The radioactivity and thermal power of high-level and plutonium-bearing wastes from the nuclear fuel cycle have been calculated for the years 1975 to 2005 using the rate of generation of such wastes projected for the Generic Environmental Statement on Mixed Oxide Fuel (NUREG-0002). Three modes of fuel recycle are considered: (1) no recycle, (2) uranium recycle, and (3) prompt uranium and plutonium recycle. These cases are compared with a respect to radioactivity and thermal power of the generated waste, the waste shipments, and the accumulated inventories at reactor sites, reprocessing facilities, and ultimate disposal sites.

Motivated by their applicability to gamma-ray spectroscopy experiments in space, quantitative studies of radiation damage effects in high-purity germanium detectors due to high-energy charged particles have been initiated with the irradiation by 6 GeV/c protons of two 1.0 cm thick planar detectors maintained at 88/sup 0/K. The threshold for resolution degradation and the annealing characteristics differs markedly from those previously observed for detectors irradiated by fast neutrons. Under proton bombardment, degradation in the energy resolution was found to begin below 7 x 10/sup 7/ protons/cm/sup 2/, and increased proportionately in both detectors until the experiment was terminated at a total flux of 5.7 x 10/sup 8/ protons/cm/sup 2/, equivalent to about a six year exposure to cosmic-ray protons in space. At the end of the irradiation, the FWHM resolution measured at 1332 keV stood at 8.5 and 13.6 keV, with both detectors of only marginal utility as a spectrometer due to the severe tailing caused by charge trapping. The two detectors displayed a significant difference in proton damage sensitivity, which is consistent with fast neutron damage effects. To ensure that detector variability did not influence the comparison of proton- and neutron-induced damage effects, one of the detectors had been used …

The 120-keV Neutral Beam Test Facility at LBL is fitted with several types of instrumentation to determine the properties of the 10- to 15-A hydrogen and deuterium beams produced in this facility. These include a neutral particle dump for measuring the temperature profile generated by the beam, and a fixed and a moveable ion dump to measure the temperature profiles generated by the various ion components after they have been swept out of the neutral beam by a bending magnet. These several dumps provide enough information to determine the power density profiles and divergences of the neutral beam and the various ion beams for comparison with theoretical calculations, the beam composition, and the neutralization efficiency. The optical beam diagnostic consists of a high-resolution spectrometer coupled with a commercial optical multichannel analyzer. These instruments analyze Doppler-shifted optical radiation from the moving neutral atoms in the beam. Analysis of data so obtained provides the aiming directions and divergences of the various energy components in the neutral beam, as well as the beam composition.

A package of 38 low-level subprograms for many of the basic operations of numerical linear algebra is presented. The package is intended to be used with FORTRAN. The operations in the package are dot products, elementary vector operations, Givens transformations, vector copy and swap, vector norms, vector scaling, and the indices of components of largest magnitude. The subprograms and a test driver are available in portable FORTRAN. Versions of the subprograms are also provided in assembly language for the IBM 360/67, the CDC 6600 and CDC 7600, and the Univac 1108.

A survey was conducted to determine the extent to which the nation's coals were adequately characterized. Questionnaires were sent to 81 agencies in the coal community selected to form a representative cross section of the organizations concerned with coal characterization. Fifty-nine completed questionnaires were received. Respondents included representatives of the agencies with the longest experience in characterization and those in the best position to know the status of our knowledge of the composition and properties of the coals comprising the country's coal fields. Analysis of the responses to the questionnaire resulted in the following conclusions: The nation's coals are inadequately characterized for their efficient and effective use, particularly in relation to coal conversion technology and maintaining environmental quality; the number of agencies conducting coal characterization programs is too small to meet the nation's needs within the time frame required; and the scope of coal characterization programs should be expanded to develop a broader spectrum of basic compositional and performance data.

Two Holston lots of LX-10-1 were evaluated for mechanical properties. The average 21/sup 0/C tensile failure stress-strain values for Lot 711-1 and 711-2 were 2.32 MPa at 0.15% and 2.07 MPa at 0.18%, respectively. The failure stress range for both lots was approximately 0.4 MPa at 74 C to 5.6 MPa at -37C. Several additional pressing cycles were required to obtain a density of 1.865 Mg/m/sup 3/ for Lot 711-1 material. The additional cycles appear to have increased the tensile failure stress of Lot 711-1 slightly.

The rapid deterioration of concrete bridge decks as a result of the increased use of deicing salts is one of the most severe problems facing the highway industry today. One possible solution to the problem is the use of concrete polymer materials. The materials of prime interest are polymer-impregnated concrete (PIC) and polymer concrete (PC), both of which have excellent durability and strength properties. Three potential applications: repair of deteriorated bridge decks, polymer impregnation of new bridge deck surfaces, and full impregnation of precast deck panels have been studied in laboratory and field tests and the results have been encouraging. These results and economic considerations are described.

The CdHg excimer program will attempt to determine the existence of optical gain in a discharge pumped high temperature medium. This first quarterly contract period primarily involves detailed design of the experimental apparatus capable of producing high temperature metal vapor. The report begins with the general considerations which went into designing the experiment and follows with descriptions and schematics of the experiment as presently conceived.

