A pulsed-flow leaching test is being conducted using three EBR-II blanket fuel segments. These samples are immersed in simulated J-13 well water. The samples are kept at a constant temperature of 90 C. Leachate is exchanged weekly and analyzed for various nuclides which are of interest from a mobility and longevity point of view. Our primary interest is in the longer-lived species such as {sup 99}Tc, {sup 237}Np, and {sup 241}Am. In addition, the behavior of U, Pu, {sup 90}Sr, and {sup 137}Cs are being analyzed. During the course of this experiment, an interesting observation has been made involving one of the samples which could indicate the possible rapid ''anoxic'' oxidation of uranium metal to UO{sub 2}.

The objective of this report is to describe results obtained during the second year of funding that will lead to the development of an artificial neural network (A.N.N) fault diagnostic system for the real-time classification of operational transients at nuclear power plants. The ultimate goal of this three-year project is to design, build, and test a prototype diagnostic adviser for use in the control room or technical support center at Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC); such a prototype could be integrated into the plant process computer or safety-parameter display system. The adviser could then warn and inform plant operators and engineers of plant component failures in a timely manner. This report describes the work accomplished in the second of three scheduled years for the project. Included herein is a summary of the second year`s results as well as descriptions of each of the major topics undertaken by the researchers. Also included are reprints of the articles written under this funding as well as those that were published during the funded period.

I present results from a next-to-leading order event generator of purely gluonic jet production. This calculation is the first step in the construction of a full next-to-leading order calculation of three jet production at hadron colliders. Several jet algorithms commonly used in experiments are implemented and their numerical stability is investigated. A numerical instability is found in the iterative cone algorithm which makes it inappropriate for use in fixed order calculations beyond leading order.

At present, there are three seriously considered options for the disposition of excess weapons plutonium: (i) incorporation, partial burn-up and direct disposal of MOX-fuel; (ii) vitrification with defense waste and disposal as glass ``logs``; (iii) deep borehole disposal (National Academy of Sciences Report, 1994). The first two options provide a safeguard due to the high activity of fission products in the irradiated fuel and the defense waste. The latter option has only been examined in a preliminary manner, and the exact form of the plutonium has not been identified. In this paper, we review the potential for the immobilization of plutonium in highly durable crystalline ceramics apatite, pyrochlore, monazite and zircon. Based on available data, we propose zircon as the preferred crystalline ceramic for the permanent disposition of excess weapons plutonium.

The authors investigate the cosmological constraints on exotic stable matter states which arise in realistic free fermionic superstring models. These states appear in the superstring models due to a ``Wilson-line`` breaking of the unifying non-Abelian gauge symmetry. In the models that they consider the unifying SO(10) gauge symmetry is broken at the string level to SO(6) x SO(4), SU(5) x U(1) or SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1). The exotic matter states are classified according to the patterns of the SO(10) symmetry breaking. In SO(6) x XO(4) and SU(5) x U(1) type models one obtains fractionally charged states with Q{sub e.m.} = {+-}1/2. In SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) type models one also obtains states with the regular charges under the Standard Model gauge group but with ``fractional`` charges under the U(1){sub z{prime}} symmetry. These states include down-like color triplets and electroweak doublets, as well as states which are Standard Model singlets. By analyzing the renormalizable and nonrenormalizable terms of the superpotential in a specific superstring model, the authors show that these exotic states can be stable. They investigate the cosmological constraints on the masses and relic density of the exotic states. They propose that, while the abundance and the masses …

Oats (Avena sativa L. lodi) tolerant of rhizosphere infestation by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci when challenged by the pathogen experience tissue-specific alterations of ammonia assimilatory capabilities. Altered ammonia assimilatory potentials between root and leaf tissue result from selective inactivation of glutamine synthetase (GS) by the toxin Tabtoxinine-B-lactam (TBL). Root GS is sensitive and leaf GSs are resistant to TBL inactivation. With prolonged challenge by the pathogen root GS activity decreases but leaf GS specific activity increase. Higher leaf GS activity is due to decreased rates of degradation rather than increased GS synthesis. Higher leaf GS activity and elevated levels of GS polypeptide appear to result from a limited interaction between GS and TBL leading to the accumulation of a less active but more stable GS holoenzyme. Tolerant challenged oats besides surviving rhizosphere infestation, experience enhanced growth. A strong correlation exists between leaf GS activity and whole plant fresh weight, suggesting that tissue-specific changes in ammonia assimilatory capability provides the plant a more efficient mechanism for uptake and utilization of nitrogen.

An investigation of Mound`s ability to measure and process bridges was conducted in 1985. Prior to improvements in the measuring system and technique, bridge width was found to have a sigma of 0.00019 in. After improvements were made, a sigma of 0.000047 was realized. Bridge length was found to be more erratic than width, although most of the inaccuracy was caused by measurement uncertainty. Length and width were found to have little or no correlation.

