Understanding and accepting fusion as an alternative energy source (open access)

Understanding and accepting fusion as an alternative energy source

Fusion, the process that powers our sun, has long promised to be a virtually inexhaustible source of energy for mankind. No other alternative energy source holds such bright promise, and none has ever presentd such formidable scientific and engineering challenges. Serious research efforts have continued for over 30 years in an attempt to harness and control fusion here on earth. Scientists have made considerable progress in the last decade toward achieving the conditions required for fusion power, and recent experimental results and technological progress have made the scientific feasibility of fusion a virtual certainty. With this knowledge and confidence, the emphasis can now shift toward developing power plants that are practical and economical. Although the necessary technology is not in hand today, the extension to an energy producing system in 20 years is just as attainable as was putting a man on the moon. In the next few decades, the world's population will likely double while the demand for energy will nearly quadruple. Realistic projections show that within the next generation a significant fraction of our electric power must come from alternative energy sources. Increasing environmental concerns may further accelerate this timetable in which new energy sources must be introduced. …
Date: December 10, 1987
Creator: Goerz, D.A.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Actinide removal from aqueous solution with activated magnetite (open access)

Actinide removal from aqueous solution with activated magnetite

An actinide aqueous waste treatment process using activated magnetite has been developed at Rocky Flats. The use and effectiveness of various magnetites in lowering actinide concentrations in aqueous solution are described. Experiments indicate that magnetite particle size and pretreatment (activation of the magnetite surface with hydroxyl ions greatly influence the effective use of magnetite as an actinide adsorbent. With respect to actinide removal, Ba(OH)/sub 2/-activated magnetite was more effective over a broader pH range than was NaOH-activated magnetite. About 50% less Ba(OH)/sub 2/-activated magnetite was required to lower plutonium concentration from 10/sup -4/ to 10/sup -8/ g/l. 7 refs., 8 tabs.
Date: August 10, 1987
Creator: Kochen, R.L. & Thomas, R.L. (ed.)
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Magnetic mirror fusion systems: Characteristics and distinctive features (open access)

Magnetic mirror fusion systems: Characteristics and distinctive features

A tutorial account is given of the main characteristics and distinctive features of conceptual magnetic fusion systems employing the magnetic mirror principle. These features are related to the potential advantages that mirror-based fusion systems may exhibit for the generation of economic fusion power.
Date: August 10, 1987
Creator: Post, Richard F.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
VFI: VME/FASTBUS Interface routines (open access)

VFI: VME/FASTBUS Interface routines

This documents describes the VME/FASTBUS Interface routines (VFI). These routines where designed to enable programs written in PILS running on a MVME 101 under Valet-plus to control a VME/FASTBUS Interface. The routines fall into two general types, control and transaction. The control routines, such as vmec-reset, work directly with the interface's registers. These routines set up and monitor operations between VME and FASTBUS. The transaction routines, such as vfi-write-dat, use the control routines to carry out complete functions on FASTBUS. Most FASTBUS operations are implemented except for the compound routines and some low level routines. This document is divided into seven sections, the first is the introduction. The remaining sections detail the interface's registers, the structure of operation codes, polling and interrupts, status reporting, the control routines, and the transaction routines.
Date: September 10, 1987
Creator: Alleva, D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Summary of the report of the Senior Committee on Environmental, Safety, and Economic Aspects of Magnetic Fusion Energy (open access)

Summary of the report of the Senior Committee on Environmental, Safety, and Economic Aspects of Magnetic Fusion Energy

