The purpose of this project is to measure the intermediate and long-term durability of vitrified waste forms developed by Lockheed Idaho Technology Co. (LITCO) for the immobilization of calcined radioactive wastes at Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Two vitreous materials referred to as Formula 127 and Formula 532, have been subjected to accelerated durability tests to measure their long-term performance. Formula 127 consists of a glass matrix containing 5-10 vol % fluorite (CaF2) as a primary crystalline phase. It shows low releases of glass components to solution in 7-, 28-, 70-, and 140-day Product Consistency Tests performed at 2000 m⁻¹ at 90 C. In these tests, release rates for glass-forming components were similar to those found for durable waste glasses. The Ca and F released by the glass as it corrodes appear to re-precipitate as fluorite. Formula 532 consists of a glass matrix containing 5-10 vol % of an Al-Si-rich primary crystalline phase. The release rates for components other than aluminum are relatively low, but aluminum is released at a much higher rate than is typical for durable waste glasses. Secondary crystalline phases form relatively early during the corrosion of Formula 532 and appear to consist almost entirely of the Al-Si-rich …

This report summarizes the research performed on Maglev vehicle dynamic stability at Argonne National Laboratory during the past few years. It also documents magnetic-force data obtained from both measurements and calculations. Because dynamic instability is not acceptable for any commercial Maglev system, it is important to consider this phenomenon in the development of all Maglev systems. This report presents dynamic stability experiments on Maglev systems and compares their numerical simulation with predictions calculated by a nonlinear dynamic computer code. Instabilities of an electrodynamic system (EDS)-type vehicle model were obtained from both experimental observations and computer simulations for a five-degree-of-freedom Maglev vehicle moving on a guideway consisting of double L-shaped aluminum segments attached to a rotating wheel. The experimental and theoretical analyses developed in this study identify basic stability characteristics and future research needs of Maglev systems.

Many of Argonne National Laboratory`s (ANL`s) scientific staff members were very active in R & D work related to accelerator-based spoliation sources in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1984, the Seitz/Eastman Panel of the National Academy of Sciences reviewed U.S. materials science research facilities. One of the recommendations of this panel was that the United States build a reactor-based steady-state source, the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS), at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Subsequently, R & D activities related to the design of an accelerator-based source assumed a lower priority. The resumption of pulsed-source studies in this country started simultaneously with design activities in Europe aimed at the European Spallation Source (ESS). The European Community funded a workshop in September 1991 to define the parameters of the ESS. Participants in this workshop included both accelerator builders and neutron source users. A consortium of European countries has proposed to build a 5-MW pulsed source, and a feasibility study is currently under way. Soon after the birth of the ESS, a small group at ANL set about bringing themselves up to date on pulsed-source information since 1984 and studied the feasibility of upgrading ANL`s Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) to 1 MW by …

In the gelcasting process, a slurry of ceramic powder in a solution of organic monomers is cast in a mold. The process is different from injection molding in that it separates mold-filling from setting during conversion of the ceramic slurry to a formed green part. In this work, NMR spectroscopy and imaging have been conducted for in-situ monitoring of the gelation process and for mapping the polymerization. ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra have been obtained during polymerization of a premix of soluble reactive methacrylamide (monomer) and N, N'-methylene bisacrylamide (cross-linking molecules). The premix was polymerized by adding ammonium persulfate (initiator) and tetramethyl-ethylene-diamine (accelerator) to form long-chain, cross-linked polymers. The time-varying spin-lattice relaxation times T₁ during polymerization have been studied at 25 and 35 C, and the variation of spectra and T₁ with respect to extent of polymerization has been determined. To verify homogeneous polymerization, multidimensional NMR imaging was utilized for in-situ monitoring of the process. The intensities from the images are modeled and the correspondence shows a direct extraction of T₁ data from the images.

Monitoring continued on weight changes in marble and limestone briquettes exposed to the outdoor environment at sites in the eastern US. This report presents data for the exposure period 1988 - 1992 and summarizes results for the entire period from 1984. Since 1989, only three exposure sites have remained active, but briquettes from pre-exposed material were added at those sites. A linear relationship was found between cumulative gravimetric losses and exposure period. These losses resulted in an average recession rate of 11 to 21 micrometers/yr for marble and 21 to 45 micrometers/yr for limestone. The recession rates are site-dependent and can be described with respect to rain depth and other atmospheric conditions, as evidenced by the very low rates at the Ohio site on the movable rack, dry regime. Weight monitoring is continuing in a planned 10-year program.