A security barrier for placement across a passageway is made up of interconnected pressurized tubing made up in a grid pattern with openings too small to allow passage. The tubing is connected to a pressure switch, located away from the barrier site, which activates an alarm upon occurrence of a pressure drop. A reinforcing bar is located inside and along the length of the tubing so as to cause the tubing to rupture and set off the alarm upon an intruder`s making an attempt to crimp and seal off a portion of the tubing by application of a hydraulic tool. Radial and rectangular grid patterns are disclosed.

The present invention relates to a method of separating strontium, and, more particularly, to a method of separating strontium from a sample of biomass potentially contaminated with various radionuclides. Radioactive strontium is a radionuclide which represents a hazard to man because of its long half-life and, if ingested, its tendency to be retained in the human body. In the event that radionuclides such as strontium or various actinides are ingested, it is desirable to monitor the discharge or release of these radionuclides from the human body through analysis of fecal matter. In laboratories and other facilities where potential for radionuclide contamination exists, fecal analysis for strontium is routinely conducted for individuals who are terminating from their position or are suspected of having been contaminated with radionuclides. Methods for separating and analyzing radioactive actinides from a biomass sample are well known and have been extensively developed for the US Department of Energy. These methods, described in the Department`s internal procedure, USDOE, RESL/ID, A-16, 1981, as well as in US Patent 5,190,881, involve the use of an iron phosphate precipitation step to separate actinides from a solution, or supernate. However, there are no established procedures for the separation of strontium from a …

Disclosed are a nondestructive method and apparatus for determining the structural integrity of materials by combining laser vibrometry with damping analysis to determine the damping loss factor. The method comprises the steps of vibrating the area being tested over a known frequency range and measuring vibrational force and velocity vs time over the known frequency range. Vibrational velocity is preferably measured by a laser vibrometer. Measurement of the vibrational force depends on the vibration method: if an electromagnetic coil is used to vibrate a magnet secured to the area being tested, then the vibrational force is determined by the coil current. If a reciprocating transducer is used, the vibrational force is determined by a force gauge in the transducer. Using vibrational analysis, a plot of the drive point mobility of the material over the preselected frequency range is generated from the vibrational force and velocity data. Damping loss factor is derived from a plot of the drive point mobility over the preselected frequency range using the resonance dwell method and compared with a reference damping loss factor for structural integrity evaluation.

A two-step process for dissolving Pu metal is disclosed in which two steps can be carried out sequentially or simultaneously. Pu metal is exposed to a first mixture of 1.0-1.67 M sulfamic acid and 0.0025-0.1 M fluoride, the mixture having been heated to 45-70 C. The mixture will dissolve a first portion of the Pu metal but leave a portion of the Pu in an oxide residue. Then, a mineral acid and additional fluoride are added to dissolve the residue. Alternatively, nitric acid between 0.05 and 0.067 M is added to the first mixture to dissolve the residue as it is produced. Hydrogen released during the dissolution is diluted with nitrogen.

A wedge and spring assembly for use in electromagnets or dynamoelectric machines having a housing with an axis therethrough and a plurality of coils supported on salient poles that extend radially inward from the housing toward the housing axis to define a plurality of interpole spaces, respectively between the housing and adjacent coils, the interpole spaces each extending in a direction generally parallel to the housing axis. The wedge and spring assembly includes a nonmagnetic retainer spring and a nonmagnetic wedge. The retainer spring is formed to fit into one of the interpole spaces, and has juxtaposed ends defining between them a slit extending in a direction generally parallel to the housing axis. The wedge for insertion into the slit provides an outwardly directed force on respective portions of the juxtaposed ends defining the slit to expand the slit so that respective portions of the retainer spring engage areas of the coils adjacent thereto, thereby resiliently holding the coils against their respective salient poles. Preferably, the spring retainer and wedge are self-locking wherein wedge is fabricated from a material softer than a material the retainer spring is fabricated from, so that the wedge is securely retained in the slit. The …

A process for the recovery of a metal, in particular, cadmium contained in scrap, in a stable form. The process comprises the steps of mixing the cadmium-containing scrap with an ammonium carbonate solution, preferably at least a stoichiometric amount of ammonium carbonate, and/or free ammonia, and an oxidizing agent to form a first mixture so that the cadmium will react with the ammonium carbonate to form a water-soluble ammine complex; evaporating the first mixture so that ammine complex dissociates from the first mixture leaving carbonate ions to react with the cadmium and form a second mixture that includes cadmium carbonate; optionally adding water to the second mixture to form a third mixture; adjusting the pH of the third mixture to the acid range whereby the cadmium carbonate will dissolve; and adding at least a stoichiometric amount of sulfide, preferably in the form of hydrogen sulfide or an aqueous ammonium sulfide solution, to the third mixture to precipitate cadmium sulfide. This mixture of sulfide is then preferably digested by heating to facilitate precipitation of large particles of cadmium sulfide. The scrap may be divided by shredding or breaking up to exposure additional surface area. Finally, the precipitated cadmium sulfide can be …

Optical thermometry is a growing technological field which exploits the ability of certain materials to change their optical properties with temperature. A subclass of such materials are those which change their color as a reversible and reproducible function of temperature. These materials are thermochromic. This invention is a composition to measure temperature utilizing thermochromic semiconductors.

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.