A branching ratio of (1.20 +- 0.20) x 10/sup -4/ is obtained for the ..beta../sup +/ decay of /sup 19/Ne to the 110 keV 1/2/sup -/ level of /sup 19/F. This transition (presumably dominated by the ..delta..J/sup ..pi../ = 0/sup -/ axial charge operator) provides a crucial test of wavefunctions used in interpreting the parity mixing of the ground and 110 keV levels of /sup 19/F. These wavefunctions, which yield a parity mixing larger than that observed experimentally, also predict too large a ..beta../sup +/ decay rate.

The ..gamma.. rays from neutron capture in the 0- resonance of /sup 107/Ag at 16.3 eV were studied. Thirteen primary transitions populate spin 1 levels in /sup 108/Ag below an energy of 1.5 MeV. Transitions from low lying levels change in intensity by as much as a factor of 2 between thermal neutron capture (largely spin 1) and the 0- resonance, indicating a strong correlation of the population with level spin. 7 references.

Electric power systems that have major loads and generation centers separated by large distances may experience low-frequency power oscillations. This type of oscillation has occurred on the Pacific ac intertie that connects southern California and the Pacific Northwest. A separate, almost parallel, dc-transmission line also connects these areas. The Bonneville Power Administration, which operates this transmission system, has overcome the instability by controlling the power transmitted on the dc-transmission line. A 30-MJ (8.4-kWh) superconducting magnetic energy storage unit with a 10-MW converter could also provide damping for this instability. The conceptual design of the 30-MJ coil and the cryogenic and electrical components of the system are described. The system is to operate at a maximum current of 5 kA and will modulate the ac Intertie at 0.35 Hz. Discharge will be controlled to retain a minimum stored energy of 20 MJ to limit cyclic strains in the coil and ac losses in the conductor. The conductor will be made of multistrand-copper and copper-matrix, multifilament NbTi superconducting wires on a stainless steel mandrel.

Progress during this period is reported for each of the following topics: (1) spherical shell fuel containers, (2) polymer research, (3) cryogenic technology, (4) fabrication technology, (5) implosion physics, (6) fast ion measurements of laser-produced spherical plasmas, (7) absorbed energy measurements, (8) diagnostics, (9) fast ion energy loss in dense plasmas, (10) electron transport, (11) ionization equation of state, (12) profile modification by pondermotive forces, (13) pondermotive potential effects on Ohm's law, (14) effect of flux-limited thermal transport on critical surface jump conditions, (15) spherical rarefaction shocks, (16) explosively heated Gaussian objects, (17) bandwidth broadening, (18) frequency doubling experiments, (19) advanced laser candidates, (20) glass laser operation, and (21) 2TW laser upgrade. (MOW)

This paper discusses results of plasma-confinement experiments in the 2XIIB magnetic mirror device. We report experiments attempting to achieve field-reversal using neutral-beam injection in which the central magnetic field is reduced by 90% but field lines are not closed. Experiments with different neutral-beam aiming show that at constant beta both electron temperature and the energy-confinement parameter (n tau) increase at larger radius. Finally, we discuss recent improvements in electron temperature and microinstability measurements.

The absolute radiative widths for E-1 and M-1 transitions in /sup 46/Sc were determined by neutron time-of-flight spectrometry. The level structure of /sup 46/Sc to 3 MeV has been studied by combining (n,..gamma..) data with previous charged particle data. As in /sup 36/Cl, scandium shows enhanced M-1's. 5 references.

The accelerator-driven breeder can extend an essential energy resource, fissile fuel for nuclear reactors, by a very large factor. Symbiotic breeders could be brought on line in a shorter period of time with favorable performance predictability. The economics of using accelerator breeding of fertile-to-fissile elements will become favorable as natural fissile material becomes scarce.

This paper describes a computer-control system for a superconducting linear accelerator currently under development at Argonne National Laboratory. RSX-11M V3.1 running on a PDP 11/34 is used with CAMAC hardware to fully control 22 active beam-line elements and monitor critical accelerator conditions such as temperature, vacuum, and beam characteristics. This paper contrasts the use of an RSX compatible CAMAC driver for most CAMAC I/O operations and the use of the Connect-to-Interrupt Vector directive for fast ADC operation. The usage of table-driven software to achieve hardware configuration independence is discussed, along with the design considerations of the software interface between a human operator and a computer-control system featuring multi-function computer-readable control knobs and computer-writable displays which make up the operator's control console.

The purpose of the program is to develop an experimental/analytical evaluation of the feasibility of detecting and analyzing flaw growth in reactor pressure boundaries by means of continuously monitoring acoustic emission (AE). The investigation is devoted exclusively to ASTM Type A533, Grade B, Class 1 material. The basic approach to interpretive model development is through laboratory testing of 1 to 1/sup 1///sub 2/ inch (25.4 to 38 mm) thick fracture mechanics specimens in both fatigue and fracture at both room temperature and 550/sup 0/F (288/sup 0/C). Seven parameters are measured for each AE signal and related to fracture mechanics functions. AE data from fracture testing of 6 inch (152 mm) wall pressure vessels are also incorporated in analysis.

The simulation of geothermal reservoirs involves the solution of the equations describing multiphase, non-isothermal flow in porous media. These equations are highly nonlinear, particularly as the solution encounters the boundary of the two-phase region. There are essentially as many ways of accommodating this nonlinearity as there are numerical models of geothermal reservoirs. However, there is no universally accepted method for establishing the relative accuracy of these techniques. Well-established methodologies such as Fourier analysis and comparison against analytical solutions are simply not applicable to nonlinear systems. A necessary but not sufficient condition for convergence is the conservation of mass energy and momentum. This information is generally provided as an integral part of the numerical solution.

Design of a wet cell washer and test system for air cleaning of sodium fire aerosols is described. The test aerosol was produced by continuous burning of metallic sodium in a 90 m/sup 3/ chamber to maintain a concentration of 1.14+-0.05 g/m/sup 3/ for as long as 65 minutes. The sodium fire aerosol was drawn through the wet cell washer test loop at a constant flow rate of 9 m/sup 3//min. The wet cell washer consisted of two cells in series, the first, two off-set layers of performated metal screen, and the second, a 4'' thick filter stage packed with curly glass fibers 35 ..mu..m in diameter. The wet cells were washed by solid cone water spray at 16.7 lpm at 30 psig. Sodium removal efficiencies ranged from 87 to 94%. Curly glass fibers were found to deteriorate after a six hour exposure to sodium aerosols.

Acoustic emission is attributed to energy release within a material body by localized plastic deformation or failure processes. The elastic stress waves may come from slip band formation, mechanical twinning, martensite transformation, or crack propagation. Each of these processes has slightly different acoustic characteristics allowing for easy identification. Acoustic emission was monitored during tensile tests of Type 304L austenitic stainless steel to explore the applicability of the technique to hydrogen-assisted fracture.

Acoustic emission is a transient elastic wave generated by the rapid release of energy within a material. A wide variety of mechanisms have been proposed as possible sources of acoustic emission. Proposed mechanisms have included crack propagation, precipitate fracture, twin formation, martensite formation, dislocation motion and/or multiplication. This paper is concerned with acoustic emission generated by dislocation mechanisms operating during plastic deformation. Twinning and martensitic phase transformations are excluded even though dislocation motion is involved in the nucleation and growth of twins and the growth of martensite.

The sources of acoustic emission that are prevalent in brittle solids are examined, especially microcrack sources and sources that accompany macrocrack extension. The emission amplitude distributions are derived using crack opening displacement solutions pertinent to each source type, and assuming an extreme value size distribution of precursors consistent both with the functional form of typical emission amplitude distributions and with defect size observations. Acoustic emission event rates are derived from the stress and time dependence of crack growth. Stress history effects are afforded particular emphasis. Finally, some applications of acoustic emission that emerge from the analysis of the source characteristics are briefly evaluated.

The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy Development Project, under the Department of Energy and in cooperation with Dresser Atlas, has conducted single- and dual-well acoustic measurements to detect fractures in the artificial geothermal reservoir at the Fenton Hill New Mexico experimental site. The measurements were made using modified Dresser Atlas logging tools. Signals traversed distances of from 48 to 150 feet between two wells. Signals intersecting hydraulic fractures in the reservoir under both hydrostatic and pressurized conditions were simultaneously detected in both wells. Upon reservoir pressurization, signals along many ray paths were severely attenuated throughout their entire coda. In addition obvious shear wave arrivals were notably absent. The signals were processed to obtain Full-Wave Acoustic, Power, and Normalized Equi-Power Logs. Analysis of these logs identified the effective ''top'' of a region of hydraulically activated fractures and fractures intersecting the injection well behind casing.

The SLSF is the largest U.S. in-reactor test vehicle for steady-state and transient experiments in an environment typical of a LMFBR core. The SLSF experiment program, sponsored by the Department of Energy, contributes to the LMFBR safety assurance program by providing data on key phenomena that occur during postulated reactor accidents. This paper describes completed SLSF experiments, in-core instrumentation used, and methods of data interpretation to determine sodium boiling and voiding dynamics. Boiling inception is shown to be identifiable from several types of in-core instruments. Location of the boiling front and void growth derived from experimental data are compared with analytical predictions. These and other data form the basis to improve understanding of accidents and to validate or guide the development of accident analysis methods.

