The object of the invention is to provide a composite material comprised of phosphazene polymer. A feature of phosphazene-containing composites is their superior stiffness, thermal stability, and hardness which is lacking in more typical composite constituents. An advantage of using phosphazene composites is a wider range of applications, including uses in harsh environments. Another object of the present invention provides a method for producing phosphazene-containing composite materials through a pultrusion process. In brief, these and other objects are achieved by a composite produced by first coating a reinforcing material with an inorganic phosphazene compound and then polymerizing the phosphazene compound so as to confer superior thermal, physical and chemical resistance qualities to the composite. 2 figs., 6 tabs.

This invention is comprised of a wedge assembly that is easily inserted between two surface to be supported thereby, and thereafter expanded to produce a selected spacing between those surfaces. This wedge assembly has two outer members that are substantially identical except that they are mirror images of each other. Oppositely directed faces of these of these outer members are substantially parallel for the purpose of contacting the surfaces to be separated. The other faces of these outer members that are directed toward each other are tapered so as to contact a center member having complementary tapers on both faces. A washer member is provided to contact a common end of the outer members, and a bolt member penetrates this washer and is threadably received in a receptor of the center member. As the bolt member is threaded into the center member, the center member is drawn further into the gap between the outer members and thereby separates these outer members to contact the surfaces to be separated. In the preferred embodiment, the contacting surfaces of the outer member and the center member are provided with guide elements. The wedge assembly is described for use in separating the secondary windings …

This invention relates to a thermal storage apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for use in conjunction with solar dynamic energy storage systems. The invention is comprised of a thermal energy storage system comprising a germanium phase change material and a graphite container.

The Stripline Fast Faraday Cup is a device which is used to quantitatively and qualitatively measure gigahertz time structure characteristics of ion beams with energies up to at least 30 Mev per nucleon. A stripline geometry is employed in conjunction with an electrostatic screen and a Faraday cup to provide for analysis of the structural characteristics of an ion beam. The stripline geometry allows for a large reduction in the size of the instrument while the electrostatic screen permits measurements of the properties associated with low speed ion beams.

This invention is comprised of a device for feeding small diameter wire having a diameter less than .04 mm (16 mil) to a welding station which includes a driving wheel for controllably applying a non-deforming driving force to the wire to move the free end of the wire towards the welding station; and a tension device such as a torque motor for constantly applying a reverse force to the wire in opposition to the driving force to keep the wire taut. 1 fig.

A method of improving surface-dependent properties of phosphate glass such as durability and wear resistance without significantly affecting its thermal expansion coefficient is provided which comprises annealing the glass in a dry ammonia atmosphere at temperatures approximating the transition temperature of the glass. The ammonia annealing treatment of the present invention is carried out for a time sufficient to allow incorporation of a thin layer of nitrogen into the surface of the phosphate glass, and the treatment improves the durability of the glass without the reduction in the thermal expansion coefficient that has restricted the effectiveness of prior ammonia treatments. The improved phosphate glass resulting from this method is superior in wear resistance, yet maintains suitable thermal expansion properties so that it may be used effectively in a variety of applications requiring hermetic glass-metal seals.

This invention is comprised of a backscattering spectrometry method and device for identifying and quantifying impurities in a workpiece during processing and manufacturing of that workpiece. While the workpiece is implanted with an ion beam, that same ion beam backscatters resulting from collisions with known atoms and with impurities within the workpiece. Those ions backscatter along a predetermined scattering angle and are filtered using a self-supporting filter to stop the ions with a lower energy because they collided with the known atoms of the workpiece of a smaller mass. Those ions which pass through the filter have a greater energy resulting from impact with impurities having a greater mass than the known atoms of the workpiece. A detector counts the number and measures the energy of the ions which pass through the filter. From the energy determination and knowledge of the scattering angle, a mass calculation determines the identity, and from the number and solid angle of the scattering angle, a relative concentration of the impurity is obtained.

