This report describes procedures for applying calorimetry for the control and accounting of plutonium. These procedures will be useful in establishing a measurement program to fulfill the regulatory requirements.

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 …

The ACIR Library is composed of publications that study the interactions between different levels of government. This document addresses cigarette bootlegging.

This report describes the results of a survey conducted in August 1975 among a group of residents of Hartsville and Trousdale County, Tennessee, regarding their views about the nuclear power plant the Tennessee Valley Authority is constructing five miles outside of Hartsville. As part of a longitudinal study of the social impacts of the nuclear facility, the survey was conducted during the planning and pre-licensing phase of the project to address two questions: (1) What factors are related to favorable or unfavorable attitudes toward the nuclear plant. (2) How do residents of Hartsville perceive their quality of life, and how have their perceptions changed since an earlier survey in January 1975. A panel of 288 residents interviewed in January 1975 was reinterviewed in August 1975. Questions concerned perceptions of the quality of life in Hartsville, knowledge and sources of information about the proposed nuclear plant, expectations regarding its effects on the community, and attitudes toward the plant and related issues. Responses are presented.

This report is about Civilian Applications of Particle-Beam-Initiated Inertial Confinement Fusion Technology. It also reviews the status of the particle beam fusion technology development program and identifies several potential civilian applications for this technology.

In the final hydrocarbonization experiment with Wyodak subbituminous coal, the coal was hydrocarbonized at 1100/sup 0/F and 300 psig in the recirculating fluidized bed. Two-dimensional pyrolysis behavior of an eastern bituminous coal (Pittsburgh seam) continues to be examined. Results to date indicate that swelling is significantly more pronounced at very low heating rates. Several activities in progress are related to inspection techniques for wear- and process-resistant coatings. Experimental investigations of fireside corrosion on tubing from a fluidized bed combustor have proceeded with metallographic examination and analyses of the scale formed during the test exposure. Methods for nondestructively determining remaining tube wall thickness and scale thickness were developed. Failure prevention and analysis work was aimed at several parts from the Solvent Refined Coal Plant in Ft. Lewis, Washington. The mechanical design of the gas-fired potassium boiler system was completed with the issue of the last four drawings. One electrical and five instrument and control drawings were completed and some fabrication work was completed. Surveys of industrial coal conversion capabilities continued with emphasis on rotating components, valves, hot gas cleanup devices, and heat recovery equipment. Process and program analysis research studies continued with work on low-Btu gasification, direct combustion, advanced power conversion, …

This report describes the fundamentals of inertial-confinement fusion, some laser-fusion reactor (LFR) concepts, and attendant means of utilizing the thermonuclear energy for commercial electric power generation. In addition, other commercial energy-related applications, such as the production of fissionable fuels, of synthetic hydrocarbon-based fuels, and of process heat for a variety of uses, as well as the environmental and safety aspects of fusion energy, are discussed. Finally, the requirements for commercialization of laser fusion technologies are described.

The molten fluoride salt compatibility studies carried out during the period 1974--76 in support of the Molten-Salt Reactor Program are summarized. Thermal-convection and forced-circulation loops were used to measure the corrosion rate of selected alloys. Results confirmed the relationship of time, initial chromium concentration, and mass loss developed by previous workers. The corrosion rates of Hastelloy N and Hastelloy N modified by the addition of 1--3 wt percent Nb were well within the acceptable range for use in an MSBR. 13 figures, 3 tables.

This report is a non-technical exposition on the ambiguities in conventional specification of the shape of a part to be manufactured and on various alternatives for representing its geometry for computer processing. It touches lightly on wire-frame and bounded surface representations and on the concept of design by volumes. It concludes that no existing computer-aided design system has yet shown its long-range superiority over he spectrum of parts and of uses to which its information base should be applicable. 9 figures.

The program to design, fabricate, and performance test a prototype, vehicular-sized, composite flywheel is described. The overall program scope encompasses development of both the flywheel and its containment; however, the FY 1976-1976T objective was directed toward development of the flywheel and testing it in existing facilities. The development effort was successful, leading to successful testing of a flywheel design which demonstrated an energy density performance of 10.1 Wh/lb during spin testing. The initial application selected for development of the composite flywheel was the heat engine/flywheel hybrid propulsion system for a vehicle. This application was selected by the ERDA Advanced Physical Methods Branch staff because of its high potential for conservation of petroleum fuel in both the near and far-term time frames. Other applications, such as utility load leveling, represent potential areas for significant energy savings but require more extensive development programs and funding resources. Successful development of a high-performance, composite, vehicular flywheel represents one step along the development path leading toward larger, higher-energy storage flywheel applications.

