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The SIEX computer program is a steady state heat transfer code developed to provide thermal performance calculations for a mixed-oxide fuel element in a fast neutron environment. Fuel restructuring, fuel-cladding heat conduction and fission gas release are modeled to provide assessment of the temperatures. Modeling emphasis has been placed on correlations to measurable quantities from EBR-II irradiation tests and the inclusion of these correlations in a physically based computational scheme. SIEX is completely modular in construction allowing the user options for material properties and correlated models. Required code input is limited to geometric and environmental parameters, with a ``consistant`` set of material properties and correlated models provided by the code. The development of physically based correlations to model certain of the phenomana has resulted in a computer program which provides reliable estimates of thermal performance characteristics, yet requires a small amount of core storage and computer running time.

The anticipated development of advanced nuclear-radioisotope power systems has led to a reevaluation of their possible utility in earth-orbit missions of various kinds. Because such missions almost always have the option of using solar-power, a decision for nuclear power will have to be based on clear economic grounds, in most cases. However, the economic evaluation must be based on overall system factors, not on power-system cost comparisons alone. On this basis, the advanced nuclear systems can be justified for many operational missions. Examples to be discussed include synchronous-orbit commercial communications satellites and inclined-orbit navigation satellites. There is a duplicate copy

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The elastic moduli, bulk modulus, and shear modulus were measured in polycrystalline $alpha$-plutonium at pressures to 50 Kbar. An ultrasonic technique enabled measurement of both longitudinal and shear wave velocities in a girdled-piston high pressure cell. The average pressure derivatives were 14.3 and 4.3 m/s/kbar for the longitudinal and shear velocities, respectively. Bulk and shear moduli were calculated from the sound velocity data. The average pressure derivatives for the moduli were 14 and 3.5, respectively. Poisson's ratio was calculated directly from the ratio of longitudinal and shear velocities and increased from 0.17 at atmospheric pressure to 0.28 at 50 kbar. (auth)

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An intercomparison of personnel monitoring dosimeters was conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's DOSAR Facility. Ten independent laboratories and companies participated in an intercomparison of neutron and gamma-ray dosimeters used for routine personnel dosimetry. The dosimeters, which were sent through the mail, were exposed at the Health Physics Research Reactor to the same three ''standardized'' radiation fields which have been used for the past several years for intercomparing nuclear accident dosimeters. In addition, a 14-MeV neutron field was used as a fourth exposure condition. The results of the intercomparison show widely varying dose estimates. The reported values of neutron dose equivalent, for example, have standard deviations ranging from 47 to 102 percent of the mean. (auth)

A numerical method is presented which is designed to solve the Navier- Stokes equations for two-dimensional, incompressible flow. The method is intended for use on problems with high Reynolds numbers for which calculations via finite difference methods have been unattainable or unreliable. The proposed scheme is a hybrid utilizing a time-splitting finite difference method in areas away from the boundaries. In areas neighboring the boundaries, the equations of motion are solved by the newly proposed vortex method by Chorin. The major accomplishment of the new scheme is that it contains a simple way for merging the two methods at the interface of the two subdomains. The proposed algorithm is designed for use on the time-dependent equations but can be used on steady state problems as well. The method is tested on the popular, time-independent, square cavity problem, an example of a separated flow with closed streamlines. Numerical results are presented for a Reynolds number of 10$sup 3$. (auth)

In patient radiation therapy, it is important to know that the diseased area is included in the treatment field and that normal anatomy is properly shielded or excluded. Since 1969, a film technique developed for imaging of the complete patient radiation exposure has been applied for treatment verification and for the detection and evaluation of localization errors that may occur during treatment. The technique basically consists of placing a film under the patient during the entire radiation exposure. This film should have proper sensitivity and contrast in the exit dose exposure range encountered in radiotherapy. In this communication, we describe how various exit doses fit the characteristic curve of the film; examples of films exposed to various exit doses; the technique for using the film to determine the spatial distribution of the absorbed exit dose; and types of errors commonly detected. Results are presented illustrating that, as the frequency of use of this film technique is increased, localization error is reduced significantly. (auth)