This report summarizes the results of technical and economic evaluations of six commercially available, fixed-bed coal gasification processes for the production of industrial fuel gas. The study was performed for DOE and is intended to assist industrial companies in exploring the feasibility of producing gaseous fuels for both retrofit and new industrial plant situations. The report includes a technical analysis of the physical configuration, performance capabilities, and commercial experiments to-date for both air-blown and oxygen-blown fixed bed gasifiers. The product gas from these gasifiers is analyzed economically for three different degrees of cleanliness: (1) hot raw gas, (2) dust-, tar-, and oil-free gas, and (3) dust-, tar-, oil-free and desulfurized gas. The evaluations indicate that low-Btu gases produced from fixed bed gasifiers constitute one of the most logical short-term solutions for helping ease the shortage of natural gas for industrial fuel applications because the technology is well-proven and has been utilized on a commercial scale for several decades both in this country and overseas; time from initiation of design to commercial operation is about two years; the technology is not complicated to construct, operate, or maintain; and a reliable supply of product gas can be generated on-site. The advantages and …

At Brookhaven National Laboratory data telecommunication for remote job entry, interactive time sharing, networking, graphics, and special purpose links became increasingly important--they now rival the more traditional over-the-counter traffic. The BNL Central Scientific Computing Facility (CSCF) responded to this need with a number of developments. The latest and most comprehensive of these is a ''front-end'' communications system built around MODCOMP II computers. To put this project into its proper framework, some historical background is presented describing predecessor systems, the development of specifications, and the factors considered in the decision to turn to MODCOMP. The hardware is based around dual MODCOMP II-233 processors with a specially developed link to the larger CSCF machines, two Control Data 6600 computers and one CDC 7600. The MODCOMP software is based upon an existing system developed by Chrysler Corporation, running under MAXCOM. On the Control Data side Scope 3.4/INTERCOM 4 is used as a basis. The developments and modifications, both hardware and software, necessary for these components to meet Brookhaven's specifications are described. Certain related special-purpose data link applications are described. Among them are a research project in national resource sharing networks using ARPANET, and a connection to the National Weather Service machines in Suitland, …

Surface studies of thermionic emitters and collectors in the surface characterization chamber are described. Plasma studies including converter theory, experimental plasma analyses, and enhanced mode conversion experiments are discussed. Progress in thermionic converter development, the component hardware program, and the combustion-heated thermionic device program are outlined. (WHK)

A ''Lead-Glass Wall,'' consisting of 318 lead-glass Cherenkov shower counters and three wire spark chambers, has been added to one octant of the SPEAR Mark I Magnetic Detector. The wall covers a solid angle of approximately 6 percent of 4..pi.. steradians and has been used to identify and measure the energies of electrons and photons produced in electron-positron collisions. The design, calibration, gain-monitoring, and performance of the system are described.

The standard covers procurement requirements for extruded graphite logs, 15 in. (381 mm) or greater in diameter, manufactured with near-isotropic petroleum cokes and coal-tar pitch binders which are candidates or reference materials for replaceable fuel and reflector blocks for High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs). The requirements are designed to produce the degree of lot-to-lot reproducibility which is required to ensure consistent and predictable properties and irradiation performance for specific graphite grades and to ensure traceability of the graphite logs to production processes and raw materials that affect performance. The standard is intended for use in the procurement of developmental and commercial grades of nuclear graphite which are to be evaluated on Department of Energy (DOE) funded programs for use as core components in HTGRs.

The large Nd:glass laser-fusion systems, such as Argus and Shiva, require short-pulse oscillators that are very reliable and predictable. The requirements go well beyond what can reasonably be expected from a passively mode-locked laser. An actively mode-locked and Q-switched oscillator has now been developed that is extremely reliable and predictable, and satisfies all the requirements for the present Nd:glass laser systems. These systems require pulses that are adjustable from less than 100 ps to more than 1 ns, with less than 5% shot-to-shot variation in pulse energy and pulse width. Single-pulse energy from 100 ..mu..J to 1 mJ is sufficient. In this paper we will describe the principle of operation of this short-pulse oscillator, describe the Argus laser configuration, and the results obtained with this oscillator. We will then indicate further developments for the Shiva oscillator and discuss the performance of this laser.

The history of development of the as-low-as-is-reasonably achievable (ALARA) concept and ALARA criteria for radiation exposures as applied to both off-site (environmental) and on-site (occupational) exposures at nuclear power plants are reviewed. The current status of activities within the various federal agencies directed toward developing ALARA criteria for other areas of the nuclear fuel cycle is presented. Based on the historical development, the present activities, and on discussions with numerous people involved in this area, the future development of ALARA criteria and implications for the National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) Program is forecast. Environmental ALARA criteria which relate to minimizing radiation to the surrounding populaltion are discussed along with current occupational ALARA criteria and quidelines for risk-benefit assessments that are under development and recommendations to assure that evolving ALARA concepts are periodically brought up to date and that such concepts be made available to those subcontractors who have responsibility for design and operation of a repository. An annotated bibliography of some 83 sources giving information on ALARA criteria and its application is included. (JRD)

Higher focusable power in neodymium glass fusion lasers can be obtained through the use of new materials with lower nonlinear index (n/sub 2/) and better energy storage capabilities than the presently employed silicate glass. Silicate, phosphate, fluorophosphate, and beryllium fluoride glasses are discussed in terms of fusion laser requirements, particularly those for the proposed Nova laser. Examples of the variation in spectroscopic and optical properties obtainable with compositional changes are given. Results of a system evaluation of potential laser materials show that fluorophosphate glasses have many of the desired properties for use in Nova. These glasses are now being cast in large sizes (30-cm diameter) and will be tested in prototype amplifiers in 1978.

