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Analytical data from a plutonium-metal exchange program conducted by six ERDA laboratories are statistically evaluated. The objective is an accurate determination of five metal impurities (aluminum, chromium, iron, nickel, silicon) in each of three plutonium metals by using data from four analytical methods. The statistical evaluation yields the weighted mean and its standard deviation for each method, plutonium metal, and impurity, using a procedure that minimizes the effect of outliers by assigning zero weights to the most extreme values and variable weights to the remaining data. Where possible, weighted means from the various analytical methods are pooled. (auth)

Newsletter issued by the Advisory Council for Technical-Vocational Education in Texas discussing news, events, and other relevant information related to technical and vocational education for adults in Texas.

A description, user instructions, and a source program listing are presented for ALLCUTS, a Fortran computer code for fault tree analysis. The code was specifically designed to be easy to use as well as fast, versatile, and powerful. It may easily be modified by a moderately skilled programer to fit the variable needs of the user and the capabilities of his computer. A code, BRANCH, for determining input data gate and bottom event interrelationships is also presented. (7 references) (auth)

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This report addresses the application of the collocation method using hermite cubic splines to nonlinear transient one-dimensional heat conduction problems.

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When a metal target is bombarded with light ions some are implanted and some are reflected from the surface or backscattered from deeper layers. This results in an energy distribution of the backscattered particles which reaches from zero to almost the primary energy. The number of the backscattered particles and their energy, angular, and charge distributions depends largely on the energy and the ion target combination. For high energies (i.e., greater than50 keV for protons) particles are backscattered in a single collision governed by the Rutherford cross section. Protons and He-ions with energies of 100 keV to several MeV are widely used for thin film analysis. For lower energies multiple collisions and the screening of the Coulomb potential have to be taken into account, which makes the theoretical treatment more difficult. This energy region is, however, of special interest in the field of nuclear fusion research. Some recent results for energies below 20 keV are discussed in some detail. (auth)

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Two-dimensional Lagrangian hydrodynamics simulation techniques were used to study fluid instability in laser fusion pellets. A slab geometry comparison with classical Rayleigh-Taylor theory shows good agreement, as do other slab and spherical test problems over a wide range of accelerations and wavelengths. Isentropic ablative accelerations exhibit growth rates 50 percent-100 percent of classical values, while non-isentropic cases show suppressed growth. Design optimization at 100 kJ input energy has led to an impulsively accelerated, low- aspect-ratio shell which operates successfully with a surface perturbation of a few tens of angstroms. Comparison of simulations with present experiments indicates that current neutron-producing targets are insensitive to damage from fluid instability. (auth)

This paper focuses on the comparative economics of fast breeder reactors versus light water reactors and develops an internally consistent set of financial techniques whereby a utility may determine and compare the costs of generating power with either system. The general methodology is used here to estimate the break-even capital costs for the breeder as a function of future uranium prices but is equally applicable to other reactor types. It is shown that by the time the breeder reactor (breeder) is commercially available, it is likely a utility would select a breeder even though its capital cost might be twice that of a light water reactor (LWR).

The purpose of this report is to recommend a reasonable program of brine chemistry research that will result in the development of methods for predicting and controlling scale deposition, and in guidelines for the selection of corrosion-resistant construction materials. First, background information, which is necessary for the understanding of the problems of scaling and corrosion in the Salton Sea KGRA, is presented through a review of the history of geothermal exploration and development in the Salton Sea. Second, literature relevant to the geochemistry of the Salton Sea field is reviewed and important results are emphasized. Third, current research efforts directed toward actual power plant construction are summarized and evaluated. Fourth, research which has been proposed but is not currently funded is discussed. Fifth, because silica scaling has been the most troublesome problem in the past, the basic chemistry of silica and its relationship to scaling is discussed. Sixth, recommendations for future research are made in which a fundamental engineering approach is emphasized. In this approach, experiments would be conducted on actual process equipment and detailed chemical analyses would be performed on site in well-equipped field laboratories. 88 references.

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The purpose of this work was to determine the acceptability of CDA725 copper-alloy transformer lead material as a replacement for nickel.

The ACIR Library is composed of publications that study the interactions between different levels of government. This document addresses changing public attitudes on governments and taxes.

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Consolidation techniques for Zircaloy fuel-cladding hulls were studied. They included (1) further work on a pyrochemical-volatility scheme for separating the zirconium as the volatile tetrachloride and (2) ignition tests and shock- ignition tests on several Zircaloy materials to further characterize the pyrophoric behavior of Zircaloy and the impact on hulls management. Quantitative results on the reaction with molten zinc chloride are presented. A series of steel-melting experiments examined the compatibility of various crucible materials with the molten steel and provided information on the behavior (distribution) of CeO$sub 2$ and UO$sub 2$ (used as stand-ins for PuO$sub 2$). Examination of existing information on deep-well injection of industrial wastes and on low-level aqueous wastes from fuel reprocessing led to the conclusions that the technology is generally available from industrial practice, that costs are of the order of 10$sup -4$ mill/kWh, that environmental effects could be insignificant in normal operation (but could include contamination of groundwater and resources and also stimulation of minor earthquakes in maloperation), that legal constraints may be the most significant barrier to adopting the practice, and that the site of such an operation would best be at a fuel reprocessing plant located at one of the U. S. sedimentary …

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This report presents the results of the Climatic Measurement Requirements Study for Solar Thermal Conversion Power Plants performed by The Aerospace Corporation under contract to the Solar Thermal Branch of the Energy Research and Development Administration.

Mathematical descriptions of an excited state multilevel system are developed to include progressively the effects of coherent coupling, feeding, decay and relaxation, and the expressions are illustrated with several pulse coherence experiments utilizing zero field optically detected magnetic resonance of excited triplet states. A new method is described in which the time development of the coherent components in a multilevel system is monitored by using an observable that can measure only relative populations between the levels. The method is illustrated. By treating a coherently driven excited state system as two levels in contact with a population reservoir, exact expressions are obtained for both transient and steady-state behavior in the presence of transverse and spin lattice relaxation, constant incoherent pumping, spontaneous emission between the two levels, and also decay back into the reservoir. The general mathematical development is applied specifically to zero field microwave phosphorescence double resonance. Experimental methods and apparatus are discussed in detail and results of optically detected transient mutations, spin echoes, and Fourier transform spectroscopy are presented. (26 figs, 220 refs) (auth)