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This paper analyzes the damping of externally-launched ion Bernstein waves by absorption at the cyclotron harmonics of the impurity ions. The inclusion of the non-magnetic energy flux term reduces the damping rate by nearly two orders of magnitude from the previous calculation. Excessive impurity damping can be avoided by launching ion Bernstein waves at a frequency just below the second (or higher) cyclotron harmonic of hydrogen.

Electrostatic ion cyclotron turbulence and the formation of ion conics at low altitudes (approx. = 1500 km) along auroral field lines have been investigated analytically and by plasma numerical simulations. Ion cyclotron waves are assumed to be driven unstable by the up-going cold ionospheric electrons associated with the downward auroral current. When the electron drift speed is comparable to the electron thermal speed, it is found that the large amplitude, e phi/T/sub e/ approx. = 1, coherent, ..omega.. = ..cap omega../sub i/, ion cyclotron waves shoudl exist along auroral field lines at low altitudes extending approx. = 500 to 1000 km. Ion conics are associated with the cyclotron turbulence and the ion bulk temperature is found to increase a factor of 10 of the initial ionospheric temperature, while the temperature of the high energy tail can be as much as a factor of 100 of the ionospheric temperature. Theory and simulations agree well.

This report covers the activities of Los Alamos National Laboratory's Accelerator Technology Division during the first 6 months of calendar 1981. We discuss the Division's major projects, which reflect a variety of applications and sponsors. The varied technologies concerned with the Proton Storage ring are concerned with the Proton Storage Ring are continuing and are discussed in detail. For the racetrack microtron (RTM) project, the major effort has been the design and construction of the demonstration RTM. Our development of the radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linear accelerator continues to stimulate interest for many possible applications. Frequent contacts from other laboratories have revealed a wide acceptance of the RFQ principle in solving low-velocity acceleration problems. In recent work on heavy ion fusion we have developed ideas for funneling beams from RFQ linacs; the funneling process is explained. To test as many aspects as possible of a fully integrated low-energy portion of a Pion generator for Medical Irradiation (PIGMI) Accelerator, a prototype accelerator was designed to take advantage of several pieces of existing accelerator hardware. The important principles to be tested in this prototype accelerator are detailed. Our prototype gyrocon has been extensively tested and modified; we discuss results from our investigations. Our …

Safety assessments and environmental impact statements for nuclear fuel cycle facilities require an estimate of the amount of radioactive particulate material initially airborne (source term) during accidents. Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) has surveyed the literature, gathering information on the amount and size of these particles that has been developed from limited experimental work, measurements made from operational accidents, and known aerosol behavior. Information useful for calculating both liquid and powder source terms is compiled in this report. Potential aerosol generating events discussed are spills, resuspension, aerodynamic entrainment, explosions and pressurized releases, comminution, and airborne chemical reactions. A discussion of liquid behavior in sprays, sparging, evaporation, and condensation as applied to accident situations is also included.

A series of 10 experimental alloys (basically Ni-20Cr with addition of one or more of the elements Al, Ti, Si, Nb and Y) has been examined after exposure to controlled purity helium for periods of 1000 to 6000 hours at temperatures of 750 to 1050/sup 0/C. Alloys containing aluminum were particularly susceptible to internal oxidation at the lower temperatures, but at 950/sup 0/C and above carburization became the dominant corrosive mechanism. The most corrosive resistant alloys were Ni-Cr20 and Ni-Cr containing Si, Ti and Nb. The presence of small amounts of yttrium dramatically promoted the occurrence of carburization, even at temperatures as low as 850/sup 0/C. 69 figures, 7 tables.

This report summarizes progress for the Aerosol Release and Transport Program sponsored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Division of Accident Evaluation, for the period October-December 1981. Topics discussed include (1) under-sodium tests in the Fuel Aerosol Simulant Test (FAST) Facility, (2) U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ and Fe/sub 2/O/sub 3/ in steam (light-water reactor accident) aerosol experiments in the Nuclear Safety Pilot Plant, (3) generation and characterization of cadmium and CdO aerosols in the basic aerosol experimental program, (4) core-melt tests of Zircaloy-clad fuel capsules, (5) initial results of a piston-model bubble oscillation code allowing liquid bypass, and (6) calculations with the UVABUBL code to compare with underwater and under-sodium period measurements in FAST experiments.

A development program has been carried out at the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory (HEDL) with the purpose of developing and proof testing air cleaning components and systems for use under severe sodium fire conditions, including those involving high levels of radioactivity. The air cleaning components tested can be classified as either dry filters or aqueous scrubbers. Test results are presented.

