Newsletter issued by the Advisory Council for Technical-Vocational Education in Texas discussing news, events, and other relevant information related to technical and vocational education for adults in Texas.

This paper describes a quantitative approach to help evaluate and respond to safeguards alarms. These alarms may be generated internally by a facility's safeguards systems or externally by individuals claiming to have stolen special nuclear material (SNM). This approach can be used to identify the most likely cause of an alarm - theft, hoax, or error - and to evaluate alternative responses to alarms. Possible responses include conducting investigations, initiating measures to recover stolen SNM, and replying to external threats. Based on the results of each alarm investigation step, the evaluation revises the likelihoods of possible causes of an alarm, and uses this information to determine the optimal sequence of further responses. The choice of an optimal sequence of responses takes into consideration the costs and benefits of successful thefts or hoaxes. These results provide an analytical basis for setting priorities and developing contingency plans for responding to safeguards alarms.

An impurity-driven drift wave is observed to be destabilized by the reversed density gradient of a singly-ionized heavy-impurity-ion population in a Q-machine plasma. The evolution of the instability is investigated as it progresses from the initial linear exponential growth phase, into a nonlinear saturated state, whereupon strong radially outward anomalous diffusion is observed. The relationship between the anomalous diffusion coefficient and the wave amplitude is in agreement with estimates obtained from the nonlinear drift-wave turbulence theory of Dupree.

The results of a literature survey on the stability of excavated hard rock caverns are presented. The objective of the study was to develop geotechnical criteria for the design of compressed air energy storage (CAES) caverns in hard rock formations. These criteria involve geologic, hydrological, geochemical, geothermal, and in situ stress state characteristics of generic rock masses. Their relevance to CAES caverns, and the identification of required research areas, are identified throughout the text. This literature survey and analysis strongly suggests that the chief geotechnical issues for the development and operation of CAES caverns in hard rock are impermeability for containment, stability for sound openings, and hydrostatic balance.

Discussing uranium occurrences in the San Antonio Quadrangle

Discussing chemical analyses and rock-sample analyses of the San Antonio Quadrangle

Discussing occurrences of uranium in the San Antonio Quadrangle

Discussing gamma-ray well logs from the San Antonio Quadrangle

We find criteria on the cooling system to minimize effects of RF stacking on the cooling tail.

Four manifestations of charm have been observed in photoproduction at Fermilab so far. These four are: (1) multimuon indications of the total charm cross section and observations of (2) psi and psi', (3) D/sup 0/ and D* and (4) ..lambda../sub c/. The relevant photoproduction experiments in the search for charm at Fermilab are the broad band neutral beam experiments by a Columbia-Fermilab-Illinois (CFI) collaboration, the Tagged Photon Beam experiment by the TPS collaboration and the muon beam experiment with an active iron target by the Berkeley-Fermilab-Princeton (BFP) collaboration.

The 1977 version of the Simpson-Puls-Dutton model appears to be the most amenable with respect to utilizing known or readily estimated quantities. The Pardee-Paton model requires extensive calculations involving estimated quantities. Recent observations by Koike and Suzuki on vanadium support the general assumption that crack growth in hydride forming metals is determined by the rate of hydride formation, and their hydrogen atmosphere-displacive transformation model is of potential interest in explaining hydrogen embrittlement in ferrous alloys as well as hydride formers. The discontinuous nature of cracking due to hydrogen embrittlement appears to depend very strongly on localized stress intensities, thereby pointing to the role of microstructure in influencing crack initiation, fracture mode and crack path. The initiation of hydrogen induced failures over relatively short periods of time can be characterized with fair reliability using measurements of the threshold stress intensity. The experimental conditions for determining K/sub Th/ and ..delta..K/sub Th/ are designed to ensure plane strain conditions in most cases. Plane strain test conditions may be viewed as a conservative basis for predicting delayed failure. The physical configuration of nuclear waste canisters may involve elastic/plastic conditions rather than a state of plane strain, especially with thin-walled vessels. Under these conditions, alternative …

Highlights of the Chemical Engineering (CEN) Division's activities during 1981 are presented. In this period, CEN conducted research and development in the following areas: rechargeable lithium-alloy/iron sulfide batteries for electric vehicles and other applications, aqueous batteries--improved lead-acid, nickel/zinc, and nickel/iron--for electric vehicles, as well as advanced lead-acid batteries for electric.-utility load leveling, energy-efficient industrial electrochemical processes, molten carbonate fuel cells for use by electric utilities, coal technology, mainly fluidized-bed combustion of coal in the presence of an SO2 sorbent of limestone, heat- and seed-recovery technology for open-cycle magnetohydrodynamic systems.

Research programs from the following sections and programs are summarized: aquatic ecology, environmental resources, earth sciences, terrestrial ecology, advanced fossil energy program, toxic substances program, environmental impacts program, biomass, low-level waste research and development program, US DOE low-level waste management program, and waste isolation program.

Results of reconnaissance surveys of the Charlottesville quadrangle to determine the likelihood of uranium deposits of the area, and additional information about the location and classification of any deposits.

A comparison between the analytic formulae of Shafranov for equilibrium in axisymmetric toroidal reversed field pinch (RFP) systems and fully toroidal numerical solutions of the Grad-Shafranov equation is presented as a function of poloidal beta, internal plasma inductance, and aspect ratio. The Shafranov formula for the equilibrium poloidal field distribution is accurate to within 5% for aspect ratios greater than 2, poloidal betas less than 50%, and for plasma current channels that exceed one-third of the minor toroidal radius. The analytic description for the center shift of the innermost flux surface that encloses the plasma current (the Shafranov shift) is accurate to within 15% for aspect ratios greater than 2 and poloidal betas below 50%, provided the shift does not exceed one-tenth of the minor conducting boundary radius. The behavior of the magnetic axis shift as a function of plasma parameters is included. The Shafranov formulae provide a convenient method for describing the equilibrium behavior of an RFP discharge. Examples illustrating the application of the analytic formulae to the Los Alamos ZT-40M RFP experiment are given.

