfp/ is long compared to the system length L, and when lambda/sub mfp/ << L. A Monte Carlo procedure is presented for the solution of the equation which is formally valid for any range of lambda/sub mfp/L, although it is most practical for lambda/sub mfp/ approx. L. Results are given for two problems relevant to mirror devices at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, namely, electron confinement in 2XIIB and ion confinement in the tandem mirror TMX.

Current laser-driven ICF targets are complex sets of concentric spherical shells made from a variety of materials including the fuel (e.g., deuterium-tritium), glass, beryllium, gold, polymeric materials, organo-metallics, and several additional organic and inorganic materials depending on the particular experiments to be done. While it is not yet known what the reactor targets will be exactly, there is little reason to believe they will be just simple, low quality glass shells containing DT gas or simple spheres of deuterated polyethylene or other fuel. Consequently, many of the current targets, materials, and fabrication techniques are considered to be applicable to the long range problems of ICF reactor target fabrication. Many current material problems and fabrication techniques are discussed and various quality factors are presented in an attempt to bring an awareness of the possible fusion reactor target materials problems to the scientific and technical community.

Energy storage and transfer requirements for many of the present day reactor systems are listed. Two ohmic heating (OH) requirements, those for toroidal Z-pinches and Tokamaks, are described in more detail. Technologies envisioned for the power conditioning circuitry are discussed.

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target designs are considered which may have very high gains (approximately 1000) and low power requirements (< 100 TW) for input energies of approximately one megajoule. These include targets having very low density shells, ultra thin shells, central ignitors, magnetic insulation, and non-ablative acceleration.

A functional new high pressure, high temperature apparatus for hydrogen isotopes uses an internally heated pressure vessel within a larger pressure vessel. The pressure capability is 345 MPa (50 K psi) at 1200/sup 0/C. The gas pressure inside the internal vessel is balanced with gas pressure in the external vessel. The internal vessel is attached to a closure and is also the sample container. Our design allows thin-walled internal vessel construction and keeps the sample from ''seeing'' the furnace or other extraneous environment. The sample container together with the closure can easily be removed and loaded under argon using standard glove-box procedures. The small volume of the inner vessel permits small volumes of gas to be used, thus increasing the sensitivity during pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) work.

Recent research was revived interest in electromagnetic railguns. A railgun utilizes the Lorentz force to accelerate an electrically conducting armature, which in turn accelerates a projectile. Our investigation identified the critical parameter that will lead to limits on railgun operation. These limits were incorporated in calculations of the performance of railguns. The calculations indicate that it is possible with present technology to accelerate a projectile to velocities in excess of 20 km/s.

A procedure, called the threshold cross section method was applied to our experimental data involving four uranium (/sup 233/U /sup 234/U, /sup 236/U, and /sup 238/U) and five plutonium (/sup 239/Pu, /sup 240/Pu, /sup 241/Pu, /sup 242/Pu, and /sup 244/Pu) isotopes to determine ratios of fission cross sections relative to /sup 235/U. The data were gathered using ionization fission chambers and the time-of-flight technique at the LLL 100-MeV electron linear accelerator: measurements span the neutron energy range of 0.001 to 30 MeV. Experimental uncertainties common to past measurements were either eliminated or significantly reduced in this study by use of the threshold method, thereby making higher accuracies possible. The cross section ratios are absolute in the sense that they do not depend on the work of others. Results from our ratios involving /sup 233/U, /sup 235/U, /sup 238/U, and /sup 239/Pu are used to illustrate this method.

The MFTF is a large new mirror facility under construction at Livermore for completion in 1981--82. It represents a scaleup, by a factor of 50 in plasma volume, a factor of 5 or more in ion energy, and a factor of 4 in magnetic field intensity over the Livermore 2XIIB experiment. Its magnet, employing superconducting NbTi windings, is of Yin-Yang form and will weigh 200 tons. MFTF will be driven by neutral beams of two levels of current and energy: 1000 amperes of 20 keV (accelerating potential) pulsed beams for plasma startup; 750 amperes of 80 keV beams of 0.5 second duration for temperature buildup and plasma sustainment. Two operating modes for MFTF are envisaged: The first is operation as a conventional mirror cell with n/sup tau/ approximately equal to 10/sup 12/ cm/sup -3/ sec, W/sub i/ = 50 keV, where the emphasis will be on studying the physics of mirror cells, particularly the issues of improved techniques of stabilization against ion cyclotron modes and of maximization of the electron temperature. The second possible mode is the further study of the Field Reversed Mirror idea, using high current neutral beams to sustain the field-reversed state. Anticipating success in the coming …