During FY 1981 the TA-55 Implementation Support Project provided assistance to the Los Alamos Plutonium Facility in materials accounting and control, including testing and evaluation of a solution mass measurement system, development and testing of a low-level plutonium assay system, holdup measurements, instrument design, and advice and consultation following the observation of semiannual inventories. This report describes the program envisioned for FY 1982, including demonstration of the solution mass measurement system and the associated calibration system, extension of the low-level plutonium assay system to solutions with americium/plutonium ratios of 10: to 20:1, and development and demonstration of a method to calibrate and routinely verify the plutonium oxalate assay instrument performance. The FY 1982 program is subject to changes based on TA-55 reevaluation of facility needs.

A dipole magnet, intended as a possible alternative for the ISABELLE main-ring magnet, was designed at LBL. Three layers of FNAL Doubler/Saver conductor were used. Two 1.3-m-long models were built and tested, both with and without an iron core, and in both helium I and helium II. The training behavior, cyclic energy loss, point of quench initiation, and quench velocity were determined. A central field of 6.5 tesla was obtained in He I (4.4 K), and 7.6 tesla in He II (1.8K).

Two liquid samples from the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) Reactor Coolant System (RCS) and three liquid samples from the three Reactor Coolant Bleed Tanks (RCBT) were taken during the time period March 29, 1979 to August 14, 1980. The samples were analyzed for radionuclide concentrations by two independent laboratories, Exxon Nuclear Idaho Co., Inc. (ENICO) and EG and G Idaho, Inc. at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). The RCS sample taken on March 29, 1979 was also analyzed by Science Applications, Inc. (SAI). This report presents the methods used and the results of these analyes. 14 tables.

The purpose of this study is to provide an analysis of release prevention systems for a reference LNG peakshaving facility. An overview assessment of the reference peakshaving facility, which preceeded this effort, identified 14 release scenarios which are typical of the potential hazards involved in the operation of LNG peakshaving facilities. These scenarios formed the basis for this more detailed study. Failure modes and effects analysis and fault tree analysis were used to estimate the expected frequency of each release scenario for the reference peakshaving facility. In addition, the effectiveness of release prevention, release detection, and release control systems were evaluated.

The ISystemsl task of the Assessment of Effectiveness of Geologic Isolation Systems (AEGIS) Program is developing a Systems Approximate Simulator (SAS); a computer code of low-level technical complexity that incorporates the most significant waste-package, repository, and site processes affecting geologic nuclear waste isolation. This report discusses the AEGIS 1982 fiscal year progress toward building a SAS. A computer code, SAS(82), has been developed as the site module of the SAS development effort. The SAS(82) is an efficient and accurate simulator of one-dimensional radionuclide transport. Features of the SAS(82) are direct (Monte Carlo) simulation, linear decay and sorption models, spatially and temporally varying hydrologic and geochemical variables, general travel-time distributions (possibly non-Fickian), and multinuclide release. The SAS(82) was used to simulate radionuclide transport from a nuclear waste repository located within the Hanford basalts. A {sup 99}Tc analysis along a thermally influenced path through the Grande Ronde Formation demonstrated the complexity of modeling near-field transport. Perturbed hydrologic conditions corresponding to "Hanford Basalt Geologic Simulation Model" results (Petrie et al. 1981) were evaluated, using the SAS(82). Future work will include the development of SAS waste-package and repository modules as simplified process models become available. The SAS may eventually be used as the basis …

Factors controlling gaseous emanations from low level radioactive waste disposal sites are assessed. Importance of gaseous fluxes of methane, carbon dioxide, and possible hydrogen from the site, stems from the inclusion of tritium and/or carbon-14 into the elemental composition of these compounds. In that the primary source of these gases is the biodegradation of organic components of the waste material, primary emphasis of the study involved an examination of the biochemical pathways producing methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, and the environmental parameters controlling the activity of the microbial community involved. Initial examination of the data indicates that the ecosystem is anaerobic. As the result of the complexity of the pathway leading to methane production, factors such as substrate availability, which limit the initial reaction in the sequence, greatly affect the overall rate of methane evolution. Biochemical transformations of methane, hydrogen and carbon dioxide as they pass through the soil profile above the trench are discussed. Results of gas studies performed at three commercial low level radioactive waste disposal sites are reviewed. Methods used to obtain trench and soil gas samples are discussed. Estimates of rates of gas production and amounts released into the atmosphere (by the GASFLOW model) are evaluated. …

The report characterizes the LPG industry covering all operations from production to end use, reviews current knowledge of LPG release phenomenology, summarizes the status of current LPG release prevention and control methodology, and identifies any remaining safety and environmental problems and recommends R and D strategies that may mitigate these problems. (ACR)

The subject of this report is probability description of wind direction fluctuations within the height range above the surface of wind energy conversion systems (WECS)

Beam loading and transverse emittance growth are studied in a disk-loaded accelerating structure which has been scaled to a wavelength of 10 ..mu..m. The resulting limitations on the charge per bunch which can be accelerated in such a scaled structure should provide a crude estimate of the charge per bunch which can be accelerated in a laser driven grating accelerator operating at the same wavelength. For an accelerator 100 m in length delivering an energy of 500 GeV, it is found that the number of particles per bunch that can be accelerated is on the order of 10/sup 5/-10/sup 6/.

