Progress is reported in a project in which the objectives are to evaluate benefits associated with control of the surface energetic properties of materials used in heat exchangers, and to identify preferred ranges of these surface conditions that minimize deposits of biological fouling known to deteriorate heat exchange efficiencies in seawater, brackish water and freshwater systems. The technical approach employed uses special diagnostic plates in novel flow cells where fluid flow conditions can be well-controlled, modifying the surface chemistry and surface energy of the plates with very thin coatings and examining the earliest events of biofouling caused by macromolecules and microbial organisms. Information is included on exposure experiments and results and heat exchange experiments.

The paper describes the control and instrumentation for the Mirror Fusion Test Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, USA. This large-scale scientific experiment in controlled thermonuclear fusion, which is currently being expanded, originally had 3000 devices to control and 7000 sensors to monitor. A hierarchical computer control system, is used with nine minicomputers forming the supervisory system. There are approximately 55 local control and instrumentation microcomputers. In addition, each device has its own monitoring equipment, which in some cases consists of a small computer. After describing the overall system a more detailed account is given of the control and instrumentation for two large superconducting magnets.

A comparison is made between 1D and 2D hydrocode calculations and some recent experimental results on laser-driven planar shockwaves in disk targets. A simple model is described which accounts for the trends seen in the calculations and which gives insight into the regime of laser intensity and pulse duration where two-dimensional effects become significant in these experiments.

This report concerns the renewed effort to modernize and expand the current US retaliatory chemical stockpile with binary munitions, which emerged in 1981. The effort is prompted by concern over the continued Soviet emphasis on chemical warfare capabilities. The report also documents the consistent Soviet refusal to accept a chemical warfare disarmament treaty.