HYLIFE is the name given to a family of self-healing liquid-wall reactor concepts for inertial confinement fusion. This HYLIFE-II concept employs the molten salt, Flibe, for the liquid jets instead of liquid lithium used in the original HYLIFE-I study. A preliminary conceptual design study of the heat transport system and the balance of plant of the HYLIFE-II fusion power plant is described in this paper with special emphasis on a scoping study to determine the best intermediate heat exchanger geometry and flow conditions for minimum cost of electricity. 11 refs., 8 figs.

The quenching and stability behavior of forced-flow helium-cooled, cable-in-conduit conductors (CICC) has been analyzed using a new computer program. This computer analysis code was developed for performing general, transient, thermal analyses on CICCs. The program includes the necessary details for the physical properties of all the constituent materials of such conductors, and accurately models the thermo- and fluid-dynamic behavior of the helium coolant starting from a wide range of initial conditions. It has been applied to a study of the stability and quench behavior of several large-scale conductor options being considered for use in the magnet systems of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), and the results will be reported here. 3 refs., 14 figs.

New short-pulse laser technology has made possible the production of extremely bright laser sources. The use of these new techniques on large scale Nd:Glass based laser systems would make it possible to produce 1000 TW (Petawatt) pulses. Such pulses would yield focused intensities exceeding 10{sup 21}W/cm{sup 2} corresponding to an electric field in excess of 100 e/a{sub 0}{sup 2} and an energy density equivalent to that of a 10 keV blackbody. Such a source would have important applications in x-ray laser research and lead to a fundamentally new class of experiments in atomic, nuclear, solid state, plasma and high-energy density physics. Such a facility could be constructed with existing chirped-pulse'' technology. A one-year period of research addressing outstanding technical questions can extend the technology resulting in a more compact and cost effective design. For this reason, we are seeking a Director's Initiative grant in the amount of $590,000 for FY89 to investigate these issues. An equivalent amount in personnel and facilities would be provided by Y-Division. The study will include development of a chirped-pulse'' front-end capable of producing laser pulses of 2 J at 1.053 {mu}m with a 1 psec pulsewidth laser. Upon completion, this front-end will be installed on …

Conductors designed for fusion machines must operate at high fields, under large mechanical loads, and in a high neutron flux. Present designs favor the use of Nb{sub 3}Sn with force-cooling by supercritical helium to extract large nuclear and ac loss heat loads. Consequently, the magnet designer must have a good knowledge of the critical current of the superconductor as a function of field, strain, temperature, and radiation damage. Expanding on work by Hampshire, et al. and Ekin, combined with radiation damage studies of Nb{sub 3}Sn, we express the critical field (B{sub c20}) as function of temperature, strain and damage energy (E{sub d}). Similarly, the zero-field critical temperature (T{sub c0}) is expressed as a function of strain and damage energy. The expressions of B{sub c20} and T{sub c0} are combined into a functional form that allows an accurate and consistent estimate of the critical current density at the operating conditions of fusion magnet conductors. 9 refs., 4 figs.

Stimulated Raman scattering in plasmas is a three-wave instability with important practical consequences for laser fusion. Most studies of this process to date have focused on its threshold. Even the linear-theory threshold poses interesting problems; and observed thresholds have been difficult to interpret. However, with increasing evidence that this instability often becomes absolute, it has become appropriate to examine saturation mechanisms as well. A number of such mechanisms are discussed here, one of which has been reported to have a chaotic regime. 26 refs., 4 figs.

In August 1987, a routine Ames test on soot from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) 4-in. gun showed that the soot was mutagenic to Salmonella bacteria. Subsequent liquid chromatography on the soot showed that, out of hundreds of ultravoilet-absorbing compounds found in the residue, only three or four were mutagenic. When a sample large enough to weigh was collected, it was found that No environmentally identified complex mixture has ever been reported with as much Ames/Salmonella activity per gram as the gun residues.'' Since then, Ames tests of hundreds of samples have verified that the residues from our gun tanks may be hazardous to health. The actual degree of the hazard and the identity of the offending chemicals are still unknown. 2 refs.

The Fusion ENgineering International eXperimental (FENIX) Test Facility which is nearing completion at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is a 76-t set of superconducting magnets housed in a 4-m-diameter cryostat. It represents a significant step toward meeting the testing needs for the development of superconductors appropriate for large-scale magnet applications such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The magnet set is configured to allow radial access to the 0.4-m-diameter high-field region where maximum fields up to 14 T will be provided. The facility is fitted with a thermally isolated test well with a port to the high-field region that allows insertion and removal of test conductors without disturbing the cryogenic environment of the magnets. It is expected that the facility will be made available to magnet developers internationally, and this paper discusses its general design features, its construction, and its capabilities.

High performance Ti-alloyed internal-Sn superconductors have been selected for use in the Proof of Principles (PoP) coil, and a 1.0 m o.d., 0.4 m i.d., solenoid designed to produce fields up to 15 T. The PoP coil, which will use forced-flow Cable-In-Conduit Conductors (CICC), will operate at 4.2 K and moderate levels of conductor strain. Here we report the results of detailed characterizations of two proposed PoP coil Nb{sub 3}Sn 19 subelement superconductor wires of different topology. We have investigated the critical current as a function of applied field, and applied strain. The wires were found to have excellent high field properties, providing a high performance margin for the proposed PoP coil. The field and strain dependence of J{sub c} have been found to compare favorably with predictions from a wire performance model recently developed for Nb{sub 3}Sn superconductors. 5 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

Conceptual design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) superconducting magnet system is nearing completion by the ITER Design Team, and one of the Central Solenoid (CS) designs is presented. The CS part of this magnet system will be a vertical stack of eight modules, approximately 16 m high, each having a approximate dimensions of: 4.1-m o.d., 2.8-m i.d., 1.9-m h. The peak field at the bore is approximately 13.5 T. Cable-in-conduit conductor with Nb{sub 3}Sn composite wire will be used to wind the coils. The overall coil fabrication will use the insulate-wind-react-impregnate method. Coil modules will be fabricated using double-pancake coils with all splice joints located in the low-field region on the outside of the coils. All coils will be structurally graded with high-strength steel reinforcement which is co-wound with the conductor. We describe details of the CS coil design and analysis.