Monthly newsletter of the Alamo Area Council of Governments describing news and events of relevance to the agencies.

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.

The ACIR Library is composed of publications that study the interactions between different levels of government. This document addresses the adequacy of federal compensation to local governments for tax exempt federal lands.

The Amchitka Radiobiological Program began in 1970 and is a continuing program to collect biological and environmental samples for radiometric analyses. An account of the program from July 1970, to December 1976, has been given in seven previous progress reports from the Laboratory of Radiation Ecology to the Nevada Operations Office of the U.S. Department of Energy. This report is an account of the program for calendar year 1977. Results of analyses for samples collected in September 1977 have been added to the tables in Nelson and Seymour (1977) that summarize the results of analyses of samples collected from 1970 to 1977, and include analyses for: gamma-emitting radionuclides in air filters, freshwater, birds, lichens, marine algae, marine invertebrates, fish, aufwuchs, and freshwater moss and plants; strontium-90 (/sup 90/Sr) in rats, birds, and soil; /sup 239/ /sup 240/Pu in sand, soil, marine algae, and fish; and tritium (/sup 3/H) in seawater, freshwater, and biological organisms. Monitoring of background radiation with survey instruments was added to the Laboratory's program in 1974, and the results of the four annual surveys since that date are included in this report. Conclusions from the results of the recent analyses are a reiteration of the results stated …

A procedure for designing four different NMR probe circuits is described. Equations are derived which allow accurate estimates for tuning components. Graphs of theoretical frequency responses are presented. An accurate method for measuring effective quality factors, Q/sub eff/, is described. Four probe circuits are constructed and evaluated with respect to power efficiency, ringdown time and signal/noise. Finally, a FORTRAN computer program which will implement the design procedures described is presented.

A type 316 stainless steel blind flange and thermowell assembly rated at 17 MPa (2500 psi) was removed from service at the Wilsonville Solvent Refined Coal (SRC) plant when cracks were observed on the flange face. Metallographic examination revealed a system of cracks that penetrated a repair weld and extended into the base metal on the face where it was exposed to the process media. The cracking in the weld metal appeared to follow substructural boundaries. A second crack network initiated in the disturbed base metal beneath a ground surface and extended through a tenth of the flange thickness. Cracking in the base metal was transgranular. Neither the corroding species nor the local stress level responsible for the cracking can be specified.

A lithium combustion model (LITFIRE) was developed to describe the physical and chemical processes which occur during a hypothetical lithium spill and fire. The model was used to study the effectiveness of various design strategies for mitigating the consequences of lithium fire, using the UWMAK-III features as a reference design. Calculations show that without any special fire protection measures, the containment may reach pressures of up to 32 psig when one coolant loop is spilled inside the reactor building. Temperatures as high as 2000/sup 0/F would also be experienced by some of the containment structures. These consequences were found to diminish greatly by the incorporation of a number of design strategies including initially subatmospheric containment pressures, enhanced structural surface heat removal capability, initially low oxygen concentrations, and active post-accident cooling of the containment gas. The EBTR modular design was found to limit the consequences of a lithium spill, and hence offers a potential safety advantage. Calculations of the maximum flame temperature resulting from lithium fire indicate that none of the radioactive first wall materials under consideration would vaporize, and only a few could possibly melt.

The purpose of this analysis was the calculation of stresses in the LOFT Containment Vessel at the point of nozzle penetration produced by loads on the nozzles and to show that those stresses are within the 1965 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code allowables. The stress determination was done by the method developed by P. P. Bijlaard on the worst load case for each diameter nozzle. The operating basis earthquake (OBE) at nozzle 11D produced the most severe load case. All load cases resulted in containment vessel stresses that were less than the allowables as stated in N-414 of the 1965 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.

Analytic solutions to the rate equations describing the species evolution of a multispecies positive ion beam of hydrogen due to charge exchange and molecular dissociation are derived as a function of the background gas (H/sub 2/) line density in the neutralizing gas cell and in the drift tube. Using the solutions, calculations are presented for the relative abundance of each species as a function of the gas cell thickness, the reionization loss rates in the drift tube, and the neutral beam power as a function of the beam energy and the species composition of the original ion beam.

The vacuum vessel component of the tokamak fusion reactor is the subject of this study. The main objective of this paper was to provide guidance for the structural design of a thin wall externally pressurized toroidal vacuum vessel. The analyses are based on the available state-of-the-art analytical methods. The shortcomings of these analytical methods necessitated approximations and assumptions to be made throughout the study. A principal result of the study has been the identification of a viable vacuum vessel design for the Demonstration Tokamak Hybrid Reactor (DTHR) and The Next Step (TNS) Reactor.

