The solar desiccant air conditioner (SODAC) system and its operation are described, including the characteristics of the major components, the performance at design conditions, and the control schemes for optimum operation in various climates. The system uses granular silica gel as a desiccant. It may operate in either a recirculated mode (no air exchange between the outside and the conditioned space) or a ventilated mode (air exchanged between outside and conditioned space). The test data in the ventilated mode at design flow rates are presented. Data include outdoor and indoor inlet wet and dry bulb temperatures, indoor outlet dry and wet bulb temperatures, capacity, coefficient of performance, air flow rates, hot water temperature, and solar heat used. The effects of indoor, outdoor, and hot water temperatures on the capacity and coefficient of performance are shown graphically, and the recirculated and ventilated modes, performances are compared. (LEW)

Nuclear reactor safety rod release apparatus comprises a ring which carries detents normally positioned in an annular recess in outer side of the rod, the ring being held against the lower end of a drive shaft by magnetic force exerted by a solenoid carried by the drive shaft. When the solenoid is de-energized, the detent-carrying ring drops until the detents contact a cam surface associated with the lower end of the drive shaft, at which point the detents are cammed out of the recess in the safety rod to release the rod from the drive shaft. In preferred embodiments of the invention, an additional latch is provided to release a lower portion of a safety rod under conditions that may interfere with movement of the entire rod.

A project team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been developing inspection procedures and training materials for the NRC inspectors of safeguards systems at licensed nuclear facilities. This paper describes (1) procedures developed for inspecting for compliance with the Code of Federal Regulations, (2) training materials for safeguards inspectors on technical topics related to safeguards systems, such as computer surety, alarm systems, sampling techniques, and power supplies, and (3) an inspector-oriented methodology for evaluating the overall effectiveness of safeguards systems.

Transport in present day Spheromaks is dominated by impurity radiation. Fortunately, this is largely from oxygen and carbon, not metal vapor from the walls of the vessel on plasma guns and it is expected this loss can be eliminated by improved technique. The formation and gross MHD stability properties of these plasmas are quite well understood and so the reactor predictions depend on estimates of the energy loss rates from the plasma. In the absence of significant experimental data one is driven to consider other related devices. Tokamaks show classical ion transport, scaling with 1/B/sup 2/, but anomalous electron transport which is very insensitive to magnetic field, the well known Alcator scaling. The scaling of the Spheromak to a reactor size still produces favorable Q values with these pessimistic results. The reactor is small, with power output in the 10 to 50 MW range, but this could be deployed as a multiple unit power station, with good reliability due to the duplication, or as a small power unit for a ship or remote site. It also makes an attractive test reactor for the near term.

Test planning and test preparation for LLTR Series II Test A-5 are continuing at GE and ETEC. The main objective for this test is to obtain data on the type and magnitude of steam tube blowout failures resulting from worst case leak conditions under the superheater hot standby condition (i.e., the plant condition considered most susceptible to steam tube blowout failures from wastage/overheating). A corollary objective is to add large quantities of steam (i.e. approx. 330 lbs) to simulate the amount that could be added in a plant system (such as CRBRP) before pressure would build up in the intermediate Heat Transport System to blow the expansion tank rupture disc. This report recommends the preferred method for operating the LLTR primary/secondary steam systems for Test A-5. i.e., Option 5 - Common Supply Tanks for Primary and Secondary Systems.

A system is provided which employs a modified gamma thermometer for determining the liquid coolant level within a nuclear reactor core. The gamma thermometer which normally is employed to monitor local core heat generation rate (reactor power), is modified by thermocouple junctions and leads to obtain an unambiguous indication of the presence or absence of coolant liquid at the gamma thermometer location. A signal processor generates a signal based on the thermometer surface heat transfer coefficient by comparing the signals from the thermocouples at the thermometer location. The generated signal is a direct indication of loss of coolant due to the change in surface heat transfer when coolant liquid drops below the thermometer location. The loss of coolant indication is independent of reactor power at the thermometer location. Further, the same thermometer may still be used for the normal power monitoring function.

Significant progress has been made in the design and development of remotely operated breeder reactor fuel fabrication and support systems (e.g., analytical chemistry). These activities are focused by the Secure Automated Fabrication (SAF) Program sponsored by the Department of Energy to provide: a reliable supply of fuel pins to support US liquid metal cooled breeder reactors and at the same time demonstrate the fabrication of mixed uranium/plutonium fuel by remotely operated and automated methods.