Several commercial activated carbons, marketed for iodine removal in reactor off-gas cleanup systems, were evaluated for iodine penetration at elevated temperatures (4 hr at 180$sup 0$C), and the penetration data varied widely. Subsequent chemical analysis of the samples indicated a strong correlation between the atom ratio of iodine to potassium (I/K) in the carbon and the high-temperature performance data. Iodine penetration tests were also performed on several carbons in an intense gamma radiation field (greater than 10$sup 7$ rads/hr). Test data show that carbons intentionally exposed to high concentrations of DOP aerosol performed as well as unexposed carbons. Studies of the rate of evaporation of elemental iodine from aqueous solutions indicated that significant quantities of I$sub 2$ might be expected to become airborne within a short period of time (5 hr) after release to open ponds. Addition of sodium thiosulfate to the solution substantially reduced the evaporative loss of iodine; however, the effects of high-intensity radiation fields on iodine-thiosulfate solutions remain to be evaluated. Small HEPA filters containing filter media of the type used in the Savannah River confinement system were exposed to reactor building air and a high-intensity radiation field. Following this exposure, they were tested for flow performance …

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The environmental consequences of an LMFBR accident involving breach of containment are so severe that such accidents must not be allowed to happen. Present methods for analyzing hypothetical core disruptive accidents like a loss of flow with failure to scram cannot show conclusively that such accidents do not lead to a rupture of the pressure vessel. A major deficiency of present methods is their inability to follow large motions of a molten LMFBR core. Such motions may lead to a secondary supercritical configuration with a subsequent energy release that is sufficient to rupture the pressure vessel. The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory proposes to develop a computer program for describing the dynamics of hypothetical accidents. This computer program will utilize implicit Eulerian fluid dynamics methods coupled with a time-dependent transport theory description of the neutronic behavior. This program will be capable of following core motions until a stable coolable configuration is reached. Survey calculations of reactor accidents with a variety of initiating events will be performed for reactors under current design to assess the safety of such reactors. (auth)

A summary is made of a fifteen year study of chemical effects of radiation of amino acids and proteins. Included is a list of publications: 54 papers, reports and abstracts, and 10 M.S. and Ph.D theses. The report concludes with details of the final two studies done under this contract. These are, first, a study of post-irradiation effects of various gases on gamma irradiated lysozyme. This study showed that H$sub 2$S, O$sub 2$, NO, and N$sub 2$O treatment changed the amount of aggregation products, and also that a certain amount of the irradiated lysozyme was subject to main chain cleavage. The second was a study of proteins in rabbit eye lens cataracts induced by x-irradiation or a high galactose diet. The cataract proteins were more soluble in water than normal proteins, and were present in lower amounts in the eye lens. (auth)

Interrupt and command structures of a real-time system are described through specific examples. References to applications of a real-time system and programing development references are supplied. (auth)

The RAMOS operating system is capable of handling up to 72 simultaneous tasks in an interrupt-driven environment. The minimum viable hardware configuration includes a Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-15 computer with 16384 words of memory, extended arithmetic element, automatic priority interrupt, a 256K-word RS09 DECdisk, two DECtape transports, and an alphanumeric keyboard/ typer. The monitor executes major tasks by loading disk-resident modules to memory for execution; modules are written in a format that allows page-relocation by the monitor, and can be loaded into any available page. All requests for monitor service by tasks, including input/output, floating point arithmetic, request for additional memory, task initiation, etc., are implemented by privileged monitor calls (CAL). All IO device handlers are capable of queuing requests for service, allowing several tasks ''simultaneous'' use of all resources. All alphanumeric IO (including the PC05) is completely buffered and handled by a single multiplexing routine. The floating point arithmetic software is re-entrant to all operating modules and includes matrix arithmetic functions. One of the system tasks can be a ''batch'' job, controlled by simulating an alphanumeric command terminal through cooperative functions of the disk handler and alphanumeric device software. An alphanumeric control sequence may be executed, automatically accessing disk-resident …

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A basic anion resin is employed to selectively adsorb plutonium and uranium from 8 M HNO$sub 3$ solutions containing dissolved spent reactor fuels. After a few beads of the resin are equilibrated with the solution, a single bead is used for establishing the isotopic composition of plutonium and uranium. The resin bead separation essentially removes all possible isobaric interference from such elements as americium and curium and at the same time eliminates most fission product contamination in the mass spectrometer. Small aliquots of dissolver solution that contain 10$sup -6$g of U and 10$sup -8$ g of Pu are adequate for preparing about ten resin beads. By employing a single-focusing, tandem-magnet-type mass spectrometer, equipped with pulse counting for ion detection, simultaneous plutonium and uranium assays are obtained. The quantity of each element per bead may be as low as 10$sup -9$ to 10$sup -10$g. The technique of isotope dilution can be coupled with the ion exchange bead separation and used effectively for measuring the total quantity of U and Pu. The technique possesses advantages such as: reduced radiation hazards from the infinitely smaller samples, thus less shielding and transport cost for sample handling; greatly simplified chemical preparations that eliminate fission products …

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An improved method for non-traumatic and essentially noninvasive evaluation of left ventricular (LV) function with /sup 99m/Tc as the tracer was developed. This method combines previously used EKG gating techniques for cardiac blood pool visualization with new computerized acquisition, processing and display techniques. An Anger camera, a small computer, and a physiological synchronizer are used to acquire a sequence of eight scintigrams which span the entire cardiac cycle. Under our present protocol two twenty-minute sequences are obtained, one an LAO (50$sup 0$) projection, the other an RAO (30$sup 0$) projection. Subsequently these images are processed on-line with a digital filter to increase definition of the cardiac borders. The eight images are then displayed sequentially on a specially designed electronic monitor to give an impression of the beating heart somewhat analogous to that obtained with invasive contrast angiography. (auth)

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During the fourth quarter of 1974, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station was shutdown for PWR/LWBR (Pressurized Water Reactor/Light Water Breeder Reactor) Core Conversion. On December 26 while performing a cooldown, following a heat-up test, on operational incident occurred during which the cooldown rate exceeded the 10$sup 0$F/hour allowable limit. A cooldown rate of 13$sup 0$F to 14$sup 0$F/ hour was experienced for a two hour period. After an evaluation of this incident, it was concluded that no deleterious effects to the primary coolant system occurred. Defueling operations continued during the fourth quarter. (auth)

Background levels of radioactivity in the marine environment along the Pacific Coast are at present extremely low. However, these certainly will rise along with the growth of coastal populations and with the increased use of nuclear energy. It would be desirable to anticipate where and how fast concentrations of artificial radioactivities may reach unacceptable levels in coastal water. Successful prediction of this sort requires knowing how the ocean responds, in given regions, to specific inputs. Fortunately, some of the fate of a large class of radioactive pollutants that must be faced in the future may be inferred from careful studies during the past 20 years of the behavior of certain constituents of nuclear fallout that have entered the ocean along the coasts of California and Baja California. (CH)

The mineral and water resources of Nevada are summarily described in this report. Following a general description of the mineral industry and of the geology of the State as a whole, the occurrence, distribution, and relative importance of individual commodities are discussed in some detail. All mineral commodities are described that are known to occur in Nevada and that might have economic significance in the foreseeable future, whether or not they have been mined. In the description of the geology of the State, a section on economic geology describes the distribution of the metallic and nonmetallic mineral deposits both areally and with respect to the general geologic features. A knowledge of the pattern of distribution of known mineral deposits of various types is essential to the successful search for new ore bodies. A section on mineral exploration discusses the methods and problems of exploration, and also considers which commodities in Nevada offer the greatest promise of new discoveries in the future. Water resources are described rather fully in this report; water in this generally arid part of the Great Basin is vital to the economy of the State and to the well-being of its people. Sources of waterpower and geothermal …

Abstracts for 13 papers appear separately in NSA and ERA. (SDF)