Previous studies by Behrens have provided evidence of systematic behavior in neutron-induced fission cross sections in the incident neutron energy range 3 to 5 MeV. Recently measured fission cross-section ratios revealed this behavior. In this report, these measurements and those of others are used to illustrate the behavior of fission cross sections over the neutron energy range 0.1 MeV to 15 MeV. Similar trends are seen at 0.0253 eV, as revealed by thermal cross-section measurements. 12 figures.

One of the problems confronted in the investigation of environmental health and in biological research more generally is the fact that organisms often respond to combinations of treatments in ways which are not predictable from the way they respond to each of these taken separately. One air pollutant may, for example, disable the respiratory tract's self cleaning mechanisms and thereby increase its sensitivity to the effects of other pollutants. It is important that laboratory experiments be able to simultaneously detect the effects of the various possible combinations of treatments in a way that utilizes the data as effectively as possible. This paper deals with the optimal use of data from such experiments when the response variable can be regarded (possibly after undergoing a suitable transformation) as having a normal distribution with mean determined by the combination of treatments it has undergone.

The results of calculations are presented for the decay time required prior to LOFT ECCS shutdown bypass actuation following a reactor shutdown. These calculations are based on a LOCA occurring during hot shutdown which would void the core. Based on an operator response time of 20 minutes to manually establish ECC flow, the reactor decay time was calculated to prevent the fuel cladding temperature from exceeding 1100/sup 0/F. Results show that 211 hours are required following normal reactor shutdown from 55 MW reactor power before ECCS shutdown bypass actuation can be allowed if the reactor is not in cold shutdown condition. One hundred (100) seconds are required following a LOCE before ECCS shutdown bypass actuation can be allowed.

A number of mechanical and electrical measurements were made on joints in typical conductors for the proposed mirror fusion test facility (MFTF) and high field test facility (HFTF). For such measurements, a commercially available cold-pressure-welding machine was used. For joints in the MFTF conductor, which has a large proportion of superconductor, joint strength approached conductor strength. For the HFTF conductor, where the Cu-to-superconductor ratio is 4.33/1, the joint is stronger than the conductor. Electrically, the joints were not superconducting.. While the resistance is higher than might be achieved by other forms of joining, we feel that the cold-weld joint has the advantages of simplicity, speed, reliability, and reproducibility. This makes the method attractive for MFTF, where resistance losses will be small compared with the total 4 K refrigeration requirements.

Several contemporary proton-recoil detectors are described and compared. These detectors have been used for neutron-spectrum measurements over various portions of the 10-keV-to-20-MeV energy range. Several factors which limit the accuracy of the results are compared quantitatively. General suggestions are given for setting and using standard cross sections and for future developments using the n,p scattering reaction.

During FY76 Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) continued its development of niobium tin (Nb/sub 3/Sn) conductors and its design support for the mirror fusion test facility (MFTF) superconducting magnet. Three highlights came from within the Laboratory. LLL completed its cryogenic tensile-test apparatus for NB/sub 3/Sn strain measurements. Over at MFTF, engineers ordered 2100 m of prototype material for a 1-m test coil. People at the high-field test facility (HFTF) released some components for fabrication; delivery was scheduled for early FY77. Outside LLL several subcontractors advanced Nb/sub 3/Sn manufacturing technology. One advance, in particular, improved conductor current densities at 12 T.

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.

Work performed since the last Workshop meeting is summarized. The studies have been divided into the following sections: (1) response of albedo neutron dosimeters to low energy neutrons; (2) discussion of dose-equivalent conversion factors; (3) modification of the A-B remmeter; (4) the effect of distance from the body on the response of albedo neutron dosimeters; (5) comparison of albedo neutron dosimeter techniques; and (6) modified NAD badge for additional beta shielding and albedo neutron dosimetry.

The interest in the properties of very dense hydrogen is prompted by its abundance in Saturn and Jupiter and its importance in laser fusion studies. Furthermore, it has been proposed that the metallic form of hydrogen may be a superconductor at relatively high temperatures and/or exist in a metastable phase at ambient pressure. For ten years or more, laboratories have been developing the techniques to study hydrogen in the megabar region (1 megabar = 100 GPa). Three major approaches to study dense hydrogen experimentally have been used, static presses, shockwave compression, and magnetic compression. Static tchniques have crossed the megabar threshold in stiff materials but have not yet been convincingly successful in very compressible hydrogen. Single and double shockwave techniques have improved the precision of the pressure, volume, temperature Equation of State (EOS) of molecular hydrogen (deuterium) up to near 1 Mbar. Multiple shockwave and magnetic techniques have compressed hydrogen to several megabars and densities in the range of the metallic phase. The net result is that hydrogen becomes conducting at a pressure between 2 and 4 megabars. Hence, the possibility of making a significant amount of hydrogen into a metal in a static press remains a formidable challenge. The …

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.

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Space charge neutralization of ion beams results from plasma generated by the beam. The two dimensional flow of plasma to walls surrounding a beam is analyzed to provide spatial distributions. Negative ion beams receive particular attention; the results are applied to electron control in beams subject to post-acceleration.

Observations on the use of the SEMPEX computer code are given. The issues of proper sampling rate and total sampling interval are addressed. The effect that noise in the data has on the results and the ability of autocorrelation, truncation filtering, and the sliding-window technique to reduce these effects are also discussed. 35 figures, 24 tables.

