Construction of a large tandem mirror (MFTF-B) will soon begin at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Designed to reach break-even plasma conditions, the facility will significantly advance the physics and technology of magnetic-mirror-based fusion reactors. This paper describes the objectives and the design of the facility.

Employing the current world average ..lambda../sub MS/ = 0.160 GeV as input, the minimal Georgi-Glashow SU(5) model predicts sin/sup 2/theta/sub W/(m/sub W/) = 0.214, m/sub b//m/sub tau/ approx. = 2.8 and tau/sub p/ approx. = (0.4 approx. 12) x 10/sup 29/ yr. The first two predictions are in excellent agreement with experiment; but the implied proton lifetime is already somewhat below the present experimental bound. In this status report, uncertainties in tau/sub p/ are described and effects of appendages to the SU(5) model (such as new fermion generations, scalars, supersymmetry, etc.) are examined.

This paper describes the desktop computer/CAMAC-based system that controls the power source for the Tandem Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U) magnet power system. Presently it contains 42 dc rectifier power supplies connected to 24 magnet coils arranged in 17 circuits. During each shot, the system delivers 22.6 MW dc to the magnets for about 3 s. The system is presently being changed to add six power supplies, two solenoidal throttle coils, and two reverse C-coils. When complete, the delivered power will increase to 36.9 MW. The closed-loop control system usually provides current (and thus, magnetic field) that is within 1% of the requested current. Achieving this accuracy required using grounding, shielding, and isolation methods to reduce noise and related problems. These are also discussed.

This report contains the text and slide reproductions of a speech on nuclear waste disposal in basalt. The presentation addresses the layout of repository access shafts and subsurface facilities resulting from the conceptual design of a nuclear repository in basalt. The constructibility issues that must be resolved prior to construction are described. (DMC)

Described is a general approach to the development of computer programs capable of designing image-forming optical systems without human intervention and of improving their performance with repeated attempts. The approach utilizes two ideas: (1) interpretation of technical design as a mapping in the configuration space of technical characteristics and (2) development of an intelligent routine that recognizes global optima. Examples of lens systems designed and used in the development of the general approach are presented, current status of the project is summarized, and plans for the future efforts are indicated.

This paper discusses hybridization of modified Stellarator-like transform windings (T-windings) with a Spheromak or Field-Reversed-Mirror configuration. This configuration, Stellarmak, retains the important topological advantage of the Spheromak or FRM of having no plasma linking conductors or blankets. The T-windings provide rotational transformation in toroidal angle of the outer poloidal field lines, in effect creating a reversed B/sub Toroidal/ Spheromak or adding average B/sub T/ to the FRM producing higher shear, increased limiting ..beta.., and possibly greater stability to kinks and tilt. The presence of field ripple in the toroidal direction may be sufficient to inhibit cancellation of directed ion current by electron drag to allow steady state operation with the toroidal as well as poloidal current maintained by neutral beams.

Geophysical exploration for engineering purposes is conducted to decrease the risk in encountering site uncertainties in construction of underground facilities. Current responsibilities, opportunities and challenges for those with geophysical expertise are defined. These include: replacing the squiggly line format, developing verification sites for method evaluations, applying knowledge engineering and assuming responsibility for crucial national problems involving rock mechanics expertise.

Controlled fusion, pursued by investigators in both the magnetic and inertial confinement research programs, continues to be a strong candidate as an intrinsically safe and virtually inexhaustible long-term energy source. We describe the status of magnetic and inertial confinement fusion in terms of the accomplishments made by the research programs for each concept. The improvement in plasma parameters (most frequently discussed in terms of the Tn tau product of ion temperature, T, density, n, and confinement time, tau) can be linked with the construction and operation of experimental facilities. The scientific progress exhibited by larger scale fusion experiments within the US, such as Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory's Fusion Test Reactor for magnetic studies and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Nova laser for inertial studies, has been optimized by the theoretical advances in plasma and computational physics. Both TFTR and Nova have exhibited ion temperatures in excess of 10 keV at confinement parameters of n tau near 10/sup 13/ cm/sup -3/ . sec. At slightly lower temperatures (near a few keV), the value of n tau has exceeded 10/sup 14/ cm/sup -3/ . sec in both devices. Near-term development plans in fusion research include experiments within the US, Europe, and Japan to …

A new concept is proposed for pumped limiter designs that allows more flexibility and therefore better control of the edge plasma and its recycling at the limiter than previous designs.

