A set of OS/370 Basic Assembly Language programs is described which provides a FORTRAN IV interface with OS/370 Macros.

Vapor explosions were produced by injecting small quantities of water into a container filled with molten sodium chloride. Minimum explosion efficiencies, as evaluated from reaction-impulse measurements, were relatively large. Subsurface movies showed that the explosions resulted from a two-step sequence: an initial bulk-mixing phase in which the two liquids intermix on a large scale, but remain locally separated by an insulating gas-vapor layer; and a second step, immediately following breakdown of the gas layer, during which the two liquids locally fragment, intermix, and pressurize very rapidly. The experimental results were compared with various mechanistic models that had been proposed to explain vapor explosions. Early models seemed inconsistent with the results. More recent theories suggest that vapor explosions may be caused by a nucleation limit or by dynamic mixing combined with high surface-heat-transfer rates. Both types of models are consistent with the results.

A new creep-fatigue equation is proposed that takes into account both plastic strain and strain rate. The coefficients and exponents in the damage-rate equation are interpreted by means of the various damage mechanisms of the material. The damage-rate equation has been integrated to analyze various phenomena such as the effects of plastic strain rate on monotonic tensile or creep rupture time, rising mean strain on the low-cycle fatigue behavior at elevated temperature, tensile and compressive hold times on the low-cycle fatigue life at elevated temperature, and cyclic creep. The proposed approach has been successfully applied to elevated-temperature data generated at Argonne National Laboratory and elsewhere for Type 304 austenitic stainless steel under various monotonic and cyclic-loading conditions.

A method is described how a quantitative measure for the robustness of a given transport theory code for coarse network calculations can be obtained. A code, that performs this task automatically and at only nominal cost, is described and has been implemented for slab geometry. This code generates also user oriented benchmark problems which exhibit the analytic behavior at interfaces.

Quarterly report of the Argonne National Laboratory Materials Science Division regarding the evaluation of ceramic refractories to withstand abrasion-corrosion by coal slag that will be encountered in the Bituminous Coal Research (BCR) Bi-Gas coal-gasification pilot plant, development of computer models to predict corrosion and erosion behavior of materials, and analysis of pilot-plant components that have failed or are removed from service for other reasons.

This report describes the results of a study conducted by a "Pool Study Group" organized at ANL in mid-1975 to examine the present state of the air of design of pool-type LMFBRs. The study concentrated on examination of various design options used to date in the principle pool-type projects and design studies in this country and abroad, including the Phenix and Super-Phenix reactors (France), PFR and CFR (U.K.), RN-600 (U.S.S.R.) and EBR-II (U.S.A.). The objective of the report is to provide a step toward better understanding of the pool-type system and of the advantages and disadvantages of the various possible approaches to its design.

Two modeling programs, SCEPTRE and CSMP, are used to solve the point-kinetics equations - - seven coupled nonlinear differential equations - - with a linear-feedback function. The constants used are appropriate for EBR-II; therefore the computational accuracy may be tested against the experimental rod drops. Run-time, versatility, programming ease, and accuracy are criteria used to evaluate the two programs. SCEPTRE is found to be more efficient in run time and CSMP more versatile. The ease of programming is about the same for both programs. The accuracy is nearly equivalent if the optimum integration routines are used.

A three-dimensional finite-element elastic analysis is carried out for a thick-wall tube (as sued in typical LMFBR steam generators) that contains a surface flaw in the form of a paraboloid of revolution. Effects of the depth and aspect ratio of the flaw on the stress distribution and stress concentration in the tube are explored.

The computer program PTA-1 performs pressure-transient analysis of large piping networks using the one-dimensional method of characteristics applied to a fluid-hammer formulation. The effect of elastic-plastic deformation of piping on pulse propagation is included in the computation. The program is particularly oriented toward the analysis of the effects of a sodium/water reaction on the intermediate heat-transport system of a liquid-metal-cooled fast breeder reactor, but may be applied just as usefully to other pulse sources and other piping systems. PTA-1 is capable of treating complex piping networks and includes a variety of junction types. Pipe friction and nonlinear velocity terms are included in the formulation. The program requires a minimum of input-data preparation and is designed to be easily used and modified. This report contains the governing equations, program structure, input requirements, program listing, and other information for PTA-1.

Seven releases of fission products occurred in EBR-II from January 1974 to March 1975 - - five from mixed-oxide elements and two from sodium-bonded driver-fuel elements. Four releases were from elements that contained a xenon tag, which aided considerably in locating three of the elements; data from the fourth element allowed estimation of changes of tag composition with reactor exposure. Rapid release of fission from two breached mixed-oxide elements caused the reactor to trip because of increased delayed-neutron activity, the first time such behavior has been observed. Identification of a subassembly of Mark-1A driver-fuel elements was complicated by multiple failure of its untagged elements during the diagnosis period. Several of these elements had some exposed fuel in the core, which was the likely cause of increasing delayed-neutron signals from the subassembly.

Cross sections for inelastic collisions of slow electrons and the dipole oscillator-strength distribution for the neon atom are given in tabular form. The results are based on experimental data that were checked and adjusted for internal consistency.

The heat-transfer performance of an evacuated glass-jacketed CPC-receiver facility, free on one end and fixed onto the glass jacket at the other, was carried out using heat-transfer relationships and the best information available in the literature. Specifically, the collector examined was a 3x-CPC facility, 8 ft long, with an entrance aperture 4.5 in. wide covered with a single glass cover, and provided with an aluminum reflecting surface (rho = 0.88). To maximize heat retention, a selectively treated receiver surface, epsilon = 0.11, was used. The optical efficiency of this CPC collector facility was calculated to be eta₀ = 0.536.

