At the present time, plants in the 100-500Mv size range are more numerous and carry the greatest portion (over 50%) of the total steam-electric plant load in the U.S. utilities industry. The contribution of plants of over 1,000-Mv capacity is increasing more rapidly than any other size clarification and at present represents about 10% of the total capacity. By 1962 the TVA will have six plants with capacities of over 1,000-Mv. The largest steam-electric plant in the U.S. is the TVA plant at Kingston, Tenn., with a nameplate capacity of 1,440-Mv. Turbine-generator units are also following a trend of ever-increasing size. In present construction, the 150-200 Mv size range for units is the most common and represents the greatest contribution to capacity. Two units of 500-Mv nameplate rating each, the largest in the U.S., are on order by the TVA, and an 800 Mv unit is contemplated.

Results of four experiemental runs in the Fluorox fluidized bed reactor system are reported. The engineering feasibility of UF6 production from UF4 by use of dry air of O2, 2UF4 + O2 = UF6 + UO2F2, in an Inconel fluidized bed reactor at 800-850°C was demonstrated in two experimental tests in which greater than 90% of the theoretical amount of UF6 was collected or measured. Two runs made with crude UF4 (produced from unpurified mill concentrate) as the feed material, showed that UF6 could be produced at 700-725°C but corrosion on Inconel was prohibitive.

Commonwealth Edison Company for the purpose of supplementing the license application for the Dresden Nuclear Power Station submits herewith Amendment No.1 to the portion of the Final Hazards Summary Report entitled Preliminary Hazards Summary Report.

The conversion of UNH to UF4 and UF6, utilizing moving-bed techniques, is being studied; sufficient progress has been made that an evaluation of the process is warranted. The procedures under study, the Fluorox Process, have three major advantages: (1) substitution of HF for high-cost fluorine, (2) considerable reduction in HF requirements, and (3) marked reduction in plant-size and mechanical complexity.

Plus-minus ratios for pion production by 340-Mev proton bombardment were measured at 13 Mev, 18 Mev, and 42 Mev with the use of the spiral orbit spectrometer.

Experiments with a simple pulsed magnetic field in cusped geometry are described. The plasma is generated inside the containment region rather than injected from an external source. It was found that creation of the plasma by a linear pinch discharge is most successful. Only qualitative studies have been carried out so far, using time-resolved visual observation of the plasma. Well-defined plasma bodies located in the central region between the cells were photographed. In order to make them clearly visible, a few percent of argon was added to the hydrogen.

Annual report of the Texas Racing Commission describing goals, activities, and accomplishments during fiscal year 2003

Addition of minute amounts of oxygen to a thermionic energy converter results in a significant performance improvement. The presence of oxygen reduces the collector work function and decreases the cesium pressure required to obtain a given current density from the emitter. In addition, oxygen additive diodes have the practical benefits of increased interelectrode spacing and improving converter power density and efficiency with polycrystalline electrodes. The motivation for the studies described was to provide insight into the activation processes by characterizing the chemical and physical structures of the tungsten oxide collector surfaces from four thermionic diodes in different states of activation: initial, preactivated, activated, and post-activated. The primary tool for these investigations was Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) with sputtering capability, which provided chemical composition information as a function of distance through each of the tungsten oxide layers. This study has resulted in several important insights into the activation mechanisms. First, converter performance is correlated with layer thickness and with the oxygen concentration. Second, deconvolution of the ESCA spectra shows that four oxidation states of tungsten (0, +2, +4 and +6) are present at all stages of activation. Third, the cesium distributions indicate that this element is present throughout the …

This research project involves the study of coal macerals and sorbent microparticles used to remove S0{sub 2} and/or H{sub 2}S from process streams. To measure reaction rates a charged single microparticle will be held electrodynamically in one or more laser beams by superposed ac and dc electrical fields. The use of the electrodynamic balance for microparticle studies was pioneered by one of the principal investigators. One of the laser beams is used for light-scattering measurements to determine the particle size and to provide the excitation source for obtaining Raman spectra to chemically characterize the particle. The other beam, an infrared beam, is used to heat the particle electromagnetically. The first year of the research was devoted to preliminary experimental work and design studies. Although components and techniques must still be developed, experimental measurements on single macerals are now being done.

