A significant portion of the cost of fabricating LMFBR fuels is in the non-fuel components such as fuel pin cladding, fuel assembly ducts and end fittings. The contribution of these to fuel fabrication costs, based on FFTF experience and extrapolated to large LMFBR fuel loadings, is discussed. The extrapolation considers the expected effects of LMFBR development programs in progress on non-fuel component costs.

The objective of the Category I Structure Program is to supply experimental and analytical information needed to assess the structural capacity of Category I structures (excluding the reactor cntainment building). Because the shear wall is a principal element of a Category I structure, and because relatively little experimental information is available on the shear walls, it was selected as the test element for the experimental program. The large load capacities of shear walls in Category I structures dictates that the experimental tests be conducted on small size shear wall structures that incorporates the general construction details and characteristics of as-built shear walls.

This paper describes recent experience in re-evaluating the dose to an employee. This employee was plagued with skin disorders for years, but he questioned his recorded beta dose only after a recent LLNL cancer study began collecting data. He was concerned that his radiation dose recorded during the time he worked on a fission burst reactor experiment in 1963 did not represent the actual dose he received. About six months were spent gathering information, putting the information together, making necessary calculations, and reaching a reasonable result (a reasonable result being one for which the known information fits the calculated results with a minimum of inconsistencies). This paper presents the beta and gamma whole-body and hand radiation dose calculations, and compares these calculated dose rates with the meter, film, and pocket dosimeter information recorded in the health and safety log, operation log, and dosimetry record.

Cryosorption vacuum pumps continue to be the principal type of pumping systems considered for power-producing fusion reactors. In this context, a compound-pump concept is generally employed in which the helium pump is placed behind the hydrogen pump so that hydrogen will not condense on and hence block the 4.2 K helium cryosorption surface. To obtain an optimal design for such a pump, the amount of hydrogen which can reach the helium panel has been determined. Catastrophic failure of a cryosorption pump was observed in previous work when a 95% hydrogen-5% helium mixture was tested. No such failure has occurred in our studies with 4, 10, and 20% hydrogen. However, significant changes in pumping speed have been noted when only 4% hydrogen is present. Both helium and hydrogen speeds are reduced to approximately one-half to one-third of the pure compound speed. Many of the qualitative aspects of the behavior of the pump for pure helium are also observed for the hydrogen-helium mixtures. Cyclic variation in pumping speed above a helium feed rate of approx. 6 x 10/sup -6/ torr-L/s.cm/sup 2/ is one such similarity; however, at the 4% hydrogen level, the period between instabilities is longer for the mixtures.

Inertial-fusion targets have been designed for use with heavy-ion accelerators as drivers in fusion energy power plants. We have made an initial survey of target gain versus beam energy, power, focal radius, and ion range. This provides input for understanding the trade-offs among accelerator designs.

This paper describes a maintenance problem in a fusion power plant. The problem is to specify which life limited parts should be replaced when there is an opportunity. The objective is to minimize the cost rate of replacement parts and of maintenance actions while satisfying a power plant availability constraint. The maintenance policy is to look ahead and replace all parts that will reach their life limits within a time called a screen. Longer screens yield greater system availabilities because more parts are replaced prior to their life limits.

The Tandem Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-Upgrade) construction will be completed in 18 months at a total cost of $14.5 million. This paper describes the project planning and the management techniques used to complete the TMX-Upgrade within its allocated cost and schedule. In the planning stages of a project, before approval of the proposal, we define major project objectives, create a work breakdown structure (WBS), detail a technical description for each level of the WBS, and provide detailed bottoms-up cost estimates and summary schedules. In the operating phase, which continues throughout the project, we establish budget and schedule baselines. The reporting phase includes The Department of Energy (DOE) reviews of project status at monthly, quarterly, and semiannual intervals. These reports include cost, schedule, manpower, major procurement, and technical status information.

Studies are currently being made to design an axisymmetric modification to the TMX-Upgrade experiment. The existing TMX-Upgrade quadrupole plug and transition magnet sets are replaced by the circular coils of an axisymmetric plug. The existing TMX-Upgrade magnet set is shown. The circular coils are sectioned to show the quadrupole magnets and the flux bundle. The two end cells of this magnet set are MHD stable minimum-B plugs. From a mechanical design viewpoint, an axisymmetric design is attractively simple. One of the axisymmetric designs under consideration is the Modified Cusp. A magnet set for this designs is shown. The coils are sectioned to show their cross-section.

The diagnostics and experimental program of a facility used to study condensed matter at high pressures are described.

This paper covers Maxwell's approach to developing energy storage capacitors. Based on previous capacitor designs of 3 KJ, 5 KJ and 10 KJ, the final Nova 12.5 KJ capacitor evolved. At the outset of the Nova capacitor development program, a relatively new dielectric system, polypropylene-paper-DOP, seemed to show superiority in volumetric efficiency, life, and more importantly cost. However, as a result of studies performed at Maxwell, a high-density, energy-storage capacitor was developed utilizing new high-quality, high-density paper and caster oil as the dielectric. Test data have demonstrated that the Maxwell 12.5 KJ capacitor exceeds all LLNL's qualification requirements.

We have completed a comparative evaluation of several end plug configurations for tandem mirror fusion reactors with thermal barriers. The axi-cell configuration has been selected for further study and will be the basis for a detailed conceptual design study to be carried out over the next two years. The axi-cell end plug has a simple mirror cell produced by two circular coils followed by a transition coil and a yin-yang pair, which provides for MHD stability. This paper discusses some of the many engineering problems facing the designer. We estimated the direct cost to be 2$/W/sub e/. Assuming total (direct and indirect) costs to be twice this number, we need to reduce total costs by factors between 1.7 and 2.3 to compete with future LWRs levelized cost of electricity. These reductions may be possible by designing magnets producing over 20T made possible by use of combinations of superconducting and normal conducting coils as well as improvements in performance and cost of neutral beam and microwave power systems. Scientific and technological understanding and innovation are needed in the area of thermal barrier pumping - a process by which unwanted particles are removed (pumped) from certain regions of velocity and real space …

A study of fission suppressed blankets for the tandem mirror not only showed such blankets to be feasible but also to be safer than fissioning blankets. Such hybrids could produce enough fissile material to support up to 17 light water reactors of the same nuclear power rating. Beryllium was compared to /sup 7/Li for neutron multiplication; both were considered feasible but the blanket with Li produced 20% less fissile fuel per unit of nuclear power in the reactor. The beryllium resource, while possibly being too small for extensive pure fusion application, would be adequate (with carefully planned industrial expansion) for the hybrid because of the large support ratio, and hence few hybrids required. Radiation damage and coatings for beryllium remain issues to be resolved by further study and experimentation. Molten salt reprocessing was compared to aqueous solution reprocessing (thorex). The molten salt reprocessing cost is $3.4/g fissile, whereas aqueous reprocessing cost $24 or $43/g for the thorium metal or oxide fuel form.

Test results from two plasma direct converters and their predicted cost and performance on tandem mirror fusion reactors are present. The tests were done at high power density (approx. 70 W/cm/sup 2/) in steady state to simulate the predicted conditions in a reactor. A single stage unit and a two-stage unit of the Venetian blind type were tested at up to 100 kV and 6 kW for a total time of about 80 hours. Measured efficiencies, when projected to a reactor, are typically about 50% for a single stage unit and 60 to 70% for a two-stage unit, depending on the energy distribution of the ions, the degree of subdivision of the collectors, and on the gas pressure. The high ambipolar potential in tandem mirror devices makes this good efficiency possible. When radiatively cooled grids are used, the incident power density is limited to about 100 W/cm/sup 2/ by the thermionic emission of electrons.

The MFTF-B ECRH system will provide 1.6-MW of microwave power for heating of electrons within the thermal barrier and potential maximum regions of the plasma end-plugs. Absorption of this radiation increases the resonant electron energy which locally alters the electrostatic confining potential within the plasma. The result is a thermal barrier which will isolate end-plug electrons from those in the solenoid thus increasing the plasma confinement time. Microwave energy will be generated by eight 200 kW gyrotrons located outside the vacuum vessel at strategic positions near each end-plug. High voltage dc power will be obtained from a -90 kV, 90 A power supply. A compensation network will condition the dc power and channel it to eight independent pulse power regulatory/isolation networks. Each of these networks will, on command, provide -80 kV, 8 A of dc power to its attendant gyrotron cabinet positioned within the vault. Each gyrotron will interface to a quasi-optical waveguide which will transport microwave power to an antenna system located inside the vacuum vessel. The antenna systems will direct the microwave radiation into the resonant heating zones of the plasma. A local control and monitoring system will interface to the MFTF-B Supervisory Control and Diagnostics System. This …

The study of the production and loss of negative ions, H/sup -/ and D/sup -/, in the volume of a plasma has received considerable attention since the measurement of anomalously high densities of H/sup -/ in 1977. The most probable mechanism for production is dissociative attachment (DA) to vibrationally highly-excited hydrogen molecules. New diagnostics developed for this purpose are photodetachment and the extension of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) systems to the sensitivity required for low-pressure gases. Measurements and calculations indicate that the important loss mechanisms are diffusion to the walls at low densities and collisional destruction of several types at plasma densities above 10/sup 10/ cm/sup -3/. Production mechanisms must be highly efficient to compete with the losses. It appears to be straightforward to extrapolate measurements and theory to the densities above 10/sup 12/ cm/sup -3/ that are required for an intense source of D/sup -/ for neutral beam injection into magnetically-confined fusion devices.