The Senior Committee on Environmental, Safety, and Economic Aspects of Magnetic Fusion Energy (ESECOM) has assessed magnetic fusion energy's prospects for providing energy with economic, environmental, and safety characteristics that would be attractive compared with other energy sources (mainly fission) available in the year 2015 and beyond. ESECOM gives particular attention to the interaction of environmental, safety, and economic characteristics of a variety of magnetic fusion reactors, and compares them with a variety of fission cases. Eight fusion cases, two fusion-fission hybrid cases, and four fission cases are examined, using consistent economic and safety models. These models permit exploration of the environmental, safety, and economic potential of fusion concepts using a wide range of possible materials choices, power densities, power conversion schemes, and fuel cycles. The ESECOM analysis indicates that magnetic fusion energy systems have the potential to achieve costs-of-electricity comparable to those of present and future fission systems, coupled with significant safety and environmental advantages. 75 refs., 2 figs., 24 tabs.
Date: September 10, 1987
Creator: Holdren, J. P.; Berwald, D. H.; Budnitz, R. J.; Crocker, J. G.; Delene, J. G.; Endicott, R. D. et al.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Theory of multiphoton ionization of atoms by strong, short pulsed lasers (open access)

Theory of multiphoton ionization of atoms by strong, short pulsed lasers

A numerical technique for investigating the behavior of many electron atoms in intense laser fields is presented. A description of the method is followed by results of an illustrative, application to helium for a number of wavelengths and intensities. A discussion of high order ionization dynamics for this system based on these calculations is provided. 10 refs.
Date: July 10, 1987
Creator: Kulander, K.C.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geothermal programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (open access)

Geothermal programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has a number of geothermal programs supported through two offices in the Department of Energy: the Office of Renewable Technologies, Geothermal Technologies Division, and the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Engineering, Mathematics and Geosciences. Within these programs, we are carrying out research in injection monitoring, optical instrumentation for geothermal wells, seismic imaging methods, geophysical and drilling investigations of young volcanic systems in California, and fundamental studies of the rock and mineral properties.
Date: July 10, 1987
Creator: Kasameyer, P.W. & Younker, L.W.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
High resolution seismic attenuation tomography at Medicine Lake Volcano, California (open access)

High resolution seismic attenuation tomography at Medicine Lake Volcano, California

Medicine Lake Volcano, a broad shield volcano about 50km east of Mount Shasta in northern California, produced rhylotic eruptions as recently as 400 years ago. Because of this recent activity it is of considerable interest to producers of geothermal energy. In a joint project sponsored by the Geothermal Research Program of the USGS and the Division of Geothermal and Hydropower Division of the US-DOE, the USGS and LLNL conducted an active seismic experiment designed to explore the area beneath and around the caldera. The experiment of eight explosions detonated in a 50 km radius circle around the volcano recorded on a 11 x 15 km grid of 140 seismographs. The travel time data from the experiment have been inverted for structure and are presented elsewhere in this volume. In this paper we present the results of an inversion for 1/Q structure using t* data in a modified Aki inversion scheme. Although the data are noisy, we find that in general attenuative zones correlate with low velocity zones. In particular, we observe a high 1/Q zone roughly in the center of the caldera at 4 km depth in between two large recent dacite flows. This zone could represent the still molten …
Date: July 10, 1987
Creator: Zucca, J. J. & Kasameyer, P. W.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
ATF experimental plans (open access)

ATF experimental plans

The Program is directed at better understanding and improvement of toroidal confinement through studies of: ..beta.. limit; 2nd stability region; low nu* transport; role of E-field; effects of magnetic configurations (externally controlled) on ..beta.. and transport; and issues critical to steady state operation (energy and particle handling, ICRF).
Date: November 10, 1987
Creator: Murakami, M.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Development of fiber optics sensors for temperature measurement and chemical analysis in geothermal wells (open access)

Development of fiber optics sensors for temperature measurement and chemical analysis in geothermal wells

In this paper the results of research on high temperature optical fiber sensors will be presented. We have shown that these sensors (optrodes) can be made to work in very high temperature water for long periods and that it is possible to measure pH using fluorescent inorganic ions doped into solid matrices. A high temperature pH optrode can be made using these techniques, however, more research is needed into the chemistry of the carrier matrices and fluorescent dopants.
Date: July 10, 1987
Creator: Angel, S.M.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Smoke clearing by high energy laser beams (open access)

Smoke clearing by high energy laser beams

We describe the clearing phenomenon that occurs when a continuous wave (CW) high energy laser beam, incident upon a cloud of hygroscopic droplets, vaporizes these droplets. We consider the case when the incident wavelength is greater than the average droplet radius. Williams' model is used to describe the vaporization of a single droplet. The propagation of the laser beam is described by the radiative transfer equation in a slab geometry. The radiative transfer equation is solved using the method of successive orders of scattering.
Date: April 10, 1987
Creator: Chitanvis, S.M.; Gerstl, S.A.W. & Zardecki, A.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tactical Vulnerability Assessment Training Program (open access)

Tactical Vulnerability Assessment Training Program

The Department of Energy sponsors a 9-day training program for individual who are responsible for evaluating and planning safeguards systems and for preparing DOE Master and Security Agreements (MSSAs). These agreements between DOE headquarters and operations offices establish required levels of protection. The curriculum includes: (1) the nature of potential insider and outsider threats involving theft or diversion of special nuclear material, (2) use of computerized tools for evaluating the effectiveness of physical protection and material control and acoountability systems, and (3) methods for analyzing the benefits and costs of safeguards improvements and for setting priorities among proposed upgrades. The training program is varied and highly interactive. Presentations are intermixed with class discussions and ''hands-on'' analysis using computer tools. At the end of the program, participants demonstrate what they have learned in a two-and-one-half day ''field excercise,'' which is conducted on a facility scale-model. The training programs has been conducted six times and has been attended by representatives of all DOE facilities. Additional sessions are planned at four-month intervals. This paper describes the training program, use of the tools in preparing MSSAs for various DOE sites, and recent extensions and refinements of the evaluation tools.
Date: July 10, 1987
Creator: Al-Ayat, R. A.; Judd, B. R.; Renis, T. A.; Paulus, W. K.; Winblad, A. E. & Graves, B. R.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Seismic margin reviews of nuclear power plants: Identification of important functions and systems (open access)

Seismic margin reviews of nuclear power plants: Identification of important functions and systems

The purpose of this paper is to present the basis and method used for the development of the systems screening portion of the seismic margin review methodology. The results from the review of seven utility-sponsored seismic PRA's and one Seismic Safety Margins Research Program Study have been used to develop some insights regarding the importance of various systems and functions to seismic margins. (JDH)
Date: February 10, 1987
Creator: Prassinos, P. G.; Moore, D. L. & Amico, P. J.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Department of Energy's collection procedures for defaulted Geothermal Loan Guaranties (open access)

The Department of Energy's collection procedures for defaulted Geothermal Loan Guaranties

Delays of up to 2 years were experienced in liquidating $9.5 million in collateral on three defaulted loans. Although the Department had paid lenders $32.5 million on these defaulted loans, it had not notified the US Attorney General. Also, it had not prepared final liquidation plans as provided by regulations. As a result of these delays, the collective value of the collateral has decreased by about $2.7 million, and the Department has incurred over $690,000 in lease maintenance and administrative costs. Furthermore, continued delays will result in an estimated $116,000 per year in additional costs and could reduce the chance of collecting approximately $7 million in potential legal damages. The delays in taking action to recover collateral, according to program officials, were due to unresolved legal issues or attempts to restructure a project. Details of findings on the three defaulted loans are given. They were NPN Partnership and Niland Geothermal, Inc. (Niland), CU-1 Venture (CU-1), and Westmorland Geothermal Associates (Westmorland).
Date: August 10, 1987
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unorthodox lattice fermion derivatives and their shortcomings (open access)

Unorthodox lattice fermion derivatives and their shortcomings

We discuss the DWY (Lagrangian), Quinn-Weinstein, and Rebbi proposals for incorporating fermions into lattice gauge theory and analyze them in the context of weak coupling perturbation theory. We find that none of these proposals leads to a completely satisfactory lattice transcription of fully-interacting gauge theory.
Date: March 10, 1987
Creator: Bodwin, G. T. & Kovacs, E. V.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Validating safeguards effectiveness given inherently limited test data (open access)

Validating safeguards effectiveness given inherently limited test data

A key issue in designing and evaluating nuclear safeguards systems is how to validate safeguards effectiveness against a spectrum of potential threats. Safeguards effectiveness is measured by a performance indicator such as the probability of defeating an adversary attempting a malevolent act. Effectiveness validation means a testing program that provides sufficient evidence that the performance indicator is at an acceptable level. Traditional statistical techniques are useful in designing a testing program when numerous independent system trials are possible. However, within the safeguards environment, many situations arise for which traditional statistical approaches may be neither feasible nor appropriate. Such situations can occur, for example, when there are obvious constraints on the number of possible tests due to operational impacts and testing costs. Furthermore, these tests are usually simulations (e.g., staged force-on-force exercises) rather than actual tests, and the system is often modified after each test. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to make and justify inferences about system performance by using traditional statistical techniques. In this paper, we discuss several alternative quantitative techniques for validating system effectiveness. The techniques include: (1) minimizing the number of required tests using sequential testing; (2) combining data from models inspections and exercises using Bayesian statistics …
Date: July 10, 1987
Creator: Sicherman, A.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
An introduction to radiation protection for the Superconducting Super Collider (open access)

An introduction to radiation protection for the Superconducting Super Collider

This is an informal guide to understanding radiation, the ways in which the SSC can produce radiation, and the techniques used to shield the public from that radiation.
Date: November 10, 1987
Creator: Metropolis, K.; Quigg, C.; Toohig, T.E.; Coulson, L.; Freeman, W. & Jackson, J.D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
PKL reactor tank bottom pressures in accident scenarios (open access)

PKL reactor tank bottom pressures in accident scenarios

Nuclear Engineering Division requested estimates of the maximum PKL reactor tank pressures associated with postulated reactor accidents. Tank bottom pressures calculated in establishing confinement protection limits (CPL) in Mark 16B-31 and Mark 22 reactor charges are given in this document.
Date: March 10, 1987
Creator: Tudor, A. A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
D-Zero Colling Loops (open access)

D-Zero Colling Loops

This report provides the necessary sizing for the LN{sub 2} cooling coils in the D-Zero cryostats. Natural convection from finned tubes will be the means of cooling the cryostats and their contents until such time as liquid can be made by condensing. Each cryostat will contain three separate cooling runs. Two runs will be cooldown and the other steady state. These runs will be placed in each cryostat as shown in figure 3, 4a and 4b. By assuming a 100 K tube wall temperature, tube diameter (3/4-inch) and wall thickness (0.065-inch) and the total length of tube (2 x 2940-inch + 1463-inch), the heat transfer can be calculated. Table 1 was calculated from relations in 'Handbook of Heat transfer Fundamentals' for free convection, pages 6-34 through 6-40.
Date: August 10, 1987
Creator: Peterson, T. & Wintercorn, S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Central Calorimeter Support Cradle Jack Failure Analysis (open access)

Central Calorimeter Support Cradle Jack Failure Analysis

The Central Calorimeter and its support cradle are to be supported by either hydraulic or mechanical jacks. If hydraulics are used, each support will use two hydraulically coupled jacks with two out of the four supports hydraulically coupled giving the effect of a three point support system. If mechanical jacks are used, all four points are used for support. Figure 2 shows two examples of jack placement on a 3.5 inch support plate. These two support scenarios lead to five jack failure cases to be studied. This report deals with the way in which a 0.25 inch drop (failed jack) at one support affects the stresses in the cradle. The stresses from each failure case were analyzed in two ways. First, stress factors, defined as quotients of stress intensities of the failed case with respect to the static case, were generated and then, hand calculations similar to those in Engineering Note 3740.215-EN-14 were done using the reaction forces from the failed case.
Date: April 10, 1987
Creator: Rudland, D. L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Elements of a national emergency response system for nuclear accidents (open access)

Elements of a national emergency response system for nuclear accidents

The purpose of this paper is to suggest elements for a general emergency response system, employed at a national level, to detect, evaluate and assess the consequences of a radiological atmospheric release occurring within or outside of national boundaries. These elements are focused on the total aspect of emergency response ranging from providing an initial alarm to a total assessment of the environmental and health effects. Elements of the emergency response system are described in such a way that existing resources can be directly applied if appropriate; if not, newly developed or an expansion of existing resources can be employed. The major thrust of this paper is toward a philosophical discussion and general description of resources that would be required to implementation. If the major features of this proposal system are judged desirable for implementation, then the next level of detail can be added. The philosophy underlying this paper is preparedness - preparedness through planning, awareness and the application of technology. More specifically, it is establishment of reasonable guidelines including the definition of reference and protective action levels for public exposure to accidents involving nuclear material; education of the public, government officials and the news media; and the application of …
Date: February 10, 1987
Creator: Dickerson, Marvin H.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Application of state-multipole Heisenberg equations to Raman excitation dynamics (open access)

Application of state-multipole Heisenberg equations to Raman excitation dynamics

Description of detailed temporal excitation dyanmics for coherent excitation, such as is produced by idealized laser radiation, contrasts with evaluation of rate coefficients by means of generalized Golden Rule procedures; it requires an appropriate time-dependent Schroedinger equation. When the atom undergoing excitation is also affected by incoherent processes, such as collisions, this equation no longer suffices. The Heisenberg equations, or equivalent density-matrix equations, permit treatment in which coherence and incoherence play comparable roles in the excitation dynamics. Unlike rate equations, such equations must incorporate complexities that originate in the orientation degeneracy expressed by magnetic quantum numbers. In simple cases of coherent excitation, both for single-photon and multiphoton excitation, the sublevels merely require an average of 2J+1 independent Schroedinger equations. Relaxation couples the independent equations. It has been known for some time that appropriate state-multipole operators can simplify the description of many phenomena connected with optical pumping. This memo discusses application of these multipole operators to the description of Raman (or more general multiphoton) coherent excitation. In some simple limiting cases the equations simplify, but in general one has a hierarchy of coupled multipole polarizations and coherences in place of the populations and coherences that occur as variables in nondegenerate systems. …
Date: September 10, 1987
Creator: Shore, B. W.; Sacks, R. & Dixit, S. N.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Radiation effects and annealing kinetics in crystalline silicates, phosphates and complex Nb-Ta-Ti oxides. FInal Report (open access)

Radiation effects and annealing kinetics in crystalline silicates, phosphates and complex Nb-Ta-Ti oxides. FInal Report

Interaction of heavy particles (alpha-recoil nuclei, fission fragments, implanted ions) with ceramics is complex because they have a wide range of structure types, complex compositions and chemical bonding is variable. Radiation damage can produce diverse results, but most commonly, crystalline periodic materials become either polycrystalline or aperiodic (metamict state). We studied the transition from crystalline to aperiodic state in natural materials that have been damaged by alpha recoil nuclei in the U and Th decay series and in synthetic, analogous structure types which have been amorphized by ion implantation. Transition from crystalline to aperiodic was followed by analysis of XRD, high resolution TEM, and EXAFS/XANE spectroscopy. Use of these techniques with increasing dose provided data on an increasing finer scale as the damage process progressed.
Date: August 10, 1987
Creator: Ewing, R.C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
European organization for nuclear research (open access)

European organization for nuclear research

The CERN Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR) operated from 1971 to 1984. During that time high-energy physics experiments were carried out with 30 GeV colliding proton beams. At the end of this period the machine was decommissioned and dismantled. This involved the movement of about 1000 machine elements, e.g., magnets, vacuum pumps, rf cavities, etc., 2500 racks, 7000 shielding blocks, 3500 km of cables and 7 km of beam piping. All these items were considered to be radioactive until the contrary was proven. They were then sorted, either for storage and reuse or for radioactive or non-radioactive waste. The paper describes the radiation protection surveillance of this project which lasted for five months. It includes the radiation protection standards, the control of personnel and materials, typical radioactivity levels and isotopes, as well as final cleaning and decommissioning of an originally restricted radiation area to a free accessible area.
Date: September 10, 1987
Creator: Schoenbacher, H. & Tavlet, M.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library