Tabulated data are presented for the radioactive waste generated and the status of the waste farms during the first quarter of 1976. (JSR)

Experiments were performed to understand laser-induced back-ablation of Al film targets with picosecond laser pulses. Al films deposited on the back surface of BK-7 substrates are ablated by picosecond laser pulses propagating into the Al film through the substrate. The ablated Al plume is transversely probed by a time-delayed, two-color sub-picoseond (500 fs) pulse, and this probe is then used to produce self-referencing interferograms and shadowgraphs of the Al plume in flight. Optical emission from the Al target due to LIBA is directed into a time-integrated grating spectrometer, and a time-integrating CCD camera records images of the Al plume emission. Ablated Al plumes are also redeposited on to receiving substrates. A post-experimental study of the Al target and recollected deposit characteristics was also done using optical microscopy, interferometry, and profilometry. In this high laser intensity regime, laser-induced substrate ionization and damage strongly limits transmitted laser fluence through the substrate above a threshold fluence. The threshold fluence for this ionization-based transmission limit in the substrate is dependent on the duration of the incident pulse. The substrate ionization can be used as a dynamic control of both transmitted spatial pulse profile and ablated Al plume shape. The efficiency of laser energy transfer …

The Project provides for the design, procurement, construction, assembly, installation, and acceptance testing of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), an experimental inertial confinement fusion facility intended to achieve controlled thermonuclear fusion in the laboratory by imploding a small capsule containing a mixture of the hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium. The NIF will be constructed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, California as determined by the Record of Decision made on December 19, 1996, as a part of the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SSM PEIS). Safety: On Saturday April 29, 2000, while preparing the Ringer crane for operation at the NIF site, a mechanical malfunction was observed by the operator. He stopped work and consulted with line management. They agreed with the operator's assessment, and with the Livermore Emergency Duty Officer, implemented a precautionary evacuation of the area around the crane. DOE was notified of the situation. The crane was then placed in a safe condition. A crane maintenance vendor is inspecting the crane and a management team headed by the Beampath Infrastructure System Associate Project Manager is reviewing the documentation, crane history, and repairs to ensure that the crane is fully safe before reuse. …

LOFCON is a program developed for the LOFT air condenser system contained in the secondary coolant system. Although the basic theory described herein is general, the program given is not--it is specifically for the LOFT configuration. LOFCON is presented in subroutine form so that it may be easily incorporated into a larger program describing the complete secondary side. Specifically LOFCON was written to be incorporated into the detailed CSMP model of the LOFT secondary coolant system simulation.

The purpose of the Tanks Focus Area (TFA) Midyear Review was to improve the quality and responsiveness of TFA technical solutions to identified user needs. This review goal was achieved through executing a multi-phased review approach. The first phase of the midyear review focused on the subset of FY99 work identified by Department of energy users as having continuing benefit in FY00-01. The TFA FY00-02 Technical Responses identified FY99 work that had continued applicability based on the most current set of site user needs. Each TFA FY00-02 Technical Response which included FY work scope was reviewed by the TFA Technical Advisory Group (TAG), in a meeting held in February 1999. Made up of technical experts from across the country, the TAG provides high-quality, short-turnaround, independent technical reviews for the TFA.

In FY92, the ALT-II program is concentrating on three main physics areas: pumped limiter experiments, which include He exhaust and high density high power operation; limiter bias experiments focused on modifying edge transport and particle removal; and and edge transport and flow studies, which examine the equilibrium edge flows and transport physics during Ohmic, L-mode, Supershot, and H-mode confinement regimes. In support of these physics objectives, a CCD diagnostic system has been delivered to TEXTOR and is being used to supplement the previous ALT-II diagnostic system. A second fast-scanning Langmuir probe was constructed at UCLA and has been delivered to TEXTOR for use in studies of edge plasma flows, turbulent transport, and poloidal asymmetries. A brief synopsis of each topic is given below. Work will continue on these physics topics during the balance of FY92.

The March seminar, ``Military and Diplomatic Roles and Options`` for managing and responding to proliferation, featured three presentations: the military and diplomatic implications of preemptive force as a counterproliferation option; an in-depth assessment of the threat posed by biological weapons; and, a new proposed US counterproliferation policy.