Perpendicular electron-cyclotron emission (PECE) from relativistic (T/sub H/ approx. 100 to 400 keV) hot electrons within the thermal-barrier region of TMX-U is detected at 35, 60, 94 and 98 GHz. For the operating regime of TMX-U these signals are optically thin (tau<<1) and thus proportional to the radial hot electron line density. A relativistic code is used to calculate the theoretical temperature dependence of the perpendicular emission coefficient, j perpendicular(..omega..,T/sub H/), for each of the detected frequencies. This dependence has been verified experimentally by x-ray measurements of the hot electron temperature, T/sub H/. The observed qualitative agreement demonstrates that optically thin PECE signals can be used to determine the temporal evolution of T/sub H/. An inability to absolutely calibrate the present PECE waveguide system has prevented quantitative agreement.

The benign termination of the transition phase of a hypothetical LMFBR accident rests on the avoidance of highly energetic recriticalities prior to escape of bottled molten core materials from the active core region. In scenarios where molten fuel is trapped due to axial blockages, the maintenance of subcritical configurations until radial flow paths develop requires stable boil-up of the molten fuel/steel mixture. This paper describes the analysis of an experiment investigating the behavior of closed boiling pools using the two-fluid hydrodynamics module of TRANSIT-HYDRO, a deterministic transition-phase analysis code.

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We discuss the possibility of achieving energy, power and power density necessary for ICF by magnetically accelerating plasma confined by a compact torus (CT) field configuration. The CT, which consists of a dipole (poloidal) field and imbedded toroidal field formed by force-free, plasma current, is compressed and accelerated between coaxial electrodes by B/sub THETA/ fields as in a coaxial railgun. Compression and acceleration over several meters by a 9.4 MJ capacitor bank is predicted to give a 5.7 cm radius, 0.001 gm CT 5 MJ kinetic energy (10/sup 7/ m/sec). Transport and focussing several meters by a disposable lithium pipe across the containment vessel is predicted to bring 4.8 MJ into the pellet region in 0.5 cm/sup 2/ area in 0.3 ns. The high efficiency (approx.50%) and high energy delivery of the CT accelerator could lead to low cost, few hundred MW power plants that are economically viable.

The testing program leading to selection of antireflection coatings for the NOVA laser is reviewed. Limiting problems that prevented use of some coating technologies are described, and estimates are made of the current value of pursuing solutions to those problems.

Neutral molecular densities just outside the plasma edge are measured at 11 axial locations in Tandem Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U). These densities are time dependent and vary greatly with different modes of TMX-U plasma operation. The densities are low in the ion-cyclotron resonance heated central cell because of plasma pumping. The density is high in the plug near the sloshing-ion turning point. These densities are measured with a combination of new retractable, and fixed, magnetically unshielded Bayard-Alpert gauges that can be oriented to provide calibrated operation in the high (7-kG) MX-U magnetic fields. The role of the neutral density in simultaneously fueling and charge exchanging away the plug density is modeled using SMOKE, a Fokker-Planck code.

Preliminary data on the thermal properties of a coarse-grained rock salt from Avery Island, Louisiana, indicates that hydrostatic pressure to 50 MPa has little effect on the thermal conductivity, diffusivity and linear expansion at temperatures from 300 to 573 K. The measurements were made in a new apparatus under conditions of true hydrostatic loading. At room temperature and effective confining pressure increasing from 10 to 50 MPa, thermal conductivity and diffusivity are constant at roughly 7W/mK and 3.6 x 10/sup -6/ m/sup 2//s, respectively. At 50 MPa and temperature increasing from 300 to 573K, both conductivity and diffusivity drop by a factor of 2. Thermal linear expansion at 0 MPa matches that at 50 MPa, increasing from roughly 4.2 x 10/sup -5//K at 300 K to 5.5 x 10/sup -5/ at 573 K. The lack of a pressure effect on all three properties is confirmed by previous work. Simple models of microcracking suggest that among common geological materials the lack of pressure dependence is unique to rock salt.

To help identify the major sources of fueling gas in Tandem Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U), we mounted a mass-sensitive, E parallel B, end-loss ion spectrometer (ELIS) near the machine's centerline. We set the electric field in the ELIS to simultaneously measure the axial loss currents of both hydrogen and deuterium. We then initiated plasma discharges, where we injected either hydrogen or deuterium gas into the central cell. We also selected and deselected the central-cell neutral beams that were fueled with hydrogen gas. The end-cell neutral beams were always selected and fueled with deuterium. By taking the ratio of the hydrogen end-loss current to the deuterium end-loss current (with a known deuterium-gas feed rate), we were able to infer the effective fueling rates that were due to wall reflux, central-cell beams, and end-cell beams. The results were the following: wall reflux, 6 Torr x 1/s; central-cell beams, 15 Torr x 1/s; and end-cell beams 1 Torr x 1/s.

Magnetic ripple of 1% or more caused by discrete solenoid coils in the central cells of tandem mirrors may severely affect the MHD stability. The ripple amplitude can be reduced by an order of magnitude by ferromagnetic annuli inserted within the coils at the regions of ripple maxima. The inserts need not affect the accessibility, coil diameter, or capital cost, since large quantities of steel are required within the coils for the neutron blanket and shield. Design of the ripple correction is simplified and linearized by the cylindrical geometry and by the saturation of the ferromagnetic steel.