Analytic expressions are presented for the off-shell p-p T matrix for the Graz l = 0 and l = 1 separable potentials. Physical on-shell results are also obtained and used to compute the phase shifts for the /sup 1/S/sub 0/, /sup 3/P/sub 0/, /sup 3/P/sub 1/ and /sup 3/P/sub 2/ states. Improved fits are obtained to the experimental data. Analytic expressions are also presented for the effective range function and are used to compute the low-energy scattering parameters. 7 references.

Average record data listings taken during aerial gamma-ray and magnetic surveys of the Anchorage Quadrangle in Alaska.

Single record data listings taken during aerial gamma-ray and magnetic surveys of the Anchorage Quadrangle in Alaska.

The Small-Sample Calorimetric System is a portable instrument designed to measure the thermal power produced by radioactive decay of plutonium-containing fuels. The small-sample calorimeter is capable of measuring samples producing power up to 32 milliwatts at a rate of one sample every 20 min. The instrument is contained in two packages: a data-acquisition module consisting of a microprocessor with an 8K-byte nonvolatile memory, and a measurement module consisting of the calorimeter and a sample preheater. The total weight of the system is 18 kg.

The work reported herein is a continuation of the program initiated under DOE contract E(10-1)-1546* entitled "Program to Design and Experimentally Test an Improved Geothermal Bit"; the program is now DOE Contract EG-76-C-1546*. The objective of the program has been to accelerate the commercial availability of a tolling cutter drill bit for geothermal applications. Data and experimental tests needed to develop a bit suited to the harsh thermal, abrasive, and chemical environment of the more problematic geothermal wells, including those drilled with air, have been obtained. Efforts were directed at the improvement of both the sealed (lubricated) and unsealed types of bits. The unsealed bit effort included determination of the rationale for materials selection, the selection of steels for the bit body, cutters, and bearings, the selection of tungsten carbide alloys for the friction bearing, and preliminary investigation of optimized tungsten carbide drilling inserts. Bits build** with the new materials were tested under stimulated wellbore conditions. The sealed bit effort provided for the evaluation of candidate high temperature seals and lubricants, utilizing two specially developed test apparatus which simulate the conditions found in a sealed bit operating in a geothermal wellbore. Phase I of the program was devoted largely to …

Methods for evaluating subsurface disposal systems, based on data derived from membrane filtration tests and core flooding experiments, have been described in the literature. These techniques were used to develop and successfully test equipment for evaluation of injectability of any geothermal effluent including hypersaline brine from the Salton Sea Geothermal Field. A schematic diagram of the prototype system for filtration and core flooding is included.

Six burial grounds were evaluated at Oak Ridge to determine which would be most suitable for testing the generic monitoring approach, and two were selected. Burial Ground 4 was chosen because it is known to be leaking radioactivity and a monitoring program is desirable to determine the source, pattern and extent of the leakage. Burial Ground 6 was chosen because the most complete radiologic and geologic data is available and modern burial practices have been utilized at this site. At the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) only one burial ground exists, the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC). The data available on the burial grounds are insufficient for an adequate understanding of radionuclide migration patterns and accordingly, inadequate for the design of reliable monitoring programs. It was decided, therefore, that preliminary monitoring programs should be designed in order to obtain additional data for a later implementation of reliable monitoring programs. The monitoring programs designed for ORNL consist primarily of the installation of surface water monitoring stations, the surveillance of trench sump wells, a test boring program to study subsurface geologic conditions, a ground water sampling program and the installation of instrumentation, specifically infiltrometers and evaporation pans, to develop data on site …

A knowledge of convective heat transfer is essential to understanding geothermal systems and other systems of moving groundwater. A simple, kinematic approach toward convective heat transfer is taken here. Concern is not with the cause of the groundwater motion but only with the fact that the water is moving and transferring heat. The mathematical basis of convective heat transfer is the energy equation which is a statement of the first law of thermodynamics. The general solution of this equation for a specific model of groundwater flow has to be done numerically. The numerical algorithm used here employs a finite difference approximation to the energy equation that uses central differences for the heat conduction terms and one-sided differences for the heat convection terms. Gauss--Seidel iteration is then used to solve the finite difference equation at each node of a non-uniform mesh. The Monroe and Red Hill hot springs, a small hydrothermal system in central Utah, provide an example to illustrate the application of convective heat transfer theory to a geophysical problem. Two important conclusions regarding small geothermal systems follow immediately from the results of this application. First, the most rapid temperature rise in the convecting part of a geothermal system is …