The theoretical analysis of a high density Z-pinch (HDZP) begins with an examination of the steady state energy balance between ohmic heating and bremsstrahlung radiation losses for a plasma column in pressure equilibrium. The model is then expanded to include the time-varying internal energy and results in a quasi-equilibrium prescription for the load current through a constant radius plasma channel. This set of current waveforms is useful in the design of experimental systems. The behavior of a plasma for physically realizable conditions is first examined by allowing adiabatic changes in the column radius. A more complete model is then developed by incorporating inertial effects into the momentum equation, and the resultant global MHD computational model is compared with more sophisticated, and costly, one- and two-dimensional computer simulations. These comparisons demonstrate the advantages of the global MHD description over previously developed zero-dimensional models.

Numerous possibilities exist for using high temperature solar thermal energy in the production of various chemicals and fuels (Sun Fuels). Research and development activities have focused on the use of feedstocks such as coal and biomass to provide synthesis gas, hydrogen, and a variety of other end-products. A Decision Analysis technique geared to the analysis of Sun Fuels options was developed. Conventional scoring methods were combined with multi-attribute utility analysis in a new approach called the Multi-Attribute Preference Scoring (MAPS) system. MAPS calls for the designation of major categories of attributes which describe critical elements of concern for the processes being examined. The six major categories include: Process Demonstration; Full-Scale Process, Feedstock; End-Product Market; National/Social Considerations; and Economics. MAPS calls for each attribute to be weighted on a simple scale for all of the candidate processes. Next, a weight is assigned to each attribute, thus creating a multiplier to be used with each individual value to derive a comparative weighting. Last, each of the categories of attributes themselves are weighted, thus creating another multiplier, for use in developing an overall score. With sufficient information and industry input, each process can be ultimately compared using a single figure of merit. After …

A Multiwire Proportional Chamber (MWPC) was used as a ..beta../sup -/ radioactivity detector in biological and medical applications. Two different kinds of experiments were performed: the study of variations in the ability of cell clones to incorporate a radioactive precursor of DNA biosynthesis (/sup 3/H-thymidine) and the regional carbohydrate consumption in myocardial tissue by means of a deposit tracer of glucose metabolism (/sup 3/H-deoxyglucose).

BRUTE is an algorithm to derive the implied boundary of a piecepart from the part's wireframe representation. BRUTE's input is an IGES file. The geometry is extracted and used to derive the edge-vertex (EV) topology. BRUTE then uses a divide-and-conquer method to derive all reasonable face-edge-vertex (FEV) topologies from the EV topology. The final step is to determine the geometry of each face by using the geometry of its edges. Any FEV topology that contains a face that is not a valid surface type is rejected. Valid surface types are plane, cylinder, cone, and sphere.

In July 1981, the Office of Nuclear Waste Management of the Department of Energy contracted with the National Academy of Public Administration for a study of institutional issues associated with the commercial radioactive waste management program. The two major sets of issues which the Academy was asked to investigate were (1) intergovernmental relationships, how federal, state, local and Indian tribal council governments relate to each other in the planning and implementation of a waste management program, and (2) interagency relationships, how the federal agencies with major responsibilities in this public policy arena interact with each other. The objective of the study was to apply the perspectives of public administration to a difficult and controversial question - how to devise and execute an effective waste management program workable within the constraints of the federal system. To carry out this task, the Academy appointed a panel composed of individuals whose background and experience would provide the several types of knowledge essential to the effort. The findings of this panel are presented along with the executive summary. The report consists of a discussion of the search for a radioactive waste management strategy, and an analysis of the two major groups of institutional issues: …

Methods of measuring rates of leaching from simulated waste glasses using neutron activation analysis and radiotracers have been developed. Laboratory-scale impact tests of solid alternative waste forms are being performed to obtain a size analysis of the fragments. Logging techniques are being developed to measure the relative amount of residual oil in a depleted oil reservoir by injecting gamma-active solution into it. Work to test the behavior of radionuclides leached from proposed nuclear-waste repositories using laboratory-analog experiments is in progress. High potassium levels in crushed granite from a Northern Illinois drill hole are probably derived by the leaching of potassium feldspar. Testing and development of equipment for the destructive analysis of full-length irradiated fuel rods from the LWBR are in progress. 19 figures, 13 tables.

This report describes major progress in the research and development programs pursued by the Chemistry-Nuclear Chemistry Division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory during FY 1981. Topics covered include advanced analytical methods, atmospheric chemistry and transport, biochemistry, biomedical research, medical radioisotopes research, element migration and fixation, nuclear waste isolation research, inorganic and structural chemistry, isotope separation, analysis and applications, the newly established Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, atomic and molecular collisions, molecular spectroscopy, nuclear cosmochemistry, nuclear structure and reactions, pion charge exchange, radiochemical separations, theoretical chemistry, and unclassified weapons research.