Equipment and procedures used to spot weld tantalum- or stainless-steel-sheathed thermocouples to the inside diameter of Zircaloy tubing to meet the requirements of the Multirod Burst Test (MRBT) Program at ORNL are described. Spot welding and oxide cleaning tools were fabricated to remove the oxide coating on the Zircaloy tubing at local areas and spot weld four thermocouples separated circumferentially by 90/sup 0/ at any axial distribution desired. It was found necessary to apply a nickel coating to stainless-steel-sheathed thermocouples to obtain acceptable welds. The material and shape of the inner electrode and resistance between inner and outer electrodes were found to be critical parameters in obtaining acceptable welds.

ARGUS is a two-beam Nd: glass laser system built for laser fusion irradiation experiments. It is the first glass laser system planned and built with the understanding that small-scale beam break-up is the dominant performance limiting factor in obtaining high output power. Accordingly, five vacuum spatial filters are located at strategic intervals along each chain to eliminate the accumulated small-scale filamentation. This strategy permits cascading of amplifiers to obtain a focusable output of more than one terawatt per arm in a spatially clean beam of 20 centimeter diameter. Beam diagnostics which characterize each shot include the time-integrated spatial profile and the time resolved intensity/power at the target. Demonstrated performance to date includes: (1) Peak power in excess of 2 TW at the target is achieved with regularity. (2) Maximum system brightness is in excess of 10/sup 17/ watts/cm/sup 2/ ster. (3) Shot-to-shot pointing stability within 50 ..mu.. radians is achieved over periods of days. (4) Successful target experiments have been performed with pulses of from 30 to 500 ps duration.

Impermeable rock units, preferably at least 500 feet thick and lying 1000 to 3000 feet below land surface, were sought in the region consisting roughly of the western /sup 3///sub 5/ths of Tennessee and the northern /sup 3///sub 5/ths of Alabama and Mississippi. All rock sequences, Cambrian through Eocene, were examined in varying detail, except the Cretaceous Selma Chalk and except the diapiric salt. These rocks were studied for their relative impermeable homogeneity, their continuity, their background of structural and seismic stability and their hydrologic associations. The Central Mississippi Ridge of north-central Mississippi is overlain by a long-stable mass of Porters Creek Clay 500-700 feet thick, in an area roughly 50-60 miles wide and about 150 miles long. The Yazoo Clay, where best developed in the west-central and southwest part of Mississippi, is in the 400-500 foot thickness range, but locally exceeds 500 feet. The entire area mapped is underlain by the Louann Salt which has produced many deep-seated salt domes and numerous piercement salt domes. Salt flow has complicated shallow structural geology throughout that area. The Chattanooga Shale rarely exceeds 60 feet in thickness in the region studied and is generally much thinner and is absent in many places. …

A method for calculating quasi-one-dimensional, steady-state, two-phase dispersed droplet-in-vapor flow has been developed. The technique is applicable to both subsonic and supersonic single component flow in which normal shock waves may occur, and is the basis for a two-dimensional model. The flow is assumed to be inviscid except for droplet drag. Temperature and pressure equilibrium between phases is assumed, although this is not a requirement of the technique. Example calculations of flow in one-dimensional nozzles with and without normal shocks are given and compared with experimentally measured pressure profiles for both low quality and high quality two-phase steam/water flow.

An analysis was made to determine the fuel temperature in the Livermore Pool Type Reactor, LPTR, during a transient involving a reactor scram following a cooling system pump trip. A computer code was obtained for this purpose from the University of Virginia. This code was used in preparation of UVAR-18, the SAR Manual of the University of Virginia Reactor. This reactor is very similar to the LPTR. The code incorporates a form of the reactor point kinetics equation with six delayed neutron groups, and standard heat transfer equations. The code was modified for use in this study. These modifications included rewriting the code in Fortran IV from ALGO, replacing a straight line pump coastdown by an equation closely following the actual pump RPM during a pump trip, modifying flow resistance equations to conform to the conditions in the LPTR, and replacing various constants with others applicable to the LPTR. The calculations in this study apply to a reactor scram from conditions at the ''safety limit'' settings.

Vehicle propulsion concepts utilizing flywheel energy are described. Analyses are presented for sizing an inductor motor/alternator/flywheel for application to a 3000 pound vehicle. Component tradeoffs are included for the inductor motor/alternator drive, the solid state inverter/rectifier, the control circuit, and a composite flywheel. Design specifications for the machine are established and a test plan defined.

The overall objective of the ERDA program described is to demonstrate new technology associated with a novel concept for a high-speed flywheel energy storage system. The concept, consisting of a high-speed composite flywheel combined with an integral inductor-type motor/alternator, offers the possibility of a small, lightweight package with high energy storage capability. The basic technology demonstrated in this program will have application to a number of flywheel energy storage systems. The demonstration unit will have a nominal rating of 20 kVA. The program will develop a flywheel energy storage system sized for a 3000 lb battery electric van. The balance of the report discusses the energy storage package: (1) design and fabrication of the inductor motor/alternator/flywheel; and (2) design and fabrication of the solid state power conditioner and control breadboard.