A hydrocarbonization process has been studied to assess environmental control technology for coal conversion wastewaters. Fifteen major wastewater streams were identified; 2 present serious environmental problems not routinely encountered in industry. These are the hydrocarbonization condensate and the ash sluicing waste from the gasifier. The hydrocarbonization product water is high in phenolics, ammonia, cyanide, thiocyanate, and other sulfur compounds. This stream will present a significant wastewater treatment problem unless the stream can be recycled internally. The gasifier-ash sluicing water will probably be similar to ash sluicing water from coal-fired power generating plants. However, the large quantity of toxic trace elements may be more easily dissolved from ash produced at the lower-temperature and reducing conditions encountered in gasification. A number of cleanup technologies relevant to the cleanup of coal conversion aqueous effluents have ben assessed for their adaptability to the specific pollutants found in coal hydrocarbonization wastewater. A summary of these processes lists the potential applicability, economics, raw material requirements, process compatibility, operating conditions, state of development, environmental problems, energy requirements, and availability of each. Indications are that almost any level of removal can be achieved if one is willing to pay the cost. The optimum amount of cleanup will require …

This report analyses the water quality of Lake George in Colorado and the four aquifers that feed into it. It includes maps and tables.

The most important thermodynamic considerations needed for a clear understanding of the operation of geothermal installations used for the production of electricity are presented. A brief description is given of the nature of a geothermal reservoir and the characteristics of the most practical systems for the conversion of geothermal energy into work are described. The appropriate specialized forms of the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics are derived and the related concepts of optimum available work, available work, entropy production, dissipated energy, and utilization factor are introduced. The shortcomings of the method of cycle analysis are discussed when applied to geothermal plants. Special attention is devoted to a detailed discussion of the most important general indicators that follow for the designer from a thermodynamic analysis. Various methods of graphically interpreting the concept of available work are described in detail and the importance of easily accessible, reliable formulations of the thermophysical properties of the pure substances, solutions, and mixtures that the designer needs for success are discussed. (MHR)

The essence of the idea is as follows: One or more beams of energetic ions (or neutral atoms that will become ionized) are injected, parallel to the field lines, at radii where the instability electric field has maximum amplitude (say roughly halfway between the axis and the outer radius of the plasma). While in transit through the plasma these ions acquire transverse energy by resonant acceleration, thereby extracting energy from the wave. This imparted energy is then carried out of the confined plasma by the beam particles as they exit through the far mirror. In this way the ballistic damping process introduces a damping mechanism that can be used to inhibit the growth of unstable waves and/or to damp them out before they reach unacceptably high amplitude. It is also shown that the beam power required is substantially lower than the plasma powers involved, scaling in a favorable way with increase in the size of the mirror cell.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources has completed the reconnaissance mapping of the late Cenozoic sediments within the western half of the Columbia Plateau. The compilation of 1 : 250,000 base maps for the Columbia Plateau and of 1 : 100,000 base maps for the Pasco Basin has been completed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Hydrologic testing of DC-2 continued. Seismograph Services Corporation completed their processing of the seismic test data. The results indicate that the basalt surface can be mapped continuously. Lower horizons can be mapped locally. Preliminary data from Senturion Services, Inc. on the magnetotelluric test suggests that the basalt sequence is about four kilometers thick. Drilling operations were conducted at two locations and hydrologic testing at one location during the reporting period. Coring operations at DC-4 advanced from 749 feet to 1,074 feet. DC-4 is 21% complete based upon a total depth of 5,000 feet. Coring operations at DC-8 advanced from 2,959 feet to 3,956 feet. DC-8 is 96% complete, based upon a total depth of 4,100 feet. The Vitro Engineering Title I effort for facility requirements and site work was essentially completed during the month. Rockwell Hanford Operations reviewed the comment issues and …

A comparison between the two possible lube finishing steps, clay contacting or hydrofinishing is presented. It is concluded that the costs of production of either finishing step are nearly the same--about 40 cent per gallon. Variables such as clay and hydrogen costs and waste clay disposal costs are determining factors. Capital costs for a BERC unit with clay contacting is about $100,000, or 3% cheaper. More highly skilled labor is required for the high pressure hydrofinishing step. The options presented will aid the re-refiners in designing a new facility.