Isolated bulk damage centers are produced when KDP crystals are irradiated by 1-ns 1064-nm pulses. We have tested about 100 samples and find the median threshold to be 7 J/cm/sup 2/ when the samples are irradiated only once at each test volume (1-on-1 tests). The median threshold increased to 11 J/cm/sup 2/ when the test volumes were first subjected to subthreshold laser irradiation (n-on-1 tests). We baked several crystals at temperatures from 110 to 165/sup 0/C and remeasured their thresholds. Baking increased thresholds in some crystals, but did not change thresholds of others. The median threshold of baked crystals ranged from 8 to 10 J/cm/sup 2/ depending on the baking temperature. In crystals that had been baked, subthreshold irradiation produced a large change in the bulk damage threshold, and reduced the volume density of damage centers relative to the density observed in unbaked crystals. The data are summarized in the table.

The simultaneous production of helium from (n,..cap alpha..) reactions and atomic displacement damage by energetic neutrons in reactor structural alloys is expected to have a strong influence on their irradiation response for first wall and structural applications in fusion power reactors. Charged particle bombardment offers the possibility of assessing the phenomenology and mechanisms of microstructural evolution in a wide range of materials exposed to simultaneous helium injection and creation of atomic displacement damage by a second ion beam. In this program two ion accelerators have been used to simultaneously focus a beam of helium ions and a second ion beam on targets of selected reactor structural alloys. The resulting microstructural changes have been studied for systematic variations in damage rate, irradiation temperature, fluence and appm helium/dpa ratio and compared and correlated with results from companion fission reactor and high energy neutron irradiation studies conducted elsewhere in the DOE program.

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets are made as simple flat discs, as hollow shells or as complicated multilayer structures. Many techniques have been devised for producing the targets. Glass and metal shells are made by using drop and bubble techniques. Solid hydrogen shells are also produced by adapting old methods to the solution of modern problems. Some of these techniques, problems and solutions are discussed. In addition, the applications of many of the techniques to fabrication of ICF targets is presented.

The filter-fluorescer spectrometer (FFS) is a powerful tool for measuring x-ray spectrum from high fluence x-ray sources. However, this technique is limited to energies less than 120 keV, because there are no practical absorption edges available above this energy. In this paper, we present a new method of utilizing the filter-fluorescer system for x-ray spectral measurement above 120 keV. The new apparatus is called hyper-filter-fluorescer spectrometer (HFFS).

In laser fusion, such as with the NOVA under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the D-T reaction is expected to be complete within 100 ps. It is important to measure the time-dependence of the neutron flux from the fusion target. We describe the design of a new neutron detector of 20 ps resolving time that can be used to study the history of fusion burn.

Amplification of a longitudinal perturbation of an ion pulse in a linear induction accelerator is calculated. The simplified accelerator model consists only of an applied field (E/sub a/), distributed gap impedance per meter (R) and beam-pipe capacity per meter (C). The beam is treated as a cold, one-dimensional fluid. It is found that normal mode frequencies are nearly real, with only a very small damping rate proportional to R. This result is valid for a general current profile and is not restricted to small R. However, the mode structure exhibits spatial amplification from pulse head to tail by the factor exp(RCLv/sub o//2), where L is pulse length and v/sub 0/ is drift velocity. This factor is very large for typical HIF parameters. An initially small disturbance, when expanded in terms of the normal modes, is found to oscillate with maximum amplitude proportional to the amplification factor.

Results of the synthesis of SYNROC C from both high surface area (16m/sup 2//g) and low surface area (4m/sup 2//g) powders at low and high oxygen fugacities indicate variations in radionuclide distribution. These results are most striking for the partitioning of uranium between perovskite and zirconolite. In highly active powders, the formation of a pyrochlore precursor ensures that equilibrium partitioning is approached. In less active powders, no low temperature pyrochlore is formed. As a result, the uranium partitioning is a function of nucleation processes. At high oxygen fugacities, uranium is rejected from perovskite and an additional uranium rich phase is formed precluding the synthesis of SYNROC C in air.

The main focus of the research efforts presently underway is the LWR power reactor surveillance program in which metallurgical test specimens of the reactor PV and dosimetry sensors are placed in three or more surveillance capsules at or near the reactor PV inner wall. They are then irradiated in a temperature and neutron flux-spectrum environment as similar as possible to the PV itself for periods of about 1.5 to 15 effective full-power years (EFPY), with removal of the last capsule at a fluence corresponding to the 30- to 40-year plant end-of-life (EOL) fluence. Because the neutron flux level at the surveillance position is greater than at the vessel, the test is accelerated wit respect to the vessel exposure, allowing early assessment of EOL conditions.

The influence of hydrogen on fatigue life of niobium and vanadium is described. In tests carried out under stress control conditions on unnotched material hydrogen extends fatigue life of both metals. However, in stress controlled tests on notched bars and in strain control tests on unnotched bars hydrogen is detrimental to fatigue life. Hydrided alloys are much more sensitive to notches than are the unalloyed metals. Frequency effects on fatigue life also are much more severe in hydrided alloys, lower frequency leading to shorter life. The results of delayed failure, creep tests and elevated temperature fatigue tests also are reported. Niobium and vanadium reveal reduced fatigue lives at elevated temperatures for tests carried out in vacuum. The results of limited hold time and low frequency tests on strain controlled fatigue life also are reported. Increasing hold time increases fatigue life of niobium in the range 450 to 650/sup 0/C. Fractographic features change from striations in unalloyed metals to cleavage in the hydrided alloys tested at room temperature.