From abstract: "This study examines the existing biota and plant and animal successional patterns at five upland dredged material disposal areas in the United States. The sites selected for study are: (a) Nott Island in Connecticut River; (b) six islands in Hillsborough Bay near Tampa, Florida; (c) an area paralleling a portion of the Whiskey Bay Pilot Channel in the Atchafalaya River basin of Louisiana; (d) a disposal area paralleling a short segment of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between Port Arthur and Galveston, Texas; and (e) Mott Island in the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon."

The bounce-average computer code simulates the two-dimensional velocity transport of ions in a mirror machine. The code evaluates and bounce-averages the collision operator and sources along the field line. A self-consistent equilibrium magnetic field is also computed using the long-thin approximation. Optionally included are terms that maintain ..mu.., J invariance as the magnetic field changes in time. The assumptions and analysis that form the foundation of the bounce-average code are described. When references can be cited, the required results are merely stated and explained briefly. A listing of the code is appended.

A computerized mathematical model for anion exchange processing of plutonium(IV) was adopted from a previously written code. The model was verified to predict, within +-30 percent, a profile of plutonium breakthrough for the sorption process on Dowex 1-X4 anion exchange resin. The program was modified to incorporate column washing and elution logic. Experimental washing and elution data were in satisfactory agreement with predicted data. Provisions for changing the flow rate during the course of a run and for plotting capabilities to aid in better presentation of column breakthrough curves also were incorporated into the model.

Conceptual designs were made and analyses were performed on three types of solar photovoltaic power systems. Included were Residential (1 to 10 kW), Intermediate (0.1 to 10 MW), and Central (50 to 1000 MW) Power Systems to be installed in the 1985 to 2000 time period. The following analyses and simulations are covered: residential power system computer simulations, intermediate power systems computer simulation, central power systems computer simulation, array comparative performance, utility economic and margin analyses, and financial analysis methodology.

Conceptual designs were made and analyses were performed on three types of solar photovoltaic power systems. Included were Residential (1 to 10 kW), Intermediate (0.1 to 10 MW), and Central (50 to 1000 MW) Power Systems to be installed in the 1985 to 2000 time period. Subsystem technology presented here includes: insolation, concentration, silicon solar cell modules, CdS solar cell module, array structure, battery energy storage, power conditioning, residential power system architectural designs, intermediate power system structural design, and central power system facilities and site survey.

In a system of wind-powered generators, a reliable yet inexpensive control system is desirable. Such a system would be completely automatic so it could be left unattended for long periods. It would respond to electrical representations of data such as bearing temperature, vibration, wind velocity, turbine velocity, torque, or any other pertinent data. It would respond by starting or stopping the turbine, controlling the loading, or sounding an alarm. A microprocessor-based controller capable of these functions is described.

The objective of the work reported is to develop, in conjunction with other members of the National Core Restraint Development Program, the design guidelines and the corresponding technology required to design LMFBR core restraint systems and to support applicable licensing processes. Progress during the reporting period is described for subtasks related to refueling force evaluation and test, instrumented simulated fuel assemblies, core restraint transient analysis, in-reactor monitoring, advanced core restraint studies, and seismic evaluation.

The corrosion of several iron- and nickel-base alloys in supercritical steam at 24.1 MPa (3500 psi) and 538/sup 0/C was measured to 7.92 x 10/sup 7/ s (22,000 h). The experiments were carried out in TVA's Bull Run Steam Plant. Corrosion was measured almost entirely by weight change and visual appearance; a few samples were evaluated by more descriptive analytical techniques. The corrosion rates of low-alloy ferritic steels containing from 1.1 to 8.7 percent Cr and 0.5 to 1.0 percent Mo differed by less than a factor of 2 in steam. Several modified compositions of Hastelloy N were evaluated and found to corrode at about equivalent rates. Of the alloys studied, the lowest weight gain in 3.6 x 10/sup 7/ sec (10,000 hr) was 0.01 mg/cm/sup 2/ for Inconel 718 and the highest 10 mg/cm/sup 2/ for the low-alloy ferritic steels. 25 figures, 3 tables.