During the past 25 years, experiments with several magnetic mirror machines were performed as part of the Magnetic Fusion Energy (MFE) Program at LLL. The latest MFE experiment, the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF), builds on the advances of earlier machines in initiating, stabilizing, heating, and sustaining plasmas formed with deuterium. The goals of this machine are to increase ion and electron temperatures and show a corresponding increase in containment time, to test theoretical scaling laws of plasma instabilities with increased physical dimensions, and to sustain high-beta plasmas for times that are long compared to the energy containment time. This paper describes the diagnostic system being developed to characterize these plasma parameters.

The use of multistep photoionization techniques to measure lifetimes, cross sections, and branching ratios in uranium is described. The measurement of autoionization behavior, the assignment of new levels, and the observation of Rydberg states are also described. Experimental data are presented for all parameters. (auth)

The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory has been appointed by the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration to be the lead laboratory for carrying out a long-term project to acquire complete understanding of the environmental quality in the Imperial Valley of California prior to any major developments. The purpose of this project is to ensure that the development of geothermal resources proceeds on an environmentally sound basis. Consequently, the Imperial Valley Environmental Project (IVP) is committed to an intensive and comprehensive study designed to establish an environmental baseline for the Imperial Valley as well as to develop an understanding of the environmental and other effects associated with development of geothermal resources. The IVP is organized into seven main study sections, which when taken together cover all the significant issues and concerns. The sections are: Air Quality; Water Quality; Ecosystem Quality (Soil, Plants, Animals, etc.); Subsidence and Induced Seismicity; Health Effects; Socio-Economics; and an Integrated Assessment. (auth)

Since the earliest days of fusion research it has been hoped that diamagnetic currents flowing in a plasma could be used to help confine the plasma. Recently this hope has been strengthened both by theoretical advances and by experimental results made possible by technological developments. On the theoretical front analytical treatments and computer simulation studies have demonstrated equilibrium solutions existing both in the fluid limit and in the large-orbit limit. Progress has also been made in determining the conditions required for the stability of field-reversed entities. It appears that configurations of the general form of fat doughnuts, possibly elongated to napkin-ring form, represent stable states. Building on previous experimental work, several investigators have been able to create field-reversed states. One method, based on the ASTRON idea of Christofilos, traps an intense relativistic electron beams (REB) to create a field-reversing current ring. Other approaches use either the reversed field theta pinch technique or REB pulses to create field-reversing diamagnetic currents in a long cylindrical plasma. In the former method, millisecond-long field-reversing electron rings have been achieved; in the latter method field-reversed plasma states lasting 30 to 50 microseconds have been achieved. Another approach under investigation is the Field Reversed Mirror (FRM) …

Estimates on the ability of solar energy to supply US energy needs vary from 0 to 25%. It is generally thought that solar can supply as much as we want it to up to 25% in the Northwest by the year 2000 providing an all-out effort is applied now to develop solar energy. The factors affecting the extent of solar utilization are discussed; they are more institutional (inertia, experience, legal, social) than technological or economical. Because of its climate, unique power system, and amount of sunshine, the Northwest is one of the best places in the US for solar energy utilization. Solar energy used in the Northwest is more likely to meet needs that would otherwise be met by new thermal electric plants than is the case in most places.

A theoretical expression showing the radial dependence of permeability in geologic media as a function of the distance from the point of detonation has been derived. This relationship shows that created permeability decreases as a function of radius (1/r/sup 5/ around a spherical blast and 1/r/sup 4/ around a cylindrical shot). Excellent correlation was found when this prediction was compared with permeability measurements made around the site of the Hardhat nuclear event fired in granodiorite and a chemical explosive detonated in coal. (auth)