As the host of the Olympic Village for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Georgia Tech has experienced a surge in construction activities over the last three years. Over 1.3 million square feet of new buildings have been constructed on the Georgia Tech campus. This growth has placed a strain on the Georgia Tech community and challenged the facilities support staff charged with planning and organizing utility services. In concert with Olympic construction, utility planners have worked to ensure long term benefits for Georgia Tech facilities while meeting the short term requirements of the Olympic Games. The concentration of building construction in the northwest quadrant of the campus allowed planners to construct a satellite chilled water plant to serve the needs of this area and provide the opportunity to integrate this section of the campus with the main campus chilled water system. This assessment and master plan, funded in part by the US Department of Energy, has evaluated the chilled water infrastructure at Georgia Tech, identified ongoing problems and made recommendations for long term chilled water infrastructure development and efficiency improvements. The Georgia Tech office of Facilities and RDA Engineering, Inc. have worked together to assemble relevant information and prepare the recommendations …

The new camera FXI was investigated. Spatial resolution, or its Fourier transform, the modulation transfer function (MTF), is critical for quantitative interpretation of recent hydrodynamic instability data taken on the Nova laser. We have taken data corresponding to backlit straight edges, pinholes, and grids, both on the bench and {ital in}{ital situ} on Nova. For both the pinhole and edge data, the MTF at all wavelengths of interest can be deduced from a single image. Grids are of more limited usefulness, giving the MTF value only at the spatial period of the grid. These different techniques for characterizing the MTF of gated x-ray pinhole cameras are discussed, with results specific to the FXI presented.

This document is the analytical laboratory report for tank 241-AN-103 [Hydrogen Watch Listed] push mode core segments collected between September 13, 1996 and September 23, 1996. The segments were subsampled and analyzed in accordance with the Tank 241-AN-103 Push Mode Core Sampling and Analysis Plan (TSAP), the Safety Screening Data Quality Objective (DQO) and the Flammable Gas Data Quality Objective (DQO). The analytical results are included in the data summary table. The raw data are included in this document. None of the samples submitted for Total Alpha Activity (AT), Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Plutonium analyses exceeded notification limits as stated in the TSAP. One sample submitted for Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis exceeded the notification limit of 480 Joules/g (dry weight basis) as stated in the Safety Screening DQO. Appropriate notifications were made. Statistical evaluation of results by calculating the 95% upper confidence limit is not performed by the 222-S Laboratory and is not considered in this report. Appearance and Sample Handling Attachment 1 is a cross reference to relate the tank farm identification numbers to the 222-S Laboratory LabCore/LIMS sample numbers. The subsamples generated in the laboratory for analyses are identified in these diagrams with their sources shown. …

A 500 cubic foot per minute (CFM) portable exhauster system was fabricated for use on 241-A-101 [a Hydrogen Watch List tank] during saltwell pumping activities. An operational test was performed on this unit during 9/20/96 through 1O/14/96 in the 241-A Tank Farm. This operational test was done in accordance with OTP-060-001 Rev 0 (See Appendix A of this report). The test was performed with exceptions.

The Systems Engineering Management and Implementation Plan (SEMIP) for TWRS Project W-465 describes the project implementation of the Tank Waste Remediation System Systems Engineering Management Plan (TWRS SEMP), Rev. 1. The SEMIP outlines systems engineering (SE) products and processes to be used by the project for technical baseline development. A formal graded approach is used to determine the products necessary for requirements, design, and operational baseline completion. SE management processes are defined, and roles and responsibilities for management processes and major technical baseline elements are documented.

This report summarizes the technical progress achieved during the fourth quarter of the EPRI project. The focus of work during this reporting period was the construction of an electronic control module for the coke detector probe. The electronic control module supervises the actuation and data collection functions of the probe sensor. Basic operation of the probe controller was confirmed. The overall aim of the project is to demonstrate the performance and practical use of a probe for measuring the thickness of coke deposits located within the high temperature tubes of a thermal cracking furnace. This aim will be met by constructing a probe that will be tested using simulated coke deposits that are positioned inside of a bench-scale furnace. Successful development of the coke detector will provide industry with the only available method for on-line measurement of coke deposits.

Nuclear production reactors operated at the U.S. Department of Energy`s Hanford Site from 1944 until 1988 to produce plutonium. Most of the irradiated fuel from these reactors was processed onsite to separate and recover the plutonium. When the processing facilities were closed in 1992, about 1,900 metric tons of unprocessed irradiated fuel remained in storage. Additional fuel was irradiated for research purposes or was shipped to the Hanford Site from offsite reactor facilities for storage or recovery of nuclear materials. The fuel inventory now in storage at the Hanford Site is predominantly N Reactor irradiated fuel, a metallic uranium alloy that is coextruded into zircaloy-2 cladding. The Spent Nuclear Fuel Project has rommitted to an accelerated schedule for removing spent nuclear fuel from the Hanford Site K Basins to a new interim storage facility in the 200 Area. Under the current proposed accelerated schedule, retrieval of spent nuclear fuel stored in the K East and West Basins must begin by December 1997 and be completed by December 1999. A key part of this action is retrieving fuel canisters from the water-filled K Basin storage pools and transferring them into multi@ister overpacks (MCOS) that will be used to handle and process …