The release prevention systems of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal were analyzed. A series of potential release scenarios were analyzed to determine the frequency of the release events, the probability these releases are not stopped or isolated by emergency shutdown systems, the estimated release quantities, and the critical components of the system. The two plant areas identified as being most significant with respect to safety are the unloading system and the storage system. Rupture of the main transfer line and gross failure of the storage tanks are the two release scenarios of primary safety interest. Reducing the rate of failure by improved design, better maintenance and testing, or adding redundancy of the critical system components for these plant areas and release scenarios will result in improved safety. Several design alternatives which have the potential to significantly reduce the probability of a large release of LNG occurring at an import terminal are identified. These design alternatives would reduce the probability of a large release of LNG by reducing the expected number of failures which could cause a release or by reducing the magnitude of releases that do occur. All of these alternatives are technically feasible and have been used or …

The primary motivation for conversion of MFTF-B to an axicell configuration lies in its engineering promise as a reactor geometry based on circular high-magnetic-field coils. In comparing this configuration to the previous A-cell geometry, we find a number of differences that might significantly affect the physics performance. The purpose of the present document is to examine those features and to assess their impact on the performance of the axicell, as compared to the A-cell configuration, for MFTF-B. In so doing, we address only those issues thought to be affected by the change in geometry and refer to the original report Physics Basis for MFTF-B, for discussion of those issues thought not to be affected. In Sec. 1, we summarize these physics issues. In Sec. 2, we describe operating scenarios in the new configuration. In the Appendices, we discuss those physics issues that require more detailed treatment.

This volume includes a series of four exhibits relating to impacts of impingement on fish populations, together with a collection of critical evaluations of testimony prepared for the utilities by their consultants. The first exhibit is a quantitative evaluation of four sources of bias (collection efficiency, reimpingement, impingement on inoperative screens, and impingement survival) affecting estimates of the number of fish killed at Hudson River power plants. The two following exhibits contain, respectively, a detailed assessment of the impact of impingement on the Hudson River white perch population and estimates of conditional impingement mortality rates for seven Hudson River fish populations. The fourth exhibit is an evaluation of the engineering feasibility and potential biological effectiveness of several types of modified intake structures proposed as alternatives to cooling towers for reducing impingement impacts. The remainder of Volume II consists of critical evaluations of the utilities' empirical evidence for the existence of density-dependent growth in young-of-the-year striped bass and white perch, of their estimate of the age-composition of the striped bass spawning stock in the Hudson River, and of their use of the Lawler, Matusky, and Skelly (LMS) Real-Time Life Cycle Model to estimate the impact of entrainment and impingement on the …

The theory, structure, and operation of the code are described. Mathematical details of equilibrium subroutiones for slab, bumpy torus, and tokamak plasma geometry are presented. Wave dispersion and absorption subroutines are presented for frequencies ranging from ion cyclotron frequency to electron cyclotron frequency. Graphics postprocessors for RAYS output data are also described.

Well leak tests and a cavern pressure test were conducted in June and July 1981 and indicated that oil leakage from the cavern is unlikely to exceed the DOE criterion if oil is stored at near atmospheric wellhead brine pressures and higher pressures are only used for short periods of oil fill and withdrawal. The data indicate that cavern structural failure during oil storage is unlikely and that there was no leakage from cavern 6 to the adjacent cavern 7. Because of the proximity of cavern 6 to cavern 7, it is recommended that a similar type of oil be stored in these two caverns.

Nitric acid is universally used in aqueous fuel element reprocessing plants; however, in the processing scheme being developed by the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program, some of the equipment will be exposed to nitric acid under conditions not previously encountered in fuel element reprocessing plants. A previous report presented corrosion data obtained in hyperazeotropic nitric acid and in concentrated magnesium nitrate solutions used in its preparation. The results presented in this report are concerned with the following: (1) corrosion of titanium in nitric acid; (2) corrosion of nickel-base alloys in a nitric acid-hydrofluoric acid solution; (3) the formation of Cr(VI), which enhances corrosion, in nitric acid solutions; and (4) corrosion of mechanical pipe connectors in nitric acid. The results show that the corrosion rate of titanium increased with the refreshment rate of boiling nitric acid, but the effect diminished rapidly as the temperature decreased. The addition of iodic acid inhibited attack. Also, up to 200 ppM of fluoride in 70% HNO/sub 3/ had no major effect on the corrosion of either titanium or tantalum. In boiling 8 M HNO/sub 3/-0.05 M HF, Inconel 671 was more resistant than Inconel 690, but both alloys experienced end-grain attack. In the case of Inconel …

Energy supply disruptions do not suddenly arise in a full-blown fashion. Lags in the energy system provide a time horizon which allows for the prediction of a possible supply problem. A simple model is described which can be used to provide a set of indicators for the possible onset of an energy emergency. The methodology was tested on the gasoline shortage of 1979, and the results are presented.

The following report presents results of geophysical interpretations on the Midnite-Sherwood Mine, a uranium mine along northeastern Washington.

Nine maps that accompany a report that presents results of geophysical interpretations on the Midnite-Sherwood Mine, a uranium mine along northeastern Washington.