This report is an examination of the equipment preferences and decision-making methodology of the coal industry. The prime purpose is to indicate directions in which equipment research might proceed and also to indicate methods by which investment in new, more productive mining equipment could be encouraged. In addition to this, an investigation of the research and development decisions of major mining equipment manufacturers was conducted. The findings can best be condensed into three categories: needs for equipment in underground mining, needs for equipment in surface mining, and the purchase decision by coal mine operators.

Presently available information on austenitic Fe-Cr-Ni stainless steel plate, welds, and castings for service below 77 K are reviewed with the intent (1) of developing systematic relationships between mechanical properties, composition, microstructure, and processing, and (2) of assessing the adequacy of these data bases in the design, fabrication, and operation of engineering systems at 4 K.

The observation of an anti-Stokes satellite in the spectrum of light backscattered from a CO{sub 2} laser plasma is reported. Its origin is found to be Thomson scattering of the incident light from a counterpropagating mode-coupled plasma wave. The parent electron and ion waves in the mode-coupling process were driven by stimulated Raman and Brillouin backscattering. The parent and daughter plasma waves were detected by ruby laser Thomson scattering. A computer simulation modeling the experiment shows further cascading of the Stokes backscattered light to lower frequencies, apparently due to its rescattering by another, higher phase velocity, counterpropagating coupled mode. Comparisons with theoretical predictions are presented. 16 refs., 4 figs.

A description of the FEL experiment underway at the 10 kA, 5 MeV Experimental Test Accelerator (ETA) is described. The facility has been designed to investigate the high-gain operation of an FEL.

The force-frequency effect in quartz resonators has in the past been utilized as a transducer mechanism in various realizations and, in particular, successfully commercialized as a pressure transducer. More recently the need for a very precise (0.01 psi pressure uncertainty at 10,000 psi) pressure transducer to operate at high temperatures (275 to 300/sup 0/C) in geothermal environments has necessitated further development efforts directed to improve performance. The incorporation of the rotated X-cut into a pressure transducer, similar to the Hewlett-Packard design, represents one such development effort at Sandia National Laboratories. The present report characterizes the pressure-temperature performance of the AT- and rotated X-cut resonators and the Hewlett-Packard sensor where the experimental data in the pressure temperature domain are available.

This note discusses the possibility of magnetically accelerating the plasma rings. At low-to-moderate ring kinetic energy, application to heating, fueling, and efficient current drive of conventional fusion reactors appears possible. At high ring kinetic energy, applications to inertial-confinement fusion through pellet heating and to transuranic element synthesis appear possible. The rings may be considered to be a self-linking flux bundle having net helicity. From an accelerator point of view, the rings represent collective particle entities held together by magnetic forces and may be viewed as macroparticles or micropellets having large magnetic moment per unit mass. Because of the relatively long lifetime and resiliency of the rings, it appears possible to accelerate to multimegajoule kinetic energy over reasonable distances and to focus the rings to centimeter-size dimensions.

The present work is an outgrowth of studies made in support of CRBR licensing, but the conclusions drawn should be generally applicable to oxide-fueled LMFBR's. The accident under consideration is a 10 cents/s unprotected TOP (transient overpower), for which a series of PLUTO2/SAS4A calculations has been performed using a higher power CRBR EOC3 fuel pin which had 275 days irradiation. The assumption was made in the licensing work that a short pin failure will occur at the axial midplane, maximizing the positive fuel motion reactivity effect, as it was felt that a less conservative assumption could not be conclusively justified. This assumption is also made in the present case.

The radiological safety hazards of the experimental area (EA) for the proposed Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Laboratory Microfusion Facility (LMF) have been examined. The EA includes those structures required to establish the proper pre-shot environment, point the beams, contain the pellet yield, and measure many different facets of the experiments. The radiation dose rates from neutron activation of representative target chamber materials, the laser beam tubes and the argon gas they contain, the air surrounding the chamber, and the concrete walls of the experimental area are given. Combining these results with the allowable dose rates for workers, we show how radiological considerations affect access to the inside of the target chamber and to the diagnostic platform area located outside the chamber. Waste disposal and tritium containment issues are summarized. Other neutronics issues, such as radiation damage to the final optics and neutron heating of materials placed close to the target, are also addressed. 16 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

The discussion of undulator magnets includes conventional static undulators, gratings as undulators, crystals as undulators, pump wave undulators, magnetic measurements, magnetic fields, trajectories, and matching of an undulator with a storage ring. (GHT)

This report covers the second quarter of activity on the project to characterize the mineral-matter liberation and the beneficiation of ultra-fine coal. So far the work has been confined to the base-case coal from the Illinois No. 6 seam. Eight other coals will be examined later in the program. The work accomplished this quarter, and described in this report, included determination of additional bulk properties of the coal, an examination of the mineral-matter and mineral associations in the coal, and the preparation and washability testing of ultra-fine, minus 44-micrometer (325-mesh) coal for liberation studies. 8 references, 8 figures, 13 tables.

Comparison of detailed calculations of contributions by region and component of the power-reactivity-decrements (PRD) for four differing loading configurations of the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) are given. The linear components and Doppler components are calculated. The non-linear (primarily subassembly bowing) components are deduced by differences relative to measured total PRD values. Variations in linear components range from about 10% to as much as about 100% depending upon the component. The deduced non-linear components differ both in magnitude and sign as functions of reactor power. Effects of differing assumptions of the nature of the fuel-to-clad interactions upon the PRD components are also calculated.

We have developed an electrochemical-etch procedure for the processing of large numbers of CR-39 dosimeters. Specially designed Homann-Type chambers can etch up to 24 CR-39 chips, or foils, at one time. In our two-step procedure, the second step, called blow-up, increases the tracks' size and makes them relatively uniform. The energy response is fairly flat from approx.150 keV to 4.5 MeV, but drops by about a factor of three in the 13 to 16 MeV range. The sensitivity of the dosimetry system is 6 tracks/mrem with a background of 8 mrem, giving a lower limit of sensitivity of approximately 10 mrem for the dosimeter (when three foils are used). Because greater numbers of CR-39 foils can be accommodated at any one time, our procedure is quite efficient for operations with large numbers of dosimeters to be processed. 12 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.

For purposes of this presentation, fire protection at the FFTF is subdivided into two catagories; protection for non-sodium areas and protection for areas containing sodium. Fire protection systems and philosophies for non-sodium areas at the FFTF are very similar to those used at conventional power plants being constructed throughout the country. They follow, essentially, the NRC rules and guidelines and ANSI 59.4 Generic Requirements for Light Water Nuclear Power Plant Fire Protection. The FFTF with its support facilities have their own water system comprised of a looped 8'' and 10'' underground distribution system, three 1500 GPM fire pumps and three ground level storage tanks totaling 736,000 gallons with 420,000 reserved for fire protection. Fire hydrants are enclosed with hose houses outfitted for use by the Emergency Response Team (ERT). Fire prevention systems for sodium areas of the FFTF are also described.