A computer-assisted chemical modeling study of equilibria in flowing brine systems has been undertaken. Equilibria between liquid and volatile components of two-phase fluids have profound effects on such important phenomena as corrosion, scale formation, environmental quality, and the economics of energy extraction. The principal reactions considered are those involving volatiles naturally present in the fluid, including NH/sub 3/, H/sub 2/S and CO/sub 2/. A computer code is described which performs stepwise equilibrium computations at 1/sup 0/C intervals for a unit mass of fluid, between reservoir and reinjection temperatures. The data base used is the quality-temperature function for the brine, the chemical composition, and equilibrium constants for the solubility reactions of gases and dissociation of their aqueous species. Chemical changes that take place during cooling and expansion are illustrated by distribution diagrams. Although the computations were developed for application to the high-saline resource, they are not fluid or system-specific, and should be of general usefulness where a chemical composition and temperature history can be specified.

The distribution of geothermal resources in relation to the location of population centers in the U.S. is considered. Capital aspects of district heating systems are discussed. Estimates are given of distribution network capital investment as a function of population in service area. Swedish and Icelandic cost experience is taken into consideration. The need for more specific assessment of the potential for direct use of geothermal energy is cited. (JGB)

We propose to study the utilization of high-temperature (approximately 2000-2500K) process heat from fusion reactors for large-scale chemical process applications. Of particular interest is the decomposition reaction, CO/sub 2/ ..-->.. CO + /sup 1///sub 2/O/sub 2/, which at 2500K should yield approximately 60 percent conversion to CO if O/sub 2/ is partially removed through an oxide membrane. Hydrogen can be derived from CO at lower temperatures by reacting CO with steam, and C can also be derived from CO by a disproportionation into C and CO/sub 2/ at approximately 1000K. These chemicals, CO, H/sub 2/, and C, form the basis for a multitude of non-electrical energy applications in the areas of transportation, industrial processes, and residential and commercial uses. In addition to the CO/sub 2/ decomposition process, we propose to explore a variety of ideas and evaluate them for scientific and economic merit. A follow-on research and development program will be proposed if the ideas prove promising.

The tests conducted on the 1/5-scale BWR Mark I pressure suppression test facility simulate the three-dimensional transient conditions that are encountered in a wetwell pressure suppression system during a hypothetical loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). Specifically, the nitrogen (N2)-driven air clearing phase tests discussed here were performed to obtain the air/water-induced dynamic vertical load function and to determine the response of a 90/sup 0/ sector of a 360/sup 0/ torus structure.

This report summarizes our current effort and ideas toward the development of a model for the planetary boundary layer using the finite element technique. As an initial step, the finite element methodology is applied to simpler version of the boundary layer equations given by the two-dimensional, constant-property, incompressible conservation equations (Navier-Stokes equations). Solution procedures for both the steady-state and transient equations are discussed. For the transient problem, a variable time-step, trapezoid-rule algorithm with dynamic time-truncation error control is presented. The resulting system of nonlinear algebraic equations is solved by a Newton iteration procedure with a frontal solution scheme used for the linear set of equations. The need to develop a suitable linear equation solver, with respect to minimization of computer storage and execution costs, particularly for large (three-dimensional) finite element problems, is also discussed.

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 …

Efforts this past quarter were directed toward the determination of dissolution parameters in various reagents of PuO/sub 2/, PuO/sub 2/-UO/sub 2/ solid solution, and AmO/sub 2/-PuO/sub 2/. The reagents used were various concentrations of HNO/sub 3/-HF-H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/, HNO/sub 3/-HF, HNO/sub 3/-(NH/sub 4/)/sub 2/Ce(NO/sub 3/)/sub 6/, and HNO/sub 3/-H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/. In one series of tests, simulated contaminated HEPA filter media were used. This material was prepared by mixing shredded filter media with actinide oxides. In another series, actual HEPA glovebox filter media contaminated with PuO/sub 2/ were used. Fusion tests were also completed using simulated PuO/sub 2/ contaminated filter media. Both Na/sub 2/CO/sub 3/ and Na/sub 2/CO/sub 3/-KNO/sub 3/ were investigated as possible fusion agents.

Various leaching agents were tested to determine their capability for dissolving PuO/sub 2/, UO/sub 2/, and U/sub 3/O/sub 8/. The amount of radionuclides retained by the filter media was investigated. Adsorption isotherms for two leaching systems were obtained. A four-stage dissolution process was developed. 10 figures, 2 tables.

Progress is reported in the following research areas: cesium fixation in aluminosilicates and supercalcine development; low sodium wastes and high sodium wastes. Phase relations in the appropriate (for supercalcine) portion of the Cs/sub 2/O-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/-SiO/sub 2/ system are being investigated. Several compatibility lines (tie lines) have been established on the phase diagram. Methods of preparing pure single phases of CsAlSiO/sub 4/ and CsAlSi/sub 2/O/sub 6/ (pollucite) are being developed. Compatibility studies continue to be the basis of supercalcine crystalline phase formation modeling. (LK)

The tests conducted on the /sup 1///sub 5/-scale BWR Mark I pressure suppression test facility simulate the three-dimensional transient conditions that are encountered in a wetwell pressure suppression system during a hypothetical loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). Specifically, the nitrogen (N/sub 2/)-driven air clearing phase tests discussed were performed to obtain the air/water-induced dynamic vertical load function and to determine the response of a 90/sup 0/ sector of a 360/sup 0/ torus structure.

This report provides information about the Federal laws relating to the unequal treatment of handicapped persons.