A series of critical experiments was completed with mixed plutonium-uranium solutions having a Pu/(Pu + U) ratio of approximately 0.22 in a boiler tube-type lattice assembly. These experiments were conducted as part of the Criticality Data Development Program between the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) and the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) of Japan. A complete description of the experiments and data are included in this report. The experiments were performed with an array of mixed oxide fuel pins in aqueous plutonium-uranium solutions. The fuel pins were contained in a boiler tube-type tank and arranged in a 1.4 cm square pitch array which resembled cylindrical geometry. One experiment was perfomed with the fuel pins removed from the vessel. The experiments were performed with a water reflector. The concentration of the solutions in the boiler tube-type tank was varied from 4 to 468 g (Pu + U)/liter. The ratio of plutonium to total heavy metal (plutonium plus uranium) was approximately 0.22 for all experiments.

AMAX Research Development Center (AMAX R D) has been investigating methods for enhancing the reactivity and durability of the zinc ferrite desulfurization sorbent. Zinc ferrite sorbents are intended for use in desulfurization of hot coal gas in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) or molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) applications. For the present program, the reactivity of the sorbent may be defined as its sulfur sorption capacity at the breakthrough point and at saturation in a bench-scale, fixed-bed reactor. Durability may be defined as the ability of the sorbent to maintain important physical characteristics such As size, strength, and specific surface area during 10 cycles of sulfidation and oxidation.

Determining the age of groundwater from monitoring wells can greatly aid in understanding a hydrologic system. Groundwater dating techniques have been used to estimate residence times ranging from about 1000 to 50,000 years. While such measurements have been very useful in hydrothermal and geochemical studies and in the development of groundwater supplies, they have been of limited use in contaminant studies associated with shallow groundwater systems since residence times are often much less than 1000 years.

A community health survey was conducted during the first five months of 1987 in Kalapana, Hawaii. Some 676 residents were interviewed during the study, which represents some 82% of all households in the community. The goal was to obtain base-line data on the health status of all community residents and ambient air quality, in order to evaluate any changes in health status of residents after geothermal development in the area.

In the last few years there has been significant progress in ICF research in laboratories in the United States and elsewhere. These advances have occurred in areas that range from demonstrating an innovative laser beam smoothing techniques important for both directly and indirectly driven ICF, to achieving a more complete understanding of capsule implosions and related physics. This progress has been possible because of the capabilities provided by the ICF laser-target facilities currently in operation and the new developments in diagnostics, particularly for measurements of the implosion process and the conditions in the compressed capsule core. Both of these topics, facilities and selected new diagnostics capabilities in the US ICF Program, are summarized in this paper. 32 refs., 19 figs., 6 tabs.

The outstanding unresolved issue of the highly successful standard model is the origin of electroweak symmetry breaking and of the mechanism that determines its scale, namely the vacuum expectation value (vev)v that is fixed by experiment at the value v = 4m//sub w//sup 2///g/sup 2/ = (..sqrt..2G/sub F/)/sup /minus/1/ approx. = 1/4 TeV. In this talk I will discuss aspects of two approaches to this problem. One approach is straightforward and down to earth: the search for experimental signatures, as discussed previously by Pierre Darriulat. This approach covers the energy scales accessible to future and present laboratory experiments: roughly (10/sup /minus/9/ /minus/ 10/sup 3/)GeV. The second approach involves theoretical speculations, such as technicolor and supersymmetry, that attempt to explain the TeV scale. 23 refs., 5 figs.

The TMI-2 accident resulted in approximately 40% of the reactor's core melting and collecting on the lower head of the reactor pressure vessel. The severity of the accident has raised questions about the margin of safety against rupture of the lower head in this accident since all evidence seems to indicate no major breach of the vessel occurred. Scoping heat transfer analyses of the relocated core debris and lower head have been made based upon assumed core melting scenarios and core material debris formations while in contact with the lower head. This report describes the structural finite element creep rupture analysis of the lower head using a temperature transient judged most likely to challenge the structural capacity of the vessel. This evaluation of vessel response to this transient has provided insight into the creep mechanisms of the vessel wall, a realistic mode of failure, and a means by which margin to failure can be evaluated once examination provides estimated maximum wall temperatures. Suggestions for more extensive research in this area are also provided. 6 refs., 15 figs.

This paper discusses some historical aspects of particle physics. (LSP)

This report covers the last 5 months of the second year of this grant and the first 8 months of the third year. The research thrust of this grant has been directed into two areas. The principal effort has been spent in an investigation of the use of anomalous small angle x-ray scattering (ASAXS) to observe changes in the microstructure of a relatively complex alloy produced by high temperature deformation or aging. The second effort involves a study of the high temperature behavior of several ferritic steels. During this past year we have been examining the effect of environment (air vs vacuum) on the high temperature strength of Fe9Cr1Mo modified by the addition of small amounts of V and Nb.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has requested that all DOE facilities handling defense transuranic (TRU) waste develop and implement a program whereby all TRU waste will be contained, stored, and shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in accordance with the requirements set forth in the DOE certification documents WIPP-DOE-069, 114, 120, 137, 157, and 158. The program described in this report describes how Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) intends to comply with these requirements and the techniques and procedures used to ensure that ORNL TRU wastes are certifiable for shipment to WIPP. This document describes the program for certification of newly generated (NG) contact-handled transuranic (CH-TRU) waste. Previsions have been made for addenda, which will extend the coverage of this document to include certification of stored CH-TRU and NG and stored remote-handled transuranic (RH-TRU) waste, as necessary. 24 refs., 11 figs., 4 tabs.