A description and interpretation of the atomic spectrum of neptunium are given. Wavelengths were measured for 6096 spectrum lines in the range 3793 to 38,812 cm⁻¹ (26,353 to 2575 A), of which 2526 were classified as transitions between 329 odd levels and 130 even levels of neutral neptunium (Np I). The data are presented in five tables.

Costs and benefits of various urban air pollution control policies have been examined in Phase 1 of the Environmental Pollutants and the Urban Economy study being conducted jointly by Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago. The need for sound economic evaluation of air quality regulations is evidenced by the resistance of many industries to pollution control policies based solely on the technical feasibility of achieving public health-related standards. For many firms that emit air pollutants, the cost of not complying with some regulations is significantly less than the cost of compliance. This final report on the Phase 1 research presents highlights of what has been learned, the mechanisms developed for transferring results to users, a bibliography of documents produced during the project, and a collection of correspondence, articles, and evaluation illuminating the use of project work by others.

The idea for this meeting evolved from interest expressed by members of the Chicago Section of the Electrochemical Society in convening a symposium on the development of high-energy secondary batteries. The relevance of this subject is evidenced by the several research programs that have been initiated recently in the United States and Europe to develop advanced batteries for use as energy storage devices on electric utility networks and as power sources for electric automobiles.

Dissertation discussing the results of experiments to study the behavior of superconductors under light illumination.

Progress report describing the research and management efforts of Argonne National Laboratory's program on high-performance lithium/metal sulfide batteries during the period July-December 1975. The batteries are being developed for two applications: off-peak energy storage in electric utility networks and electric-vehicle propulsion. The battery designs for the two applications differ, particularly in cell configuration and electrode design because of the differing performance requirements.

Ptolemy is an IBM/360 program for the computation of nuclear elastic and direct-reaction cross sections. It carries out both optical-model fits to elastic-scattering data at one or more energies, and DWBA calculations for nucleon-transfer reactions. Ptolemy has been specifically designed for heavy-ion calculations. It is fast and does not require large amounts of core. The input is exceptionally flexible and easy to use. This report outlines the types of calculation that Ptolemy can carry out, summarizes the formulas used, and gives a detailed description of its input.

The coterminous United States is screened on a county-by-county basis to identify areas most likely to provide sites for fossil energy centers (FECs) utilizing local coals and having capacities between 5,000 and 20,000 MWe. Areas eliminated as potential sites include national public lands excluded by legislation, urbanized areas, Air Quality Maintenance Areas for particulates and SO2, and counties where air quality data indicate violations of particulate or SO2 ambient standards. The remaining counties are further screened for suitable coal reserves. The quality of coal required for an FEC to meet emissions and ambient standards is determined for sulfur content and heating value. Based on Bureau of Mines coal reserve data, counties in areas with not enough quality reserves to support an FEC are eliminated. Areas most likely to provide sites for FECs of 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 MWe, in two different spatial configurations, each with and without flue gas desulfurization are determined and mapped. The possible impacts of regulations for the prevention of significant deterioration are illustrated.

An estimate was made of the cost of commercial manufacture of batteries for load-leveling in utility networks, based on the lithium-aluminum/iron sulfide system. The battery design chosen is the 0.92-kWh cell proposed for the BEST Facility. The manufacturing plant was sized to produce 5000 of such cells per day. These cells are assembled for sale in battery cases or sub-modules, 24 cells to a case. The plant investment is estimated to be $12,500,000. A selling price of $29.16 per kWh is projected; this price yields a 25 percent return on invested capital. An allowance for recycle lithium yields a net price of $27.33 per kWh.

The SYNBURN computer program for fast reactors will calculate all the neutronics necessary to completely characterize the equilibrium cycle as well as the startup to equilibrium cycles. The program's run time is very short and this makes the program suitable for survey of parametric studies. It can search on the cycle time for a specified burnup, for the shim control necessary for criticality as well as feed enrichments and the enrichment ratio among core zones. SYNBURN synthesizes in a very simple fashion the one-dimensional fluxes in radial and axial geometry to achieve an approximate two-dimensional solution which agrees very well with the exact two-dimensional solution when measuring regional integrated quantities.

The decision to locate a fossil-fueled electrical power plant on a particular site involves trade-offs among the costs of: (1) land acquisition, (2) plant construction, operation, and maintenance, (3) power transmission, and (4) air pollution damage to humans, animals, plants and materials. The fourth of these, pollution costs, has been of great concern in recent years. But seldom, if ever, are the specific dollar trade-offs between the environmental and the other costs associated with site selection taken into account. The sum of the costs of power generation (land, construction, operation, maintenance), power transmission, and air pollution damages (from sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates) is the total social cost of a fossil-fuel plant; this total cost will generally vary by site. This paper presents an analysis of the total social cost, and the trade-offs between generation/transmission and air pollution costs, for various types of fossil plants at different sites in northern Illinois. The analysis identifies the combinations of site, fossil fuel, and sulfur dioxide (SO2) control technology that minimize total social costs.

Quarterly report summarizing work by Argonne National Laboratory on water-reactor-safety heat-transfer and flow problems. "The following research and development areas are covered: (1) Loss-of-coolant Accident Research: Heat Transfer and Fluid Dynamics; (2) Transient Fuel Response and Fission-product Release Program; and (3) Mechanical Properties of Zircaloy Containing Oxygen" (p. x).

After an introductory statement describing the characteristics of landfills and incinerators, these two devices for municipal waste disposal are compared in terms of economic and environmental costs. Cost data for the Chicago area is used. It is concluded that landfills have lower investment, operating and environmental costs.