Friable cinder rock was examined by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (SEM/ED). The technique consisted of impregnating the rock with epoxy resin and then locating porosity sites by the presence of epoxy. The resin was identified in the sample by correlating beam damage and elemental analysis by x-ray fluorescence (ED) with a characteristic phase in the SEM image. Analyses of this type should be useful in interpreting experiments designed to simulate in situ retorting.

None

A survey of various coal gasification and liquefaction processes was carried out to determine the information needs of each process with respect to: physical properties, chemical properties, thermodynamic properties and transport properties of materials involved in the processes and also with respect to the engineering type data needed. (LTN)

This report covers all nondestructive development effort on the Roll Control Program for the period June 1, 1976 through December 15, 1976. Information previously reported will be re-presented here and appropriately updated. The samples consist of solid propellant and composites of propellant and inhibitor that are currently being examined in the accelerated aging and shelf life prediction studies of materials involved in the B-77 Roll Control Program.

This paper presents data for 20 potential liquid-dominated hydrothermal resources postulated for development in the 1977-1990 timeframe and analyzes the needs for their development. The paper comprises a summary of the needs identified followed by 20 individual data files, one for each site. The paper is directed towards deriving implications from site-specific analyses of postulated development. The areas covered by the analysis include land leasing and major site-specific development milestones, technology R&D, and economics. The individual reservoir-specific data and development analysis files contain data on the physical, geological and geothermal characteristics of each site, the estimated development schedule (with major milestones), and projected economics. [DJE-2005]

This report summarizes a collection of, synthesis of, and speculation on the geophysical and geochemical models of the earth's stable shields and rift zones. Two basic crustal types, continental and oceanic, and two basic mantle types, stable and unstable, are described. It is pointed out that both the crust and upper mantle play a strongly interactive role with surface geological phenomena ranging from the occurrence of mountains, ocean trenches, oceanic and continental rifts to geographic distributions of earthquakes, faults, and volcanoes. On the composition of the mantle, there is little doubt regarding the view that olivine constitutes a major fraction of the mineralogy of the earth's upper mantle. Studies are suggested to simulate the elasticity and composition of the earth's lower crust and upper mantle.

Information related to sodium fires and fission products in LMFBR type reactors is presented concerning SOMIX code development; sodium jet dispersal tests; aerosol leakage; high temperature-concentration aerosol tests; aerosol source term size; and properties of high temperature fuel mixtures.

Six major problem areas have surfaced in the past twenty-five years concerning the use of plutonium tankage. The most significant of these involves the use of borosilicate glass as a neutron absorber. Approximately thirty recommendations and criteria resulted from a study of these problem areas. Not all of the criteria and recommendations are unanimously supported by all members of the committee. The committee agrees that problem areas that can be handled on a short-term basis are being pursued expeditiously. Most of the criteria presented will apply to new tankage to be installed. The committee also noted fourteen accomplishments in the last 1/sup 1///sub 2/ years directed to the application of the criteria.

The OF-2 irradiation experiment was designed and built to test candidate High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) fuel and fuel-rod matrix designs. The capsule was designed with two separate specimen cells, allowing for independent temperature control as well as independent fission gas release measurements. The OF-2 capsule is presently operating at the Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR). Initial fuel rod linear heat rates are between 16.4 and 23.0 kW/m (5 and 7 kW/ft) and fuel centerline temperatures are approximately 1150 and 1350/sup 0/C. Plans are to operate the capsule for nine ORR cycles to accumulate a maximum damage fluence of 9 x 10/sup 21/ neutrons/cm/sup 2/ (E > 0.18 MeV).

The report discusses the current status of liquid-metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) development and one of the principal safety issues, a hypothetical core-disruptive accident (HCDA). Bibliographic information on worldwide LMFBRs relative to the development of the breeder reactor as a safe source of nuclear power is presented for the period 1972 through 1974. The bibliography consists of approximately 1380 abstracts covering research and development and operating experiences leading up to the present design practices that are necessary for the licensing of breeder reactors. Key-word, author, and permuted-title indexes are included.

This index to Nuclear Safety covers articles in Nuclear Safety Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan.-Feb. 1970), through Vol. 17, No. 6 (Nov.-Dec. 1976). The index includes a chronological list of articles (including abstract) followed by KWIC and Author Indexes. Nuclear Safety, a bimonthly technical progress review prepared by the Nuclear Safety Information Center, covers all safety aspects of nuclear power reactors and associated facilities. The index lists over 350 technical articles in the last six years of publication.

A Tektronix-31 (Tektronix Inc. Beaverton, Oregon) desk top calculator program, which is used as a backup to the PDP-8/I computer program, is described. The program yields interplanar (d) spacings and (2theta) angle values from measurements made on an x-ray diffraction film of a powdered sample of a crystalline material. Use of the calculator provides accurate computations in a relatively rapid time interval when the PDP-8/I is not functioning because of downtime for repairs, maintenance, etc.