A process and apparatus for extruding a superconducting metal oxide composition YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} provides a wire (tube or ribbon) having a cohesive mass and a degree of flexibility together with enhanced electrical properties. Wire diameters in the range of 6--85 mils have been produced with smaller wires on the order of 10 mils in diameter exhibiting enhanced flexibility for forming braided, or multistrand, configurations for greater current carrying capacity. The composition for extrusion contains a polymeric binder to provide a cohesive mass to bind the particles together during the extrusion process with the binder subsequently removed at lower temperatures during sintering. The composition for extrusion further includes a deflocculent, an organic plasticizer and a solvent which also are subsequently removed during sintering. Electrically conductive tubing with an inner diameter of 52 mil and an outer diameter of 87--335 mil has also been produced. Flat ribbons have been produced in the range of 10--125 mil thick by 100--500 mil wide. The superconducting wire, tube or ribbon may include an outer ceramic insulating sheath co-extruded with the wire, tubing or ribbon.

This document describes passive decay-heat removal system for a water-cooled nuclear reactor which employs a closed heat transfer loop having heat-exchanging coils inside an open-topped, insulated evaporator located inside the reactor vessel, below its normal water level, in communication with a condenser located outside of containment and exposed to the atmosphere. The heat transfer loop is located such that the evaporator is in a position where, when the water level drops in the reactor, it will become exposed to steam. Vapor produced in the evaporator passes upward to the condenser above the normal water level. In operation, condensation in the condenser removes heat from the system, and the condensed liquid is returned to the evaporator. The system is disposed such that during normal reactor operations where the water level is at its usual position, very little heat will be removed from the system, but during emergency, low water level conditions, substantial amounts of decay heat will be removed.

An accessory for use with a solid-state NMR spectrometer includes a special imaging probe with linear, high-field strength gradient fields and high-power broadband RF coils using a back projection method for data acquisition and image reconstruction, and a real-time pulse programmer adaptable for use by a conventional computer for complex high speed pulse sequences.

An brushless DC permanent magnet motor is provided for driving an autonomous underwater vehicle. In one embodiment, the motor comprises four substantially flat stators disposed in stacked relationship, with pairs of the stators being axially spaced and each of the stators comprising a tape-wound stator coil; and a first and second substantially flat rotors disposed between the spaced pairs of stators. Each of the rotors includes an annular array of permanent magnets embedded therein. A first shaft is connected to the first rotor and a second, concentric shaft is connected to the second rotor, and drive unit causes rotation of the two shafts in opposite directions. The second shaft comprises a hollow tube having a central bore therein in which the first shaft is disposed. Two different sets of bearings support the first and second shAfts. In another embodiment, the motor comprises two ironless stators and pairs and rotors mounted no opposite sides of the stators and driven by counterrotating shafts.

Boron nitride powder with less than or equal to the oxygen content of starting powder (down to 0.5% or less) is hot isostatically pressed in a refractory metal container to produce hexagonal boron nitride with a bulk density greater than 2.0 g/cc. The refractory metal container is formed of tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum or alloys thereof in the form of a cansister or alternatively plasma sprayed or chemical vapor deposited onto a powder compact. Hot isostatic pressing at 1800{degrees}C and 30 KSI (206.8 MPa) argon pressure for four hours produces a bulk density of 2.21 g/cc. Complex shapes can be made.

Alloys such as U-6Nb are prepared by forming a stacked sandwich array of uranium sheets and niobium powder disposed in layers between the sheets, heating the array in a vacuum induction melting furnace to a temperature such as to melt the uranium, holding the resulting mixture at a temperature above the melting point of uranium until the niobium dissolves in the uranium, and casting the uranium-niobium solution. Compositional uniformity in the alloy product is enabled by use of the sandwich structure of uranium sheets and niobium powder.

The invention is a process for selectively extracting strontium and technetium values from aqueous nitric acid waste solutions containing these and other fission product values. The extractant is a macrocyclic polyether in a diluent which is insoluble in water, but which will itself dissolve a small amount of water. The process will extract strontium and technetium values from nitric acid solutions which are up to 6 molar in nitric acid.

A centrifugal separator apparatus and method for improving the efficiency of the separation of constituents in a fluid stream. A cyclone separator includes an assembly for separately discharging both constituents through the same end of the separator housing. A rotary separator includes a rotary housing having a baffle disposed therein for minimizing the differential rotational velocities of the constituents in the housing, thereby decreasing turbulence, and increasing efficiency. The intensity of the centrifugal force and the time which the constituents reside within the housing can be independently controlled to improve efficiency of separation. 4 figs.