Iron-free, dipole magnets are used extensively as steering magnets to correct for the bending, induced by extraneous magnetic fields, of particle beams that are being transported in vacuum. Generally, the dipoles are long enough that the space occupied by the end conductors is small compared to the overall magnet length. In a recent application, however, this criteria did not apply. This has motivated a reanalysis of the characteristics of a system of small aspect ratio (length/diameter) dipoles that are spaced at relatively large axial distances.

This paper describes the current design status of the plasma diagnostic system for MFTF-B. In this paper we describe the system requirement changes which have occurred as a result of the funded rescoping of the original MFTF facility into MFTF-B. We outline the diagnostic instruments which are currently planned, and present an overview of the diagnostic system.

The change of scope for MFTF from a simple mirror to a tandem mirror configuration utilizing thermal barriers has expanded the range of plasma parameters and increased the requirements of the plasma diagnostics system. The instrument set that is needed for start-up operation has been identified and conceptual design work is proceeding. This paper describes the diagnostic instrumentation as presently envisioned for start-up operation, with a summary of the detectors and data channels. Also presented is an overview of the current conceptual design for the Local Control and Data Acquisition System and the Data Processing and Display system. As more detailed design is done, the exact number and nature of instruments may change, but overall, the system described here is one expected to satisfy the requirements for start-up and be expandable to the basic set of diagnostics.

As a contribution to the required quinquennial review of American National Standard for Nuclear Criticality Safety in Operations with Fissionable Materials Outside Reactors (ANSI N16.1-1975/ANS-8.1), limits for homogeneous 233U systems have been recalculated to confirm their sub-criticality or, where there were doubts, to propose more restrictive values. In addition, other limits were calculated to be proposed for inclusion, namely, limits for aqueous solutions of UO2(NO3)2 and limits for uranium oxides. The same three methods of calculation were used as in similar work done recently for plutonium and 235U systems. The validity of each was established by correlation with the results of pertinent critical experiments. This report discusses this study.

The present aim of this program is photochemical removal of the 7 ppM concentration of DTO in D/sub 2/O that is presently found in active heavy water fission reactors (e.g., Savannah River). Though only T/D recovery is under present scrutiny at LLNL, T/H separation can also be performed using infrared laser multiple-photon dissociation (MPD). Laser-based tritium recovery from both light and heavy water may prove to be of great importance in fusion reactors. The overall cycle of the process under investigation entails initial tritiation of a fully deuterated working molecule by catalyzed chemical exchange with the contaminated heavy water, followed by isotopically-selective, room temperature, gas phase, pulsed infrared laser MPD of only the monotritiated molecules, among the transparent, majority fully deuterated specie. In the MPD interaction, the resonant molecule selectively absorbs 30 or more infrared quanta and then dissociates. The tritium-enriched photoproducts are easily removed from the reactant mainstream by physical separation means. Then the cycle continues with retritiation of the photochemically-detritiated working molecule.

The High-Field Test Facility (HFTF) project has two primary goals. The first is to establish manufacturing capability for a Nb/sub 3/Sn conductor suitable for use in a mirror fusion coil. The second is to provide a test facility for evaluating other fusion conductor designs at high fields. This paper describes some of the problems encountered and the solutions devised in working toward the first goal. Construction of the test facility coils will be described in a subsequent paper.

The ECRH diagnostics system monitors the net power delivered to the plasma by four 200-kW gyrotron oscillators, the frequency of each gyrotron, and some operating parameters of the gyrotron power supply system. The combination CAMAC- and GPIB-based data acquisition system is under desktop computer control that provides the capability for data conversion and display. The data acquisition system is also interfaced to the main computer system that acquires and archives the data.

The twenty-three (23) MFTF sustaining neutral beam arc power supplies were designed to provide 0.3 to 30 second output pulses over a range of 24 to 71 volts and 600 to 4000 amperes at 10 percent duty. For economic reasons, the circuit design consists of a 12 pulse rectifier which is asynchronously switched on and off by a three phase electromechanical contactor in the primary ac input. The paper describes the analysis of the problem, various possible solutions considered, and the simple and inexpensive solution adopted for use.

This paper describes an analytical tool for evaluating the effectiveness of safeguards that protect special nuclear material (SNM). The tool quantifies the effectiveness using several measures, including probabilities and expected times to detect and respond to malevolent attempts against the facility. These measures are computed for a spectrum of threats involving outsiders, insiders, collusion, falsification, and deceit. Overall system effectiveness is judged using performance indices aggregated over all threats. These indices can be used by designers and regulators when comparing costs and benefits of various safeguards. The framework is demonstrated with an example in which we assess vulnerabilities of a safeguards system and identify cost-effective design modifications.