Somewhere in the future lies the possibility that the existing HAPO reactors will no longer be required for the production of weapons grade plutonium. This could come about either through advances in technology or through changes in the requirements for this particular fissionable isotope as a weapons material. In any event, should these reactors no longer be utilized for plutonium production, it would be appropriate to consider the possibility of their conversion to other uses, notably that of electrical power production. Accordingly, this study has been made with the objective of investigating the economic and technological feasibility of such conversion. However, it must be recognized that the results presented herein are based on present day technology and economic philosophy and that within the next five years we may experience considerable renovation of these criteria which could alter the conclusions of the study appreciably. The primary benefit to be gained from this preliminary study is to narrow the area of future and more detailed investigation as much as possible so that if and when such a conversion appears likely, a significant fraction of the almost infinite number of combinations of reactor and power plant parameters may be rejected at the outset.

As part of the effort to downsize its uranium processing facilities, the Y-12 Plant has supported an investigation to identify extraction solvents that would both work efficiently in centrifugal contactors and be disposed of easily. Various organic ethers, hydroxy ethers, ether ketones, acids, amides, and diketones were studied for their ability to extract uranyl nitrate from aqueous solutions. Although many of these solvents were obtained commercially, others had to be synthesized in-house. The authors found a large range of extraction coefficients for these solvents. Because of steric hindrance or some other factor, certain ethers performed poorly. On the other hand, various mono- and diethers of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol exhibited excellent extraction and stripping coefficients for uranyl nitrate, justifying purchase of a pilot plant batch of one of this family of solvents. Likewise, the authors determined the extraction coefficient for one of the two amides synthesized in-house to be quite high.

Post-Remediation Biomonitoring of Pesticides and Other Contaminants in Marine Waters and Sediment Near the United Heckathorn Superfund Site, Richmond, California

This report summarizes results on surveys taken by the U.S. Geological Survey made to determine the seismic velocity, electrical resistivity, and preliminary geology of rock in the U12n.03 tunnel, Nevada Test Site.

We recently performed the WPH-6112A thermal expansion test of the lower portion of the PRESS program tubulation. The objective of the test was to determine whether the tubulation welds could withstand typical stresses from a 1200 C thermal cycle. Test components failed in two areas: (1) the friction welded Monel to Vanadium tube fitting at the dissimilar metal interface and fell against the outer vanadium tube wall causing it to fail and (2) the thin-walled, outer stainless steel tubing failed by cracking at the weld. Both failures were due to irregular occurences for this system. We feel that the strength of all weldments is adequate to withstand the normal thermal stresses from a 1200 C cycle without failing prematurely.

This report summarizes and documents the results of the radiological surveys conducted from February 11 through February 17 and March 30, 1993 over the 618-10 Burial Ground, Hanford Site, Richland, Washington. In addition, this report explains the survey methodology using the Ultrasonic Ranging and Data System (USRADS). The 618-10 Burial Ground radiological survey field task consisted of two activities: characterization of the specific background conditions and the radiological survey of the area. The radiological survey of the 618-10 Burial Ground, along with the background study, were conducted by Site Investigative Surveys Environmental Restoration Health Physics Organization of the Westinghouse Hanford Company. The survey methodology was based on utilization of the Ultrasonic Ranging and Data System (USRADS) for automated recording of the gross gamma radiation levels at or near six (6) inches and at three (3) feet from the surface soil.

The objectives of this project are to develop a new catalyst, the kinetics for this catalyst, reactor models for trickle bed, slurry and fixed bed, and simulate the performance of fixed bed trickle flow reactors, slurry flow reactors, and fixed bed gas phase reactors for conversion of a hydrogen lean synthesis gas to isobutylene.

The Petroleum Marketing Monthly (PMM) provides information and statistical data on a variety of crude oils and refined petroleum products. The publication presents statistics on crude oil costs and refined petroleum products sales for use by industry, government, private sector analysts, educational institutions, and consumers. Data on crude oil include the domestic first purchase price, the f.o.b. and landed cost of imported crude oil, petroleum product sales data include motor gasoline, distillates, residuals, aviation fuels, kerosene, and propane. The Petroleum Marketing Division, Office of Oil and Gas, Energy Information Administration ensures the accuracy, quality, and confidentiality of the published data in the Petroleum Marketing Monthly.