A method of destroying NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} in a combustion gas is disclosed. The method includes generating active species by treating stable molecules in a high temperature plasma. Ammonia, methane, steam, hydrogen, nitrogen or a combustion of these gases can be selected as the stable molecules. The gases are subjected to plasma conditions sufficient to create free radicals, ions or excited atoms such as N, NH, NH{sub 2}, OH, CH and/or CH{sub 2}. These active species are injected into a combustion gas at a location of sufficiently high temperature to maintain the species in active state and permit them to react with NO{sub x} and SO{sub x}. Typically the injection is made into the immediate post-combustion gases at temperatures of 475--950{degrees}C. 1 fig.

The present invention relates to a method of producing Tc-96 from the proton irradiation of a rhodium target and a technique for isolating under remote hot cell conditions the Tc-96 from the proton irradiated target.

A method is provided for separating polar hydrocarbons from a fluid feedstream. The fluid feedstream is flowed across a first surface of a polyphosphazene semipermeable membrane. At least one polar hydrocarbon from the fluid feedstream permeates through the polyphosphazene semipermeable membrane to a second opposed surface of the semipermeable membrane. Then the permeated polar hydrocarbon is removed from the second opposed surface of the polyphosphazene semipermeable membrane. Outstanding and unexpected separation selectivities on the order of 10,000 were obtained for methylene chloride when a methylene chloride in water feedstream was flowed across the polyphosphazene semipermeable membrane in the invented method.

A method has been found for treating phenolic resin filter, whereby the filter is solubilized within the filter cartridge housing so the filter material can be removed from the cartridge housing in a remote manner. The invention consists of contacting the filter within the housing with an aqueous solution of about 8 to 12M nitric acid, at a temperature from about 110 to 190{degree}F, maintaining the contact for a period of time sufficient to solubilize the phenolic material within the housing, and removing the solubilized phenolic material from the housing, thereby removing the filter cartridge from the housing. Any hazardous or other waste material can then be separated from the filter material by chemical or other means.

Crystals are grown in a tank which is divided by a baffle into a crystal growth region above the baffle and a plenum region below the baffle. A turbine blade or stirring wheel is positioned in a turbine tube which extends through the baffle to generate a flow of solution from the crystal growing region to the plenum region. The solution is pressurized as it flows into the plenum region. The pressurized solution flows back to the crystal growing region through return flow tubes extending through the baffle. Growing crystals are positioned near the ends of the return flow tubes to receive a direct flow of solution.

The method comprises selecting an implantable element and a substrate material to be implanted which, at the implant/anneal temperatures, have limited mutual solubility and have no intermediate phases formed. In an example, Be is implanted with 11 {times}10{sup 17} Al/cm{sup 2} at 200 keV and then annealed for 1 h at 500 C. Rutherford backscattering shows that layer formation occurred during the anneal. SEM shows rectangular Be defects in the Al layer. Other examples of implantable elements and suitable substrate materials are tabulated. 6 figs, 1 table. (DLC)

A robot arm apparatus is provided for inspecting and/or maintaining an interior of a steam generator which has an outside wall and a port for accessing the interior of the steam generator. The robot arm apparatus includes a flexible movable conduit for conveying inspection and/or maintenance apparatus from outside the steam generator to the interior of the steam generator. The flexible conduit has a terminal working end which is translated into and around the interior of the steam generator. Three motors located outside the steam generator are employed for moving the terminal working end inside the steam generator in ``x,`` ``y,`` and ``z`` directions, respectively. Commonly conducted inspection and maintenance operations include visual inspection for damaged areas, water jet lancing for cleaning sludge deposits, core boring for obtaining sludge deposits, and scrubbing of internal parts.

This invention is comprised of a detection device that is activated by the interaction of a hazardous chemical with a coating interactive with said chemical on an optical fiber thereby reducing the amount of light passing through the fiber to a light detector. A combination of optical filters separates the light into a signal beam and a reference beam which after detection, appropriate amplification, and comparison with preset internal signals, activates an alarm means if a predetermined level of contaminant is observed.

This invention is comprised of a portable fiber optic detector that senses the presence of specific target chemicals by exchanging the target chemical for a fluorescently-tagged antigen that is bound to an antibody which is in turn attached to an optical fiber. Replacing the fluorescently-tagged antigen reduces the fluorescence so that a photon sensing detector records the reduced light level and activates an appropriate alarm or indicator.