Containment plumes at Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project sites were ranked to assist in Subpart B (i.e., restoration requirements of 40 CFR Part 192) compliance strategies for each site, to prioritize aquifer restoration, and to budget future requests and allocations. The rankings roughly estimate hazards to the environment and human health, and thus assist in determining for which sites cleanup, if appropriate, will provide the greatest benefits for funds available. The rankings are based on the scores that were obtained using the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Modified Hazard Ranking System (MHRS). The MHRS and HRS consider and score three hazard modes for a site: migration, fire and explosion, and direct contact. The migration hazard mode score reflects the potential for harm to humans or the environment from migration of a hazardous substance off a site by groundwater, surface water, and air; it is a composite of separate scores for each of these routes. For ranking the containment plumes at UMTRA Project sites, it was assumed that each site had been remediated in compliance with the EPA standards and that relict contaminant plumes were present. Therefore, only the groundwater route was scored, and the surface water and air …

Sensitive radio-frequency (rf) amplifiers based on dc Superconducting QUantum Interface Devices (SQUIDS) are available for frequencies up to 200 MHz. At 4.2 K, the gain and noise temperature of a typical tuned amplifier are 18.6 +- 0.5 dB and 1.7 +- 0.5 K at 93 MHz. These amplifiers are being applied to a series of novel experiments on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR). The high sensitivity of these amplifiers was demonstrated in the observation of ''nuclear spin noise'', the emission of photons by /sup 35/Cl nuclei in a state of zero polarization. In the more conventional experiments in which one applies a large rf pulse to the spins, a Q-spoiler, consisting of a series array of Josephson junctions, is used to reduce the Q of the input circuit to a very low value during the pulse. The Q-spoiler enables the circuit to recover quickly after the pulse, and has been used in an NQR experiment to achieve a sensitivity of about 2 /times/ 10/sup 16/ nuclear Bohr magnetons in a single free precession signal with a bandwidth of 10 kHz. In a third experiment, a sample containing /sup 35/Cl nuclei was placed in a capacitor and …

Augmented Fish Health Monitoring Contract DE-AI79-87BP35585 was implemented on July 20, 1987. First year highlights included remodeling of the Olympia (WA) Fish Health Center to provide laboratory space for histopathological support services to participating state agencies, acquisition of gas monitoring equipment for hatchery water systems, expanded disease detection work for bacterial kidney disease and erythrocytic inclusion body syndrome in fish stocks at 13 Columbia River Basin National Fish Hatcheries and advancements in computerized case history data storage and analysis. This report summarizes the health status of fish reared at Service facilities in the Columbia River basin, briefly describes work being done to meet contract requirements for fish disease surveillance at those hatcheries and provides a summary of case history data for calendar years 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. 1 ref.

This paper briefly describes the following topics: an overview of graphite wall pumping effects; wall pumping experiments in PISCES-A; and non-saturable walls in toroidal devices. 11 figs., 2 tabs. (LSP)

Collisionless reconnection of magnetic field lines depends upon electron inertia effects and details of the electron and ion distribution functions, thus requiring a kinetic description of both. Though traditional explicit PIC techniques provide this description in principle, they are severely limited in parameters by time step constraints. This parameter regime has been expanded by using the recently constructed 2.5 D electromagnetic code AVANTI in this work. The code runs stably with arbitrarily large {Delta}t and is quite robust with respect to large fluctuations occurring due to small numbers of particles per cell. We have found several qualitatively new features. The reconnection process is found to occur in distinct stages: early spontaneous reconnection fed by the free energy of an initial anisotropy in the electron component, coalescence of the resulting small-scale filaments of electron current, accompanied by electron jetting, and oscillatory flow of electrons through the magnetic X-point, superposed on continuing nonlinear growth of ion-mediated reconnection. The time evolution of stage is strongly dependent on M{sub i}/m{sub e}. 12 refs., 6 figs.

