This invention relates to a process and apparatus for electrochemically refining spent nuclear fuel from a nuclear reactor and recovering purified uranium and a mixture of uranium and plutonium for use as fresh blanket and core fuel in a nuclear reactor. A combination anode and cathode is described for an electrorefiner which includes a hollow cathode and an anode positioned inside the hollow cathode such that a portion of the anode is near the cathode. A retaining member is positioned at the bottom of the cathode. Mechanism is included for providing relative movement between the anode and the cathode during deposition of metal on the inside surface of the cathode during operation of the electrorefiner to refine spent nuclear fuel. A method is also disclosed which includes electrical power means selectively connectable to the anode and the hollow cathode for providing electrical power to the cell components, electrically transferring uranium values and plutonium values from the anode to the electrolyte, and electrolytically depositing substantially pure uranium on the hollow cathode. Uranium and plutonium are deposited at a liquid cathode together after the PuCl{sub 3} to UCl{sub 3} ratio is greater than 2:1. Slots in the hollow cathode provides close anode …

This report describes the design of a membrane reactor for converting methane into value added products. The design includes an outer tube of perovskite which contacts air, an inner tube of zirconium oxide which contacts methane, and a bonding layer of a mixture of zirconium oxide and perovskite.

A cermet crucible for metallurgically processing metals having high melting points comprising a body consisting essentially of a mixture of calcium oxide and erbium metal, the mixture comprising calcium oxide in a range between about 50 and 90% by weight and erbium metal in a range between about 10 and 50% by weight.

A stabilization and propulsion system comprising a series of loop-coils arranged in parallel rows wherein two rows form a magnetic rail. Levitation and lateral stability is provided when the induced field in the magnetic rails interacts with the superconducting magnets (SCM) mounted on the magnetic levitation vehicle. A multiphase propulsion system interconnects specific coils in a given magnetic rail and interacts with the SCM to produce a propulsion force to the vehicle.

Durable zinc-oxide containing sorbent pellets for removing hydrogen sulfide from a gas stream at an elevated temperature are made up to contain titania as a diluent, high-surface-area silica gel as a matrix material, and a binder. These materials are mixed, moistened, and formed into pellets, which are then dried and calcined. The resulting pellets undergo repeated cycles of sulfidation and regeneration without loss of reactivity and without mechanical degradation. Regeneration of the pellets is carried out by contacting the bed with an oxidizing gas mixture.

A fiber optic inclination detector system for determining the angular displacement of an object from a reference surface includes a simple mechanical transducer which requires a minimum number of parts and no electrical components. The system employs a single light beam which is split into two light beams and provided to the transducer. Each light beam is amplitude modulated upon reflecting off the transducer to detect inclination. The power values associated with each of the reflected light beams are converted by a pair of photodetectors into voltage signals, and a microprocessor manipulates the voltage signals to provide a measure of the angular displacement between the object and the reference surface.

A hemispherical shaped charge has been modified such that one side of the hemisphere is spherical and the other is a spherical allowing a wall thickness variation in the liner. A further modification is to use an elongated hemispherical shape. The liner has a thick wall at its pole and a thin wall at the equator with a continually decreasing wall thickness from the pole to the equator. The ratio of the wall thickness from the pole to the equator varies depending on liner material and HE shape. Hemispherical shaped charges have previously been limited to spherical shapes with no variations in wall thicknesses. By redesign of the basic liner thicknesses, the jet properties of coherence, stability, and mass distribution have been significantly improved. It is an object of this invention to provide an improved shape charge for oil well perforation.

A single sensor, comprised of a tube located near the foaming liquid, and another well away from the first, are used to determine the existence of foam in the vicinity of the probe. Two sensors a known distance apart can be used to locate the froth assuming a uniform froth density. The present invention utilizes the pressure differential existing between process chamber ambient pressure and the froth pressure to determine the existence of a froth and its location. Where froth density is not constant, multiple sensors at differing heights with respect to each other, or a single movable sensor, are used. Information derived using the multiple or movable sensor yields unambiguous froth density and height data.

Solid state laser technology is a very well developed field and numerous embodiments and modes of operation have been demonstrated. A more recent development has been the pumping of a solid state laser active medium with an array of diode lasers (diode pumping, for short). These diode pump packages have previously been developed to pump solid state lasers with good efficiency, but low average power. This invention is a method and the resulting apparatus for operating a solid state laser in the heat capacity mode. Instead of cooling the laser, the active medium will heat up until it reaches some maximum acceptable temperature. The waste heat is stored in the active medium itself.