The visual solar oblateness work and the solar seismological work on the internal rotation of the sun are reviewed and their implications concerning the static gravitational multipole moments of the sun are discussed. The results of this work are quite deviant which is indicative of the complexity encountered and of the necessity for continued studies based on a diverse set of observing techniques. The evidence for phase-locked internal gravity modes of the sun is reviewed and the implications for the solar neutrino paradox are discussed. The rather unique possibility for testing the relevance which the phase-locked gravity modes have to this paradox is also noted. The oscillating perturbations in the sun's gravitational field produced by the classified internal gravity modes and the phase-locked modes are inferred from the observed temperature eigenfunctions. Strains of the order of 10/sup -18/ in gravitational radiation detectors based on free masses are inferred for frequencies near 100 ..mu..Hz. The relevance of these findings is discussed in terms of a new technique for use in solar seismological studies and of producing background signals in studies of low-frequency gravitational radiation. 64 refs., 2 figs.

The status of experimental determination of level structure in odd-odd actinide nuclei is reviewed. A technique for modeling quasiparticle excitation energies and rotational parameters in odd-odd deformed nuclei is applied to actinide species where new experimental data have been obtained by use of neutron-capture gamma-ray spectroscopy. The input parameters required for the calculation are derived from empirical data on single-particle excitations in neighboring odd-mass nuclei. Calculated configuration-specific values for the Gallagher-Moszkowski splittings are used. Calculated and experimental level structures for /sup 238/Np, /sup 244/Am, and /sup 250/Bk are compared, as well as those for several nuclei in the rare-earth region. The agreement for the actinide species is excellent, with bandhead energies deviating 22 keV and rotational parameters 5%, on the average. Applications of this modeling technique are discussed.

To help identify the major sources of fueling gas in Tandem Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U), we mounted a mass-sensitive, E parallel to B, end-loss ion spectrometer (ELIS) near the machine's centerline. We set the electric field in the ELIS to simultaneously measure the axial loss currents of both hydrogen and deuterium. We then initiated plasma discharges, where we injected either hydrogen or deuterium gas into the central cell. We also selected and deselected the central-cell neutral beams that were fueled with hydrogen gas. The end-cell neutral beams were always selected and fueled with deuterium. By taking the ratio of the hydrogen end-loss current to the deuterium end-loss current (with a known deuterium-gas feed rate), we were able to infer the effective fueling rates that were due to wall reflux, central-cell beams, and end-cell beams. The results were the following: wall reflux, 6 Torr.l/s; central-cell beams, 15 Torr.l/s; and end-cell beams 1 Torr.l/s. 3 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

The hydriding of depleted uranium at 76 Torr hydrogen and 130/sup 0/C has been significantly reduced by implantation of oxygen ions. The high-dose implanted specimens had incubation times for the initiation of the reaction after exposure to hydrogen that exceeded those of the nonimplanted specimens by more than a factor of eight. Furthermore, the nonimplanted specimens consumed enough hydrogen to cause macroscopic flaking of essentially the entire surface in times much less than the incubation time for the high-dose implanted specimens. In contrast, the ion-implanted specimens reacted only at isolated spots with the major fraction of the surface area unaffected by the hydrogen exposure.

The Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF-B) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory requires state-of-the-art structural-mechanics methods to deal with access constraints for plasma heating and diagnostics, alignment requirements, and load complexity and variety. Large interactive structures required an integrated analytical approach to achieve a reasonable level of overall system optimization. The Tandem Magnet Generator (TMG) creates a magnet configuration for the EFFI calculation of electromagnetic-field forces that, coupled with other loads, form the input loading to magnet and vessel finite-element models. The analytical results provide the data base for detailed design of magnet, vessel, foundation, and interaction effects.

Over the past three years, the total TMX-U diagnsotic data base has grown to exceed 10 megabytes from over 1300 channels; roughly triple the originally designed size. This acquisition and processing load has resulted in an experiment repetition rate exceeding 10 minutes per shot using the five original Hewlett-Packard HP-1000 computers with their shared disks. Our new diagnostics tend to be multichannel instruments, which, in our environment, can be more easily managed using local computers. For this purpose, we are using HP series 9000 computers for instrument control, data acquisition, and analysis. Fourteen such systems are operational with processed format output exchanged via a shared resource manager. We are presently implementing the necessary hardware and software changes to create a local area network allowing us to combine the data from these systems with our main data archive. The expansion of our diagnostic system using the paralled acquisition and processing concept allows us to increase our data base with a minimum of impact on the experimental repetition rate.