We have developed a new test procedure for evaluating filter penetrations as low as 10/sup /minus/9/ at 0.1-..mu..m particle diameter. In comparison, the present US nuclear filter certification test has a lower penetration limit of 10/sup /minus/5/. Our new test procedure is unique not only in its much higher sensitivity, but also in avoiding the undesirable effect of clogging the filter. Our new test procedure consists of a two-step process: (1) We challenge the test filter with a very high concentration of heterodisperse aerosol for a short time while passing all or a significant portion of the filtered exhaust into an inflatable bag; (2) We then measure the aerosol concentration in the bag using a new laser particle counter sensitive to 0.07-..mu..m diameter. The ratio of particle concentration in the bag to the concentration challenging the filter gives the filter penetration as a function of particle diameter. The bad functions as a particle accumulator for subsequent analysis to minimize the filter exposure time. We have studied the particle losses in the bag over time and find that they are negligible when the measurements are taken within one hour. We also compared filter penetration measurements taken in the conventional direct-sampling method …

In most geothermal reservoirs large-scale permeability is dominated by fractures, while most of the heat and fluid reserves are stored in the rock matrix. Early-time fluid production comes mostly from the readily accessible fracture volume, while reservoir behavior at later time depends upon the ease with which fluid and heat can be transferred from the rock matrix to the fractures. Methods for modeling flow in fractured porous media must be able to deal with this matrix-fracture exchange, the so-called interporosity flow. This paper reviews recent work at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory on numerical modeling of nonisothermal multiphase flow in fractured porous media. We also give a brief summary of simulation applications to problems in geothermal production and reinjection. 29 refs., 1 fig.

Analyses have been made for different structural alloys proposed for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Candidate alloys include austenitic steels stabilized with nickel (NiSS) or manganese (MnSS). The radioactivity, the decay heat, and the waste disposal rating of each alloy have been calculated for the inboard shield of the ITER design option utilizing water cooled solid breeder blanket. The results show, for the 55 cm inboard shield and after 3 MW.yr/m2 fluence, that the long term activation problems, e.g., radioactive waste, of the MnSS are much less than that of the NiSS. All the MnSS alloys considered are qualified as Class C or better low level waste. Most of the NiSS alloys are not qualified for near surface burial. However, the short term decay heat generation rate for the MnSS is much higher than that of the NiSS. 6 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.

We have used the full Tucker theory including the quantum susceptance to fit data from planar lithographed mm-wave mixers with bow tie antennas and integrated RF coupling elements. Essentially perfect fits to pumped IV curves have been obtained. The deduced imbedding admittances agree well with those independently calculated from the geometry of the antenna and matching structures. We find that the quantum susceptance is essential to the fit and thus to predictions of the mixer performance. For junctions with moderately sharp gap structures, the quantum susceptance is especially important in the production of steps with low and/or negative dynamic conductance. 15 refs., 4 figs.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is conducting ground-water monitoring at the Hanford Site, near Richland, Washington. This document contains a data listing of results for monitoring by PNL and Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) during January through March 1987. 4 refs.

Emissions and atmospheric concentrations of several trace gases important to atmospheric chemistry are known to have increased substantially over recent decades. Solar flux variations and the atmospheric nuclear test series are also likely to have affected stratospheric ozone. In this study, the LLNL two-dimensional chemical-radiative-transport model of the troposphere and stratosphere has been applied to an analysis of the effects that these natural and anthropogenic influences may have had on global ozone concentrations over the last three decades. In general, model determined species distributions and the derived ozone trends agree well with published analyses of land-based and satellite-based observations. Also, the total ozone and ozone distribution trends derived from CFC and other trace gas effects have a different response with latitude than the derived trends from solar flux variations, thus providing a ''signature'' for anthropogenic effects on ozone. 24 refs., 5 figs.

Spectral processing in x-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy deals with the extraction of characteristic signals from experimental data. In this text, the four basic procedures for this methodology are reviewed and their limitations outlined. Quantification, on the other hand, deals with the interpretation of the information obtained from spectral processing. Here the limitations are for the most part instrumental in nature. The prospects of higher voltage operation does not, in theory, present any new problems and may in fact prove to be more desirable assuming that electron damage effects do not preclude analysis. 28 refs., 6 figs.

In response to Section 7(b) of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-240), this report summarizes the progress of states and low-level radioactive waste compacts in 1987 in establishing new low-level waste disposal facilities. It also reports the volume of low-level waste received for disposal in 1987 by commercially operated low-level waste disposal facilities.

H/sub ..cap alpha../ emission is a useful indicator of hydrogen ionization since the energy required to excite hydrogen to the n = 3 level is approximately the same as to ionize the hydrogen atom. Other aspects of recycling, such as plasma scrape-off parameters, wall particle fluxes, and wall retention rates can be inferred from spatial distributions of H/sub ..cap alpha../ emission. There are two H/sub ..cap alpha../ diagnostics on TFTF observing the inner limiter: a relatively calibrated wide-angle TV camera, and the absolutely calibrated HAIFA diagnostic, both viewing the inner limiter. H/sub ..cap alpha../ observations by these instruments have been analyzed using the DEGAS neutral transport code. The core recycling rate, and ion and neutral particle limiter fluxes, have been deduced from the calculations. The results are very sensitive to the ion flux distribution, and therefore also provide information on the plasma scrape-off conditions. A survey was made of over 500 TFTR discharges. H/sub ..cap alpha../ emission appears to increase in proportion to /bar n//sub e//sup 2/. The ratio of core ionization to average H/sub ..cap alpha../ emission was calculated to be roughly constant over a large range of discharges. 9 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.