The present invention relates generally to the removal of solid particulate material from high-temperature gas streams, and more particularly the removal of such particulate material by employing a barrier filter formed of a carbon-carbon composite provided by a porous carbon fiber substrate with open interstitial regions between adjacently disposed carbon fibers selectively restricted by carbon integrally attached to the carbon fibers of the substrate. In a typical utilization of a particulate-bearing hot gas stream, the particulate loading of the gas stream after cleaning is normally less than about 50 ppm and with essentially no particulates larger than about 10 microns. This carbon-carbon filter for removing particulate material of a particle size larger than a preselected particle size from a gas stream at a temperature greater than about 800 F, is produced by the steps which comprise: providing a substrate of carbonaceous fibers with pore-forming open interstitial regions between adjacently disposed fibers; and, sufficiently filling these open interstitial regions with carbon integrally attached to and supported by the fibers for providing the interstitial regions with throughgoing passage-ways of a pore size sufficient to provide for the passage of the gas stream while preventing the passage of particulate material larger than a …

A hot cell installation for the handling of highly radioactive material may comprise a dozen or more interconnected high density concrete vaults, the concrete vault walls having a thickness of approximately three feet. Typically, hot cells are constructed in rows so as to share as many shielding walls as possible. A typical overall length of a row of cells might be 70 yards. A secondary mechanism exists for placing certain objects into a cell. A typical hot cell has been constructed with 8 inch diameter holes through the exterior shielded walls in the vicinity of, and usually above, the viewing windows. It became evident that if the hot cell plugs could be removed and replaced conveniently significant savings in time and personnel exposure could be realized by using these 8 inch holes as entry ports. Fifteen inch cylindrical steel plugs with a diameter of eight inches weigh about two hundred pounds. The shield plug swing mechanism comprises a steel shielding plug mounted on a retraction device that enables the plug to be pulled out of the wall and supports the weight of the pulled out plug. The retraction device is mounted on a hinge, which allows the plug to be …

This invention relates to a process and apparatus for electrochemically refining spent nuclear fuel from a nuclear reactor and recovering purified uranium and a mixture of uranium and plutonium for use as fresh blanket and core fuel in a nuclear reactor. An apparatus, capable of functioning as a solid cathode and for removing crystalline structure from the upper surface of a liquid cathode, includes a metallic support vertically disposed with respect to an electrically insulating container capable of holding a liquid metal cathode. A piston of electrically insulating material is mounted on the drive tube, surrounding the current lead, for vertical and rotational movement with respect thereto including a downwardly extending collar portion surrounding the metallic current lead. At least one portion of the piston remote from the metallic current lead is removed. A mechanism is included for lowering the piston to the surface of the liquid cathode and raising the piston from the surface along with mechanism for rotating the piston around its longitudinal axis.

A method for fabricating an electrically insulating coating on a surface is disclosed comprising coating the surface with a metal, and reacting the metal coated surface with a nonmetal so as to create a film on the metal-coated surface. Alternatively, the invention provides for a method for producing a noncorrosive, electrically insulating coating on a surface saturated with a nonmetal comprising supplying a molten fluid, dissolving a metal in the molten fluid to create a mixture, and contacting the mixture with the saturated surface. Lastly, the invention provides an electrically insulative coating comprising an underlying structural substrate coated with an oxide or nitride compound. This invention has applications to breeding blankets for fusion reactors as well as to alkali metal thermal to electric converters.

In the fabrication of igniters, actuators, detonators, and other pyrotechnic devices to be activated by a laser beam, an integral optical glass window is formed by placing a preform in the structural member of the device and then melting the glass and sealing it in place by heating at a temperature between the ceramming temperature of the glass and the melting point of the metal, followed by rapid furnace cooling to avoid devitrification. No other sealing material is needed to achieve hermeticity. A preferred embodiment of this type of device is fabricated by allowing the molten glass to flow further and form a plano-convex lens integral with and at the bottom of the window. The lens functions to decrease the beam divergence caused by refraction of the laser light passing through the window when the device is fired by means of a laser beam.

This invention relates to a laminated metal composite, comprising alternating layers of low flow stress material and high flow stress material, and formed using flow constraining elements around each low flow stress layer; and a method of making same. A composite is a combination of at least two chemically distinct materials with a distinct interface separating the two materials. A metal matrix composite (MMC) is a composite material composed of a metal and a nonmetallic reinforcing agent such as silicon carbide (SiC) or graphite in continuous or discontinuous fiber, whisker, or discrete particulate form. A laminate is a material composed of several bonded layers. It is possible to have a laminate composed of multi-layers of a single type of material bonded to each other. However, such a laminate would not be considered to be a composite. The term {open_quotes}laminated metal composite{close_quotes} (LMC), as used herein, is intended to include a structural material composed of: (1) layers of metal or metal alloys interleaved with (2) a different metal, a metal alloy, or a metal matrix composite (MMC) containing strengthening agents.

A portable, high speed, computer-based data logging system for field testing systems or components located some distance apart employs a plurality of spaced mass spectrometers and is particularly adapted for monitoring the vacuum integrity of a long string of a superconducting magnets such as used in high energy particle accelerators. The system provides precise tracking of a gas such as helium through the magnet string when the helium is released into the vacuum by monitoring the spaced mass spectrometers allowing for control, display and storage of various parameters involved with leak detection and localization. A system user can observe the flow of helium through the magnet string on a real-time basis hour the exact moment of opening of the helium input valve. Graph reading can be normalized to compensate for magnet sections that deplete vacuum faster than other sections between testing to permit repetitive testing of vacuum integrity in reduced time.