New double-shell storage tanks are constructed with ASTM A-516 Grade 65 steel. This study had two main objectives: To characterize the corrosivity of synthetic nonradioactive terminal waste solutions to ASTM A-516 Grade 65 steel and to determine the severity of stress-corrosion cracking of carbon steel in terminal waste solutions. The information developed provides guidance in the characterization of the aggressiveness of actual terminal liquors and in the design and operation of fail-safe tanks. Corrosion behavior was measured over a range of oxidizing conditions by the potentiodynamic polarization technique. Oxidizing conditions in a solution likely to promote general corrosion, pitting or stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) were identified. Absolute stress-corrosion cracking susceptibility was determined by constant strain rate procedure for ASTM A-516 Grade 65 steel for conditions identified by polarization experiments as likely to promote SCC. Based on the results of this study, terminal waste storage tanks are safe from stress-corrosion cracking under freely corroding conditions. Corrosion potential of steel in solutions within anticipated compositions is at the positive end of the critical range for stress-corrosion cracking, and no conditions were observed which would lower the potential to more negative values within the cracking range under freely corroding conditions. Measurement of corrosion potential …

The creep deformation and rupture of type 304/308 stainless steel structural weldments at 593/sup 0/C (1100/sup 0/F) was experimentally investigated to study the comparative behavior of the base metal and weld metal constituents. The tests were conducted in support of ORNL's program to develop high-temperature structural design methods applicable to liquid-metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) system components that operate in the creep range. The specimens used were thin-walled, right circular cylinders capped with either flat or hemispherical heads and tested under internal gas pressure. Circumferential welds were located in different regions of the cylinder or head and, with one exception, were geometrically duplicated by all base metal regions in companion specimens. Results are presented on the comparative deformation and rupture behavior of selected points in the base metal and weldment regions of the different specimens and on the overall surface strains for selected specimens.

There is increasing concern by scientists that future proposed energy or power parks may significantly affect the environment by releasing large quantities of heat and water vapor to the atmosphere. A critical review is presented of the potential application of physical modeling (wind tunnels) to assess possible atmospheric effects from heat dissipation systems such as cooling towers. A short inventory of low-speed wind tunnel facilities is included in the review. The useful roles of wind tunnels are assessed and the state-of-the-art of physical modeling is briefly reviewed. Similarity criteria are summarized and present limitations in satisfying these criteria are considered. Current physical models are defined and limitations are discussed. Three experimental problems are discussed in which physical modeling may be able to provide data. These are: defining the critical atmospheric heat load; topographic and local circulation effects on thermal plumes; and plume rise and downstream effects.

Monthly newsletter of the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1, discussing the field of underground water. Topics include profiles of water conservation research, annual pre-plant soil moisture survey data, annual Winter Water Level measurement data, and information about the latest water conservation tips.

The evolution and effects of current-driven instabilities in isothermal, inhomogeneous plasmas are investigated in both theory and experiment. Successive destabilizations of four different instabilities, low-frequency drift wave, ion-cyclotron drift wave, high-frequency (continuous-spectrum ion-cyclotron) drift wave, and high-frequency electron wave, are observed in Q-device plasmas with increased current, and explained by a theory based on fluid and kinetic equations. Anomalous effects resulting from wave-particle interactions, i.e., enhanced resistivity, ion heating and electron viscosity, are compared with predictions based on quasi-linear calculations. Analogous to ion sound causing important anomalies in the transport coefficients for plasmas with T/sub e//T/sub i/ much greater than 1, high-frequency, continuous-spectrum drift waves determine anomalous plasma behavior in inhomogeneous plasmas with T/sub e//T/sub i/ approximately equal to 1.

To aid the analysis and evaluation of the biomedical and environmental effects of future energy systems, a county-level data bank of future U.S. energy supply facilities is considered. This data file attempts to fulfill a requirement for a county-level imformation source useful in future energy supply and utilization projections, and the generation of closer links between energy resources, their development and use, and a comprehensive set of the effects of energy consumption. The data file format contains such items as fuel type, process type, year of planned availability, production capacity, employment, and state and county of location for each facility; these formats are described in detail. Finally, a system that has been developed incorporating the data bank of future energy supply facilities for the analysis of the biomedical and environmental consequences of energy production and consumption is described. 22 tables. (RWR)