A technique is presented for estimating the average power output of a wind turbine using, as the wind characteristic input, only the mean annual wind magnitude. Hourly wind speeds are assumed to have a Rayleigh frequency distribution which requires a single parameter input (e.g., the mean value, variance or higher moment values). Based upon a general shape, for the wind speed versus machine output, a generic set of curves is developed to estimate the average power output of wind turbines. Also, estimates of the percent of time the wind turbine would not produce power (percent down time) and the percent of time the wind turbine would be operating at its rated power are presented.

A new approach towards the understanding of hitherto unknown, non-elemental acceptors and donors which can limit the purity of ultra-pure germanium has been explored for a specific pair of shallow centers, designated A/sub 2/ and D. Using photoelectric spectroscopy, we have demonstrated that an isotope shift in the ground-state binding energy occurs when the germanium crystals are grown in pure deuterium instead of in the usual pure hydrogen atmosphere. This isotope shift is the most direct proof of the presence of hydrogen atoms in the centers A/sub 2/ and D. Applying uniaxial stress to Ge samples containing A/sub 2/ and D, we show that the symmetry and structure of the centers can be explored. The knowledge of the chemical composition and the structure of the non-elemental centers will allow development of methods to reduce and keep their concentrations to acceptable levels.

Progress is reported for a program to develop a new process for producing composite Nb/sub 3/Sn/Cu superconducting wires and evaluating their critical current densities and the stress dependence of their critical currents. The process involves directional solidification of Cu--Nb or Cu--Nb--Sn alloys. (SDF)

An active system analysis and integration effort has been maintained. These activities have included the transformation of initial program requirements into a preliminary system design, the evolution of subsystem requirements which lay the foundation for subsystem design and test activity, and the overseeing of the final preliminary design effort to ensure that the subsystems are operationally compatible and capable of producing electricity at the lowest possible cost per unit of energy. Volume II of the Preliminary Design Report presents the results of the overall system effort that went on during this contract. The effort is assumed to include not only the total system definition and design but also all subsystem interactions.

Studies on the formation and properties of new materials for high-energy, gas-phase lasers are described. Attention is directed mainly to systems having bound excited states but unbound ground states. An important class of such excimer/exciplex systems has a van der Waals dimer/oligomer as its ground state. This research attempts to probe the relative rates of electron pumping of excited-state manifolds and the preferentially pumped vibronic states within each manifold. Reactive quenching of emission, resonant self-absorption of laser emissions, and collision- and noncollision-induced intersystem crossing are also considered. Lists of personnel and facilities are included. 8 figures, 2 tables. (RWR)

The study described herein is a continuation of the Giromill investigation in which a wind tunnel test of a model Giromill rotor was performed. The primary objective of the wind tunnel test was to obtain data for comparison with the Larsen cyclogiro vortex theory program employed for predicting the Giromill performance. The model had a rotor diameter of 7 ft. (2.13 meters) and a solidity (total blade area divided by rotor span times diameter) of 0.3. This was achieved by a three bladed rotor having blade chords of 8.4 in. (21.3 cm) and a span of 5 ft. (1.52 meters). The blades were modulated by use of replaceable cams, that simulated the various operating conditions, and a push rod arrangement connected to a bellcrank about the blade pivot point. Rotor RPM control was achieved with an electric motor/generator that could be used to either drive the rotor or absorb the rotor power to maintain RPM.

Longer wavelength (e.g., lambda = 10.5 ..mu..m) laser radiation generates relatively large fluxes of superthermal electrons that penetrate and preheat the cores of such pellets at early times in their implosion history, precluding their efficient subsequent compression. It has been proposed to separate the outermost shell of such pellets (onto which the laser light is directed) from its inner regions by a vacuum layer, thereby ''insulating'' these inner portions from superthermal electron degradation. We consider this proposal analytically and computationally, and find it to be questionable, due to the rapid penetration of the vacuum insulation layer by plasma streamers from the laser heated shells, which are accelerated to velocities of the order of those of the superthermal electrons by an electrostatic analog of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Results of such considerations are presented. The results developed also apply to a variety of formally similar phenomena, ranging from the relativistic edge of supernova photospheres to diode breakdown in REB machines.

Two computational procedures and one optical experimental procedure for studying enclosed natural convection are described. The finite-difference and finite-element numerical methods are developed and several sample problems are solved. Results obtained from the two computational approaches are compared. A temperature-visualization scheme using laser holographic interferometry is described, and results from this experimental procedure are compared with results from both numerical methods.