The objective of this research program is to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of producing solar-cell-quality sheet silicon by dip-coating one surface of carbonized ceramic substrates with a thin layer of large-grain polycrystalline silicon. The dip-coating methods studied were directed toward a minimum-cost process with the ultimate objective of producing solar cells with a conversion efficiency of 10 percent or greater. The technique shows excellent promise for low-cost, labor-saving, scale-up potentialities and would provide an end product of sheet silicon with a rigid and strong supportive backing. An experimental dip-coating facility was designed and constructed, and, using this facility, several substrates have been successfully dip-coated with areas as large as 25 cm/sup 2/ and thicknesses of 12 ..mu..m to 250 ..mu..m. There appears to be no serious limitation on the area of a substrate that could be coated. Of the various substrate materials dip-coated this reporting period, mullite appears, at this time, to best satisfy the requirement of this research program. An inexpensive process has been developed for producing mullite in the desired geometry, thus satisfying the cost objectives of the program.

The objective of this research program is to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of producing solar-cell quality sheet silicon by dip-coating one surface of carbonized ceramic substrates with a thin layer of large-grain polycrystalline silicon. Of the various substrate materials dip-coated this reporting period, mullite appears, at this time, to best satisfy the requirements of this research program. Dip-coating experiments continue to demonstrate that layer thickness and grain size are dependent on and can be controlled by pulling rate and melt temperature. Crystalline grains as large as 1 mm wide and 2 cm or more long can consistently be grown in layers 35 to 50 ..mu.. meters thick. (WDM)

The objective of this research program is to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of producing solar cell-quality sheet silicon by coating one surface of carbonized ceramic substrates with a thin layer of large-grain polycrystalline silicon from the melt. With the present dip coating facility, pulling rates of 5 to 7 cm/min are most likely to produce layers of the crystalline quality from which high efficiency solar cells can be fabricated. At a pulling rate of 6 cm/min, it is possible to achieve smooth 50-..mu..m thick layers, with grains as large as 2.5-mm wide, generally extending the entire length of the substrate. At pulling rates less than 6 cm/min, single grains as large as 4 mm in width have been observed. Substrates held at an angle of 45/sup 0/ to the surface of the melt during dipping produced layers qualitatively similar to the vertical dipped layers, but they show some potential for improved coating uniformity. Diffractometer measurements on several samples showed that the strongest diffraction peak was from the silicon 220 plane which is about 10/sup 0/ from the sample surface. The (110) surfaces have been found to be dominant in the EFG and dendritic material, and it appears this …

The experimental procedure for irradiating the above specimens is given. No results are described. (MOW)

Molecular beam techniques were used to study the reactive and non-reactive scattering of the nitrogen positive ion from hydrogen isotopes and helium, at energies above the stability limit for spectator stripping. Reactive scattering was observed from H/sub 2/ and HD targets. Non-reactive scattering was observed from H/sub 2/ and D/sub 2/ targets, and from He at one energy. A correlation diagram for the system is presented and compared with the available a priori calculations. Two surfaces are expected to lead to reaction. One is a /sup 3/A/sub 2/ - /sup 3/PI surface, the other, a /sup 3/B/sub 1/ - /sup 3/..sigma../sup -/ surface. Collinear approaches are expected to be most reactive on the /sup 3/B/sub 1/ - /sup 3/..sigma../sup -/ surface; noncollinear, on the /sup 3/A/sub 1/ - /sup 3/PI surface. Theoretical models are presented in which an incident hard sphere A, representing the projectile ion, strikes one of a pair of hard spheres B-C representing the B hydrogen molecule. After an impulsive A-B collision, an impulsive B-C collision may take place. The relative energy of A to B is then examined, and a reactive event is considered to have occurred if the energy is less than the dissociation energy …

Tantalum capsules lined with tantalum carbide were loaded with a mixture of uranium carbide-20 wt% plutonium carbide and sealed with an electron beam weld for use in Argonne National Laboratory calorimetric studies of reactor fuels. Experimental welding tests were made to determine optimum welding parameters. Special equipment available only at LLL was used and techniques were developed to perform the loading and welding operations without exposure to moisture or oxygen and with complete containment of the radioactive particles. Three capsules were successfully loaded, welded, tested, and delivered to ANL.

In analyzing CaF/sub 2/:Dy (TLD-200) data from the environmental monitoring program at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, a quantity of significance is the dose to the thermoluminescence dosimeters during shielded storage. This paper describes a method for determining this shield dose, which can then be related to the dose from cosmic radiation. Data, based on quarterly TLD exposure periods, show a range of 43-56 ..mu..rads per day in a 75 mm thick lead shield. Observed variations in the shield dose have led to studies of prolonged exposure of TLDs to elevated and reduced temperatures typical of those in the Livermore Valley.

Solid-state electrochemical methods are being used to determine structural, thermodynamic, and transport properties in materials pertinent to the fluorination of metals at elevated temperatures. The solubility and diffusivity of fluorine in solid metals (initially nickel) are being studied by a potentiostatic electrochemical procedure by which changes in an impressed cell voltage induces changes in the activity of fluorine at a metal/electrolyte interface while the recording of the resulting cell current as a function of time can be interpreted to yield the desired quantities. Defect structures in metal fluoride compounds (initially NiF/sub 2/ and PbF/sub 2/) are being studied through measurements and interpretation of the electrical conductivity. The variation in the conductivities of the pure and impurity-doped compound as a function of fluorine activity can be interpreted to establish the partial ionic and electronic conductivities of the compounds, and the concentrations and mobilities of the carriers. Finally, a CaF/sub 2/-electrolyte probe (gauge) is being developed for the measurement of fluorine activities in gases at elevated temperatures. The literature has been searched and studied. Experimental materials have been ordered and two high-temperature electrochemical systems have been constructed and tested. The electrical instrumentation has been tested and calibrated. A porous graphite electrode was …

Operations with the Geothermal Loop Experimental Facility are reviewed. Inspection of the separators, scrubbers, pumps, valves, and controls is described. (MHR)

The effects of lateral mass efflux with prescribed temperature and velocity on vertical free convection boundary layers in a saturated porous medium at high Rayleigh numbers are studied analytically. Within the framework of boundary layer theory, similarity solutions are obtained for the special case where the prescribed temperature and velocity of the fluid vary as x/sup lambda/ and x/sup (lambda-1)/2/ respectively. The effects of mass efflux on surface heat transfer rate and boundary layer thickness are shown. Application to warm water discharge along a well or fissure to an aquifer of infinite extent is discussed.

An analysis of the scheme to heat magnetically confined plasma columns to kilovolt temperatures with a laser beam requires consideration of two propagation problems. The first question to be answered is whether stable beam trapping is possible. Since the laser beam creates its own density profile by heating the plasma, the propagation of the beam becomes a nonlinear phenomenon, but not necessarily a stable one. In addition, the electron density at a given time depends on the preceding history of both the medium and the laser pulse. A self-consistent time dependent treatment of the beam propagation and the medium hydrodynamics is consequently required to predict the behavior of the laser beam. Such calculations have been carried out and indicate that propagation of a laser beam in an initially uniform plasma can form a stable filament which alternately focuses and defocuses. An additional question that is discussed is whether diffractive losses associated with long propagation paths are significant.

A review of laser-compression experiments is given. Diagrams illustrating various compression data are described. (MOW)

None

This paper describes three proposed experiments for observing the breakdown of parity in atomic transitions due to the exchange of neutral, parity-violating currents arising from some of the new gauge models (e.g., the Weinberg model) for the weak interaction. The experiments are based on exploiting a suggestion, by Bouchiat and Bouchiat, that modern laser technology be utilized to produce intense, monochromatic, and polarized photon beams with which to excite forbidden atomic transitions of the basic form parallel ns/sup 1///sub 2/ broken bracket ..-->.. parallel n's/sup 1///sub 2/ broken bracket. The asymmetries (of the order of 10/sup -4/) in the de-exitation processes then signal the presence of the parity-violating components due to the neutral currents. In all three experiments suggested here, the use of multiple (uncollimated)atomic beams as targets forms a basic part, and their advantages over a temperature-equilibrium vapor are described. The first experiment uses /sup 55/Cs atomic beams as a target; the second uses /sup 37/Rb in conjunction with a superstrong magnetic field (approximately 80 kG); the third uses /sup 81/Tl and requires frequency doubling of the exciting laser beam. All three experiments appear to be quite feasible, and, given the requisite equipment (much of which is or soon …

The formation of ozone from oxygen and the dissociation carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and oxygen is studied in a gamma-neutron chemical process blanket associated with a controlled thermonuclear reactor. Materials used for reactor tube wall will affect the efficiency of the energy absorption by the reactants and consequently the yield of reaction products. Three kinds of materials, aluminum, stainless steel and fiber (Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/)-aluminium are investigated for the tube wall material in the study.

A summary is presented of the activities and results of research in nuclear chemistry, nuclear geochemistry, nuclear cosmochemistry, and other minor areas from 1950 to 1976. A complete listing is given of publications, doctoral dissertations, and reports resulting from the research. A chronological list provides an overview of the activities at any particular time. (JSR)

Progress is reported on studies on the physiology of blood platelets in thrombocytopenic patients and rabbits. Methods for the detection of platelet antibodies and the preservation of platelets in vitro were investigated. Studies on the effect of low doses of x irradiation (up to 1000 R) on platelet function indicate that platelets exposed to ionizing radiation have increased functional activity. A list is included of publications that report the results of the studies in detail.