A method is provided for detecting pathological macromolecules in a patient, comprising obtaining body fluid from the patient, pretreating the body fluid, subjecting the pretreated body fluid to size-exclusion chromatography to create an excluded fluid, and analyzing the excluded fluid to detect macromolecules having a predetermined molecular weight. The method also allows for comparing elution spectra with reference spectra of suspect pathologic proteins.

A microengine uses two synchronized linear actuators as a power source and converts oscillatory motion from the actuators into rotational motion via direct linkage connection to an output gear or wheel. The microengine provides output in the form of a continuously rotating output gear that is capable of delivering drive torque to a micromechanism. The microengine can be operated at varying speeds and its motion can be reversed. Linear actuators are synchronized in order to provide linear oscillatory motion to the linkage means in the X and Y directions according to a desired position, rotational direction and speed of said mechanical output means. The output gear has gear teeth on its outer perimeter for directly contacting a micromechanism requiring mechanical power. The gear is retained by a retaining means which allows said gear to rotate freely. The microengine is microfabricated of polysilicon on one wafer using surface micromachining batch fabrication.

In the field of microelectronics, and in particular the fabrication of microelectronics during plasma etching processes, electrostatic chucks have been used to hold silicon wafers during the plasma etching process. Current electrostatic chucks that operate by the {open_quotes}Johnson-Rahbek Effect{close_quotes} consist of a metallic base plate that is typically coated with a thick layer of slightly conductive dielectric material. A silicon wafer of approximately the same size as the chuck is placed on top of the chuck and a potential difference of several hundred volts is applied between the silicon and the base plate of the electrostatic chuck. This causes an electrostatic attraction proportional to the square of the electric field in the gap between the silicon wafer and the chuck face. When the chuck is used in a plasma filled chamber the electric potential of the wafer tends to be fixed by the effective potential of the plasma. The purpose of the dielectric layer on the chuck is to prevent the silicon wafer from coming into direct electrical contact with the metallic part of the chuck and shorting out the potential difference. On the other hand, a small amount of conductivity appears to be desirable in the dielectric coating so …

The present invention relates to electrodes for use in secondary electrochemical cells. More particularly, it concerns a method of making a negative electrode composition, the electrode composition made thereby and the secondary electrochemical cell containing the electrode, wherein the negative electrode composition includes a lithium alloy including silicon and nickel.

A laser initiated ordnance controller apparatus which provides a safe and arm scheme with no moving parts. The safe and arm apparatus provides isolation of firing energy to explosive devices using a combination of polarization isolation and control through acousto-optical deviation of laser energy pulses. The apparatus provides constant monitoring of the systems status and performs 100% built-in-test at any time prior to ordnance ignition without the risk of premature ignition or detonation. The apparatus has a computer controller, a solid state laser, an acousto-optic deflector and RF drive circuitry, built-in-test optics and electronics, and system monitoring capabilities. The optical system is completed from the laser beam power source to the pyrotechnic ordnance through fiber optic cabling, optical splitters and optical connectors. During operation of the apparatus, a command is provided by the computer controller and, simultaneous with laser flashlamp fire, the safe and arm device is opened for approximately 200 microseconds which allows the laser pulse to transmit through the device. The arm signal also energizes the laser power supply and activated the acousto-optical deflector. When the correct fire format command is received, the acousto-optic deflector moves to the selected event channel and the channel is verified to ensure …

A toroid cavity detection system for determining the spectral properties and distance from a fixed point for a sample using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. The detection system consists of a toroid with a central conductor oriented along the main axis of the toroidal cylinder and perpendicular to a static uniform magnetic field oriented along the main axis of the toroid. An rf signal is inputted to the central conductor to produce a magnetic field perpendicular to the central axis of the toroid and whose field strength varies as the inverse of the radius of the toroid. The toroid cavity detection system can be used to encapsulate a sample, or the detection system can be perforated to allow a sample to flow into the detection device or to place the samples in specified sample tubes. The central conductor can also be coated to determine the spectral property of the coating and the coating thickness. The sample is then subjected to the respective magnetic fields and the responses measured to determine the desired properties.

This invention is comprised of a device for electromagetically accelerating projectiles. The invention features two parallel conducting circular plates, a plurality of electrode connections to both upper and lower plates, a support base, and a projectile magazine. A projectile is spring-loaded into a firing position concentrically located between the parallel plates. A voltage source is applied to the plates to cause current to flow in directions defined by selectable, discrete electrode connections on both upper and lower plates. Repulsive Lorentz forces are generated to eject the projectile in a 360 degree range of fire.

A gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) for use as a field portable organic chemical analysis instrument. The GC-MS is designed to be contained in a standard size suitcase, weighs less than 70 pounds, and requires less than 600 watts of electrical power at peak power (all systems on). The GC-MS includes: a conduction heated, forced air cooled small bore capillary gas chromatograph, a small injector assembly, a self-contained ion/sorption pump vacuum system, a hydrogen supply, a dual computer system used to control the hardware and acquire spectrum data, and operational software used to control the pumping system and the gas chromatograph. This instrument incorporates a modified commercial quadrupole mass spectrometer to achieve the instrument sensitivity and mass resolution characteristic of laboratory bench top units.