None

The principal aim of the National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) program is to develop repositories in several different rock formations in various parts of the country. Rocks such as salt, shale, limestone, and granite may qualify as host media for the disposition of radioactive wastes in the proper environments. In general, the only requirement for any rock formation or storage area is that it be able to contain any emplaced wastes for so long as it takes for the radioactive materials to decay to innocuous levels. This requirement, though, is a formidable one because some of the wastes will remain active for periods of hundreds of thousands of years and because the physical and chemical properties of rocks that govern circulating ground water and, hence, the containment may be difficult to determine and define. Rock salt has long been regarded as the most favored geologic medium for the containment of radioactive wastes in the United States. This stems largely from the plastic behavior of salt, which promotes self-healing and otherwise makes it impermeable to circulating ground water. Other important advantages of salt include its wide distribution, ease of mining, and favorable heat dissipation characteristics. In addition to the salt domes …

Concepts of the range of investigation of a borehole gravimeter are reviewed. It is shown that the maximum sensitivity to a mass point at a horizontal distance R from a borehole occurs at a vertical distance Z = R/..sqrt..2. Thus, the angle of maximum sensitivity is about 55/sup 0/ from the vertical. It is also shown that the absolute value of the gravitational effect decreases with increasing R. There are two maxima of the vertical gradient of gravity (at Z = 0 and at Z = ..sqrt../sup 3///sub 2/ R). The minimum distance required between gravimeter stations to obtain a usable measurement can be determined. The slab radius R for which the gravitational effect of a horizontal slab is equal to 45%, 90%, etc., of that of an infinite horizontal slab is a function of the measurement spacing. The closer the measurement spacing, the more information obtained.

A drywell pressurization test was conducted at LLL on February 1, 1977, as part of the NRC /sup 1///sub 5/ scale pressure suppression experiment. A series of four test runs were completed with predicted initial drywell pressurization rates of 14.0, 18.6, 23.0, and 26.0 psi/sec (96.5, 128, 159, and 179 kPa/sec). Each test run consisted of charging various combinations of bottles with nitrogen under high pressure, evacuating the drywell to /sup 1///sub 5/ atmosphere, and opening a valve between the two to allow quick pressurization of the drywell. The pressure-time signatures of all four test runs were in excellent agreement with predicted results made through (1) a computer model developed at LLL and (2) the CONTEMPT-LT computer code which was run by E.G. and G. at the I.N.E.L. Based on the results of the test, only very minor adjustments will be made for the upcoming nitrogen tests with the drywell and toroidal wetwell system linked together.

The tritium effluent control project to reduce emissions at Mound Laboratory and its application to liquid wastes are described. Research progress reported includes increasing the power of the Nd:YAG laser for detritiating voluminous wastes by molecular photoexcitation, and analysis of gas produced from tritiated water and octane. (DLC)

The following properties for the hydrogens from 4 to 30/sup 0/K are reviewed: liquid-gas and solid-gas vapor pressures, triple-point values, virial coefficients, liquid and solid densities, and heats of transformation. We have correlated these properties with as much consistency as the data allow. Empirical equations are given for virial coefficients and densities. Clausius-Clapeyron equations relate vapor pressure and temperature with the other properties. Data are frequently available with H/sub 2/ and D/sub 2/ and are sometimes available for HD and T/sub 2/. We have, therefore, estimated HT and DT values to complete the set. We have also reviewed work on binary H-D mixtures and have estimated the expected behavior for H-T and D-T systems.

Exploratory hole Ue5n was drilled to a depth of 514 m in central Frenchmam Flat, Nevada Test Site, as part of a program sponsored by the Nuclear Monitoring Office (NMO) of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to determine the geologic and geophysical parameters of selected locations with anomalous seismic signals. The specific goal of drilling Ue5n was to provide the site characteristics for emplacement sites U5b and U5e. We present here data on samples, geophysical logs, lithology and stratigraphy, and depth to the water table. From an analysis of the measurements of the physical properties, a set of recommended values is given.

The principal objectives of this study were (1) to assess the potential for wind energy conversion systems on a national scale, (2) identify high-potential applications for WECS, (3) define functional, performance, operational, and cost goals for WECS, (4) evaluate the impact of the wide-scale deployment of WECS on energy users, and (5) identify the institutional and non-technical problems associated with the acceptance of wind energy systems. The study concentrated on broad applications of WECS over large geographic areas encompassing the entire United States. Emphasis was placed on identifying and exploring high-aggregate energy users who have significant potential to utilize wind energy in place of other alternatives.

Information is presented concerning meteorological data and supporting analyses, gross energy consumption patterns and end-use analysis, analysis for industrial applications of wind energy conversion systems (WECS), analysis for residential applications of WECS, analysis for application of WECS to communities remote from utility grids, analysis for agricultural applications of WECS, regional evaluation of the economics of wind turbine generation to the U. S. electric utility district, impact of storage on WECS, financial analysis techniques, and system spacing.

The development of wind energy systems in the U.S. is discussed under the following headings: baseline power systems; assessment of wind potential; identification of high potential applications; electric utilities; residential application; paper industry application; agriculture application; and remote community applications.

A portable computing gamma spectrometer has been constructed and environmentally tested. It functions properly after undergoing both a 150-mm drop test and a 1.5-g vibratory sweep test at 263/sup 0/K. The drop height represents the level beyond which at least partial failure results. The unit is unaffected by thermal cycling but is somewhat sensitive to thermal shock. It is mounted in a waterproof container.

The Memory Map Unit (MMU) provides the capability for an Interdata 7/16 computer with High Speed Arithmetic Logic Unit (HSALU) to operate with up to 256K bytes of memory (1K = 1024). Memory addresses, consisting of 16 bits, are mapped into 18 bits whenever a memory cycle occurs. Mapping occurs by 1K pages; selectable low-address areas are not mapped. 4 figures.