The design of air-insulated cables, which meet strict requirements, is described. Inductance, heat transfer, and electrostatic computer codes are used in design. Tests include electric circiut parameters, dc voltage holdoff, impulse voltage holdoff, heat rise at greater than peak duty, and shield mechanical strength.

The current state-of-the-art in neutron personnel dosimetry is reviewed. Topics covered include dosimetry needs and alternatives, current dosimetry approaches, personnel monitoring devices, calibration strategies, and future developments. (ACR)

The objective of the proposed research is to evaluate hypersaline brines from geothermal sources and salt domes as possible sources for some strategic metals. This research is suggested because several previous analyses of brine from geothermal wells in the Imperial Valley, California, and from Gulf Coast salt domes, indicate near commercial values for platinum as well as other metals (i.e., gold, silver). Extraction of the platinum should be technically feasible. A research program should include more complete systematic sampling and analysis for resource delineation, followed by bench-scale investigation of several potential extraction processes. This could be followed by engineering feasibility and design studies, for extraction of the metals either as a by-product of other operations or in a stand-alone process.

An iron active electrode and method of preparing same in which iron sulfate is calcined in an oxidizing atmosphere at a temperature in the range of from about 600/sup 0/C to about 850/sup 0/C for a time sufficient to produce an iron oxide with a trace amount of sulfate are described. The calcined material is loaded into an electrically conductive support and then heated in a reducing atmosphere at an elevated temperature to produce activated iron having a trace amount of sulfide which is formed into an electrode plate.

Progress is reported in research designed to evaluate benefits associated with control of the surface energetic properties of materials used in heat exchangers; and to identify preferred ranges of these surface conditions that minimize deposits of biological fouling known to deteriorate heat exchange efficiencies in seawater, brackish water and freshwater systems. The technical approach employed uses special diagnostic plates in novel flow cells where fluid flow conditions can be well-controlled, modifying the surface chemistry and surface energy of the plates with very thin coatings and examining the earliest events of biofouling caused by macromolecules and microbial organisms. An aquarium system described previously was equilibrated and some initial exposure experiments were carried out. Six silane compounds were used to coat germanium plates for coating viability experiments.

Oxygen-enriched operation of the PDU was initiated on April 1, 1981. Eleven oxygen enriched gasmaking tests were made during the month. These tests were interrupted upon eight occasions by slag tap pluggage or imminent pluggage. Direction was received from both contract sponsoring agencies (DOE and EPRI) changing the priority of April's testing from shakedown and parametric oxygen-enriched testing to running a 15 to 20 day sustained operations test. This test was begun during the month, but not successfully completed owing to the tap hole pluggage problems. Iron reduced from the slag due to the low oxygen concentration in this region is the most obvious explanation for the tap hole pluggages.

The results are reported of a technical evaluation of alternate fuels for the proposed oil and natural gas fired No. 3 boiler at the Minnegasco Energy Center (MEC) located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This report has been prepared for the Department of Energy, Office of Fuels Conversion for their use in considering an alternate fuel exemption petition submitted by MEC. The fuels considered for the proposed boiler include oil, natural gas, bituminous coal, petroleum coke/coal mixture, refuse-derived fuel (RDF), coal-oil mixtures, and coal/oil dual fuel fired. The purchase of steam from the Northern States Power Company (NSPCo) was also considered as an alternative to construction of another boiler at MEC. Evaluation of each fuel included review of the overall plant design, estimates of capital and O and M costs, salvage value, useful life, and quantities of solid waste produced. The MEC supplies steam and chilled water to the downtown Minneapolis area for building heating and cooling using two presently owned and operated 200,000 lb/h oil/natural gas fired boilers. If the proposed boiler is permitted to burn oil and natural gas, it will be identical in design to the existing boilers. The evaluation showed that the use of oil, natural gas, coal, …

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) authorized DOE to implement an energy-conservation program for major household consumer products. Included in this legislation is a mandate to establish minimum energy-efficiency standards for each type or class of covered consumer product. In order to assure compliance by all manufacturers, procedures must be developed and implemented to permit DOE to verify that each manufacturer's products meet or exceed the prescribed efficiency standard. Vitro Laboratories performed analysis to assist DOE in developing a Certification/Enforcement Program for Consumer-Product Efficiency Standards meeting the requirements of EPCA. The specific work performed was defined by three tasks under the orginal contract and five tasks under a subsequent modification of the contract. Each task is described.