The use of adaptive control techniques is investigated in heating, ventilating, and air cnditioning (HVAC) systems in solar heated and cooled buildings to minimize the consumption of auxiliary energy. Optimal control theory is used in conjunction with the adaptive control techniques to accomplish the minimization of auxiliary energy. The resulting technique is referred to as adaptive optimal control (AOC). This study has been made by computer simulation and is centered on the National Security and Resources Study Center (NSRSC), a large solar heated and cooled building at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL). Simplified models of the building and HVAC system have been developed for both the heating and cooling modes. The control strategies actually used in the NSRSC were simulated in the models and an adaptive optimal controller was developed and also simulated. Simulation runs were made with both the conventional controller and the adaptive controller and performance results of the two simulations were compared. In the first results (obtained using a partial derivative system identification method), the adaptive optimal controller model demonstrated a savings in auxiliary energy of 28.8% for the heating simulation and 18.3% for the cooling simulation when compared to the conventional controller simulation models.

The objective of this program is to explore new concepts for inductive shunt reactor designs for integration into a 1200 kV gas-insulated substation. The most promising design must exhibit low dimensional profile with reduced weight, lower losses, lower noise level and smaller amplitude of vibration when compared with the units of equivalent rating built with the present day technology. The planning and organization of this research program are described.

A survey is presented of the advanced research and development projects underway in the U.S. in all of the known media and methods for storing and transferring thermal energy in solar applications. The technologies reviewed include innovative heat exchange and heat transport methods, advanced sensible heat storage in water, rocks, earth and combinations of these for both short term and annual storage, phase change materials, and reversible chemical reactions. This survey is presented in a structure of categories and subcategories of thermal energy storage and heat transfer technology. Within a given subcategory the project descriptions are listed under the name of the organizations conducting the work, arranged in alphabetical order.

The status of negative ion converter tests for improving converter performance by reducing the hydrogen negative ion impurities is outlined. Construction of various thermionic converter test models is discussed. An analytical model of a converter with an argon plasmatron ion source is described. (WHK)

The development of a new high-temperature, 350/sup 0/C advanced turbodrill for use in drilling geothermal wells is underway. Existing downhole drilling motors are temperature limited because of elastomeric degradation at elevated temperature. The new turbodrill contains high-torque turbine blades and improved seals which allow higher bit pressure drops. This new geothermal turbodrill which is designed for improved directional drilling offers economic alternatives for completing geothermal wells. The advanced turbodrill will be tested in the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory's hot dry rock geothermal wells.

A review of present methods and existing computer codes indicates an enormous capability not only to calculate sensitivity coefficients but also to apply them to a variety of purposes. However, there are still many limitations to our present capabilities. One of these limitations has been our inability to include in a complete and systematic way the effect of methods uncertainties on the determination of adjusted data, which depends, in general, not only on experimental measurements, but also on estimates of covariances associated with the measurements and the methods. Also, the uncertainty in adjusted data contains contributions from uncertainties in covariance estimates which contributions we have heretofore neglected. A new and comprehensive approach to include effects of methods uncertainties is presented here, and all sources which contribute to the uncertainty of the adjusted data are considered. This new approach is demonstrated using rough estimates for the methods uncertainties as applied to a simplified representation of the ZPR-6/7 fast benchmark. The results indicate that it may be essential to include methods uncertainties if integral experiments are to be used for the creation of adjusted nuclear data libraries. A careful evaluation of methods bias and uncertainties must still be performed.

A newly-developed technique for determination of the ATP content of individual red cells to the densest, and hence presumably the oldest, cells from normal human blood was applied. It was found that these cells contain normal concentrations of ATP, although the net content of ATP is decreased. The essence of the technique is suspension of red cells in autologous plasma containing luciferin and luciferase, lysis of the cells with a pulse from a laser, and counting of the photoemissions resulting from reaction of the released ATP with the luciferase. These data appear to disprove the otherwise plausible hypothesis of Lichtman that red cells decline exponentially in ATP content as they age, by one of the suggested tests of this hypothesis. The data suggest an alternative hypothesis: red cells maintain an approximately constant concentration of ATP as they age, and red cell destruction is caused by factors other than cellular ATP.

This brief review gives a summary of both the current AGS capabilities and several possible improvements which either have been underway for awhile or are still at the stage of contemplation.