A Cooperative Research And Development Agreement (CRADA) was established April 1992 between Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. and United Technologies Corporation, Pratt and Whitney Division to evaluate the existing applicability of the Energy Systems optical tool inspection and compensation system (OTICS) for use at Pratt and Whitney`s East Hartford Plant. The OTICS was developed at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant and optically measures the shape of a single point cutting tool. The tool shape inspection provides process information relating to tool wear and if desired the tool shape geometry can be used to generate a new numerical control machining program that is compensated for the tool forms errors. The tool wear measurement capability of OTICS was successfully evaluated in the Phase-1 testing. The testing verified that OTICS can easily detect tool wear and the {+-} 0.0001 inch resolution obtained was sufficient for the larger cutter inserts used by Pratt and Whitney (P and W). During the tool wear experiments at P and W, a second potential use identified for OTICS was the accurate on-machine dimensional verification of special ground contour forming tools. The OTICS tool path compensation experiment demonstrated the varied technologies that are integrated in the tool path compensation …

Spatially Resolved X-Ray Diffraction (SRXRD) is used to map the {alpha}{r_arrow}{beta}{r_arrow}{alpha} phase transformation in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of commercially pure titanium gas tungsten arc welds. In-situ SRXRD experiments were conducted on arc welds using a 200 pm diameter x-ray beam at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL). A map was created which identifies six HAZ microstructural regions that exist between the liquid weld pool and the base metal during welding. The first region is single phase {beta}-Ti that forms in a 2- to 3-mm band adjacent to the liquid weld pool. The second region is back transformed {alpha}-Ti that forms behind the portion of the HAZ where {beta}-Ti was once present at higher temperatures. The third region is completely recrystallized {alpha}-Ti that forms in a 2- to 3-mm band surrounding the single phase {beta}-Ti region. Recrystallized {alpha}-Ti was observed by itself and also with varying amounts of {beta}-Ti. The fourth region of the weld is the partially transformed zone where {alpha}-Ti and {beta}-Ti coexist during welding. The fifth region is directly behind the partially transformed zone and consists of a mixture of recrystallized and back transformed {alpha}-Ti The sixth region is farthest from the weld pool and consists of …

This BCR compares the Project W-058 Functional Design Criteria with the Project W-058 Preliminary Design Requirements Document,and identifies the differences between the two documents in the mission definition, project requirements, system functions, and interfaces. Impacts these differences have on current project design are also discussed.

The surface of a divertor plate typically has fine structure. Depending on the material - and the duration of exposure to the plasma, the characteristic size of the surface imperfections may vary over a broad range. In this paper, we consider the case where these structures have scale h that is much smaller than the ion gyroradius {rho}{sub i} but greater than the electron gyroradius {rho}{sub e}. The magnetic field intersects the divertor plate at a shallow angle {alpha}<<I. The present paper demonstrates that the combination of these two factors, fine surface structures and strongly tilted magnetic field, gives rise to many interesting new phenomena in the sheath. We consider only the plasma part of the problem: given the presence of some structure, what are the consequences in terms of the plasma properties in the vicinity of the surface? We are not addressing the issue of what process has caused the appearance of the structure. However, once the plasma part of the problem is solved, on could return to the analysis of the wall erosion problem, based on the solution obtained. For the environment of the divertor region of a medium-size tokamak (plasma density n{approximately}4x10{sup 13} cm{sup -3}, plasma temperature …

This paper presents the implementation of a prototype network level intrusion detection system. The prototype system monitors base level information in network packets (source, destination, packet size, time, and network protocol), learning the normal patterns and announcing anomalies as they occur. The goal of this research is to determine the applicability of current intrusion detection technology to the detection of network level intrusions. In particular, the authors are investigating the possibility of using this technology to detect and react to worm programs.

Classical particle drifts across the magnetic field can play an important role in tokamak edge-plasma transport. The relative influence of these terms is studied for self-consistent simulations by including them, together with anomalous diffusion transport, in a 2-D fluid model of edge-plasma transport for the DIII-D tokamak geometry. The drifts cause asymmetries in the plasma equilibrium which depend on the direction of the magnetic field, B. The basic results can be understood by dividing the drifts into three categories: diamagnetic, E x B, and {nabla}B. The dominant effect near the divertor plates is from the E x B drifts, while the weaker {nabla}B drifts cause an increase in the magnitude of the radial electric field inside the magnetic separatrix. The diamagnetic terms, defined as divergence free, do not contribute to transport.

Conversion of laser radiation to mechanical energy is the fundamental process behind many medical laser procedures, particularly those involving tissue destruction and removal. Stress waves can be generated with laser radiation in several ways: creation of a plasma and subsequent launch of a shock wave, thermoelastic expansion of the target tissue, vapor bubble collapse, and ablation recoil. Thermoelastic generation of stress waves generally requires short laser pulse durations and high energy density. Thermoelastic stress waves can be formed when the laser pulse duration is shorter than the acoustic transit time of the material: {tau}{sub c} = d/c{sub s} where d = absorption depth or spot diameter, whichever is smaller, and c{sub s} = sound speed in the material. The stress wave due to thermoelastