The development of neutron detectors makes extensive use of the predictions of detector response through the use of Monte Carlo techniques in conjunction with the point reactor model. Unfortunately, the point reactor model fails to accurately predict detector response in common applications. For this reason, the general Monte Carlo N-Particle code (MCNP) was modified to simulate the pulse streams that would be generated by a neutron detector and normally analyzed by a shift register. This modified code, MCNP - Random Exponentially Distributed Neutron Source (MCNP-REN), along with the Time Analysis Program (TAP) predict neutron detector response without using the point reactor model, making it unnecessary for the user to decide whether or not the assumptions of the point model are met for their application. MCNP-REN is capable of simulating standard neutron coincidence counting as well as neutron multiplicity counting. Measurements of MOX fresh fuel made using the Underwater Coincidence Counter (UWCC) as well as measurements of HEU reactor fuel using the active neutron Research Reactor Fuel Counter (RRFC) are compared with calculations. The method used in MCNP-REN is demonstrated to be fundamentally sound and shown to eliminate the need to use the point model for detector performance predictions.

Agreements between the governments of the US and the Russian Federation for the US purchase of low enriched uranium (LEU) derived from highly enriched uranium (HEU) from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons calls for the establishment of transparency measures to provide confidence that nuclear nonproliferation goals are being met. To meet these transparency goals, the agreements call for the installation of nonintrusive US instruments to monitor the down blending of HEU to LEU. The Blend Down Monitoring System (BDMS) has been jointly developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to continuously monitor {sup 235}U enrichments and mass flow rates at Russian blending facilities. Prior to its installation in Russian facilities, the BDMS was installed and operated in a UF{sub 6} flow loop in the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant simulating flow and enrichment conditions expected in a typical down-blending facility. A Russian delegation to the US witnessed the equipment demonstration in June, 1998. To conduct the demonstration in the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP), the BDMS was required to meet stringent Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing, safety and operational requirements. The Paducah demonstration was an important milestone in achieving the operational certification for the BDMS …

An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved sampling and analysis protocol was developed and executed to verify atmospheric emissions compliance for the new Savannah River Site (SRS) F/H area Effluent Treatment Facility. Sampling equipment was fabricated, installed, and tested at stack monitoring points for filtrable particulate radionuclides, radioactive iodine, and tritium. The only detectable anthropogenic radionuclides released from Effluent Treatment Facility stacks during monitoring were iodine-129 and tritium oxide. This paper only examines the collection and analysis of tritium oxide.

An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved sampling and analysis protocol was developed and executed to verify atmospheric emissions compliance for the new Savannah River Site (SRS) F/H area Effluent Treatment Facility. Sampling equipment was fabricated, installed, and tested at stack monitoring points for filtrable particulate radionuclides, radioactive iodine, and tritium. The only detectable anthropogenic radionuclides released from Effluent Treatment Facility stacks during monitoring were iodine-129 and tritium oxide. This paper only examines the collection and analysis of tritium oxide.

While substantial work has been performed in the Russian MPC&A Program, much more needs to be done at Russian nuclear facilities to complete four necessary steps. These are (1) periodically measuring the physical inventory of nuclear material, (2) continuously measuring the flows of nuclear material, (3) using the results to close the material balance, particularly at bulk processing facilities, and (4) statistically evaluating any apparent loss of nuclear material. The periodic closing of material balances provides an objective test of the facility's system of nuclear material protection, control and accounting. The statistical evaluation using the uncertainties associated with individual measurement systems involved in the calculation of the material balance provides a fair standard for concluding whether the apparent loss of nuclear material means a diversion or whether the facility's accounting system needs improvement. In particular, if unattractive flow material at a facility is not measured well, the accounting system cannot readily detect the loss of attractive material if the latter substantially derives from the former.

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Recent advances in silicon micromachining techniques (e.g. anisotropic etching) allow the fabrication of very coarse infrared echelle gratings. When used in immersion mode, the dispersion is increased proportionally to the refractive index. This permits a very significant reduction in the overall size of a spectrometer while maintaining the same resolution. We have fabricated a right triangular prism (30{times}60{times}67 mm with a rectangular entrance face 30{times}38 mm) from silicon with a grating etched into the face of the hypotenuse. The grating covers an area of 32 mm by 64 mm and has a 97.5 PM periodicity with a blaze angle of 63.4{sup o}. The groove surfaces are very smooth with a roughness of a few manometers. Random defects in the silicon are the dominant source of grating scatter ({approx} 12% at 3.39 {mu}m). We measure a grating ghost intensity of 1.2%. The diffraction peak is quite narrow, slightly larger than the Airy disc diameter at F/12. However due to wavefront aberrations, perhaps 15--20% of the diffracted power is in the peak with the rest distributed in a diameter roughly five times the Airy disc.

Navigation systems have been vital to transportation ever since man took to the air and sea. Early navigation systems utilized the sextant to navigate by starlight as well as the magnetic needle compass. As electronics and communication technologies improved, inertial navigation systems were developed for use in ships and missile delivery. These systems consisted of electronic compasses, gyro-compasses, accelerometers, and various other sensors. Recently, systems such as LORAN and the Global Positioning System (GPS) have utilized the properties of radio wave propagation to triangulate position. The Local Positioning System (LPS), described in this paper, is an implementation of a limited inertial navigation system designed to be used on a bicycle. LPS displays a cyclist`s current position relative to a starting location. This information is displayed in Cartesian-like coordinates. To accomplish this, LPS relies upon two sensors, an electronic compass sensor and a distance sensor. The compass sensor provides directional information while the distance sensor provides the distance traveled. This information yields a distance vector for each point in time which when summed produces the cyclist`s current position. LPS is microprocessor controlled and is designed for a range of less than 90 miles.

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Thermal analysis of a pin from the FSP-1 fuels irradiation test has been completed. The purpose of the analysis was to provide predictions of fuel pin temperatures, determine the flow regime within the lithium annulus of the test assembly, and provide a standardized model for a consistent basis of comparison between pins within the test assembly. The calculations have predicted that the pin is operating at slightly above the test design temperatures and that the flow regime within the lithium annulus is a laminar buoyancy driven flow. 7 refs., 5 figs.

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Fissile Mass Flow Monitor (FMFM) was deployed at the Ural Electrochemical Integrated Plant (UEIP) highly enriched uranium (HEU) blending facility in January and February 1999 at Novouralsk in Russia for the DOE HEU Transparency Program. The FMFM provides unattended monitoring of the fissile mass flow of the uranium hexafluoride (UF{sub 6}) gas in the process lines of HEU, the low enriched uranium (LEU) blend stock, and the product LEU (P-LEU) of the blending tee non-intrusively. To do this, uranium-235 (U-235) fissions are induced in the UF{sub 6} by a thermalized and modulated californium-252 (Cf-252) neutron source placed on each process line. A set of detectors, located downstream of source, measure delayed gamma rays emitted by the resulting fission fragments. The observed delay in the time correlated measurement between the source and the detector signal provides the velocity of UF{sub 6} and its amplitude is related to the U- 235 content in UF{sub 6}. An on-line computer controls the source modulator, processes the collected detector data, and displays the results. The UEIP Main and the Reserved process lines were implemented with minor modifications. The FMFM monitors the HEU blending operation by measuring UF{sub 6} flows …

The Blend Down Monitoring System (BDMS) equipment sent earlier to the Ural Electrochemical Integrated Plant (UEIP) at Novouralsk, Russia, was installed and implemented successfully on February 2, 1999. The BDMS installation supports the highly enriched uranium (HEU) Transparency Implementation Program for material subject to monitoring under the HEU purchase agreement between the United States of America (USA) and the Russian Federation (RF). The BDMS consists of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Fissile (uranium-235) Mass Flow Monitor (FMFM) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Enrichment Monitor (EM). Two BDMS�s for monitoring the Main and Reserve HEU blending process lines were installed at UEIP. Independent operation of the FMFM Main and FMFM Reserve was successfully demonstrated for monitoring the fissile mass flow as well as the traceability of HEU to the product low enriched uranium. The FMFM systems failed when both systems were activated during the calibration phase due to a synchronization problem between the systems. This operational failure was caused by the presence of strong electromagnetic interference (EMI) in the blend point. The source-modulator shutter motion of the two FMFM systems was not being properly synchronized because of EMI producing a spurious signal on the synchronization cable connecting the …

The objective of this work was to analyze instrumentation and methodologies used at Russian nuclear facilities for measurement of item nuclear materials, materials in bulk form, and waste streams; specify possibilities for the application of accounting measurements; and develop recommendations for improvement. The major steps and results: Representative conversion, enrichment (gas centrifuge), fuel fabrication, spent fuel reprocessing, and chemical-metallurgical production facilities in Russia were selected; Full lists of nuclear materials were prepared; Information about measurement methods and instrumentation for each type of nuclear material were gathered; and Recommendations on methodological and instrumentation support of accounting measurements for all types of materials were formulated. The analysis showed that the existing measurement methods and instrumentation serve mostly to support the technological process control and nuclear and radiation safety control. Requirements for these applications are lower than requirements for MC and A applications. To improve the state of MC and A at Russian nuclear facilities, significant changes in instrumentation support will be required, specifically in weighing equipment, volume measurements, and destructive and non-destructive analysis equipment, along with certified reference materials.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) relies on its member states to assist with recruiting qualified individuals for positions within the IAEA's secretariat. It is important that persons within and outside the US nuclear and safeguards industries become aware of career opportunities available at the IAEA, and informed about important vacancies. The IAEA has established an impressive web page to advertise opportunities for employment. However, additional effort is necessary to ensure that there is sufficient awareness in the US of these opportunities, and assistance for persons interested in taking positions at the IAEA. In 1998, the Subgroup on Safeguards Technical Support (SSTS) approved a special task under the US Support Program to IAEA Safeguards (USSP) for improving US efforts to identify qualified candidates for vacancies in IAEA's Department of Safeguards. The International Safeguards Project Office (ISPO) developed a plan that includes increased advertising, development of a web page to support US recruitment efforts, feedback from the US Mission in Vienna, and interaction with other recruitment services provided by US professional organizations. The main purpose of this effort is to educate US citizens about opportunities at the IAEA so that qualified candidates can be identified for the IAEA's consideration.

The authors have created a detector to image the neutrons emitted by imploded inertial-confinement fusion targets. The 14-MeV neutrons, which are produced by deuterium-tritium fusion events in the target, pass through an aperture to create an image on the detector. The neutron radiation is converted to blue light (430 nm) with a 20-cm-square array of plastic scintillating fibers. Each fiber is 10-cm long with a 1-mm-square cross section; approximately 35-thousand fibers make up the array. The resulting blue-light image is reduced and amplified by a sequence of fiber-optic tapers and image intensifiers, then acquired by a CCD camera. The fiber-optic readout system was tested optically for overall throughput the resolution. The authors plan to characterize the scintillator array reusing an ion-beam neutron source as well as DT-fusion neutrons emitted by inertial confinement targets. Characterization experiments will measure the light-production efficiency, spatial resolution, and neutron scattering within the detector. Several neutron images of laser-fusion targets have been obtained with the detector. Several neutron images of laser-fusion targets have been obtained with the detector. They describe the detector and their characterization methods, present characterization results, and give examples of the neutron images.

The Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) of Japan and the US Department of Energy (DOE) are cooperating on the development of a remote monitoring system for nuclear nonproliferation efforts. This cooperation is part of a broader safeguards agreement between PNC and DOE. A remote monitoring system is being installed in a spent fuel storage area at PNC`s experimental reactor facility Joyo in Oarai. The system has been designed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and is closely related to those used in other SNL remote monitoring projects. The Joyo project will particularly study the unique aspects of remote monitoring in contribution to nuclear nonproliferation. The project will also test and evaluate the fundamental design and implementation of the remote monitoring system in its application to regional and international safeguards efficiency. This paper will present a short history of the cooperation, the details of the monitoring system and a general schedule of activities.

The relation between the parameters of a differential equation and corresponding discrete maps are becoming increasingly important in the study of nonlinear dynamical systems. Maps are well adopted for numerical computation and several universal properties of them are known. Therefore some perturbation methods have been proposed to deduce them for physical systems, which can be modeled by an ordinary differential equation (ODE) with a small nonlinearity. A new iterative, rigorous algebraic method for the calculation of the coefficients of a Taylor expansion of a stroboscopic map from ODE's with not necessarily small nonlinearities is presented. It is shown analytically that most of the coefficients are small for a small integration time and grow slowly in the course of time if the flow vector field of the ODE is polynomial and if the ODE has fixed point in the origin. Approximations of different orders respectively of the rest term are investigated for several nonlinear systems. 31 refs., 16 figs.

This paper documents the development of a dedicated information barrier system for warhead and sensitive item verification. The system the authors describe includes software and hardware information barriers used in conjunction with suitable procedures (or protocols) to achieve a high quality verification while minimizing intrusiveness and preventing transfer of sensitive data to inspectors. The system they describe has been referred to as CIVET--Controlled Intrusiveness Verification Technology and has been implemented to verify warheads and warhead components during various exercises and demonstrations under the auspices of the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense (DOD).

We use a newly developed real-space multiple scattering theory (RS-MST) to calculate low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) intensities from stepped surfaces. In this calculation the electron wavefunctions are expanded in terms of an angular momentum basis, utilizing the property of removal invariance of systems with semi-infinite periodicity. This strongly reduces the dependence of the calculation on the interlayer spacing and thus opens up the possibility of treating more open surfaces. This includes in particular stepped surfaces, to which conventional methods cannot be applied. Applications of the formalism to various stepped surfaces are presented. In particular, the results for Cu(311) and (331) surfaces obtained from both the layer doubling and RS-MST methods are compared. In addition, numerical techniques which can improve the convergence as well as the speed of the RS-MST approach are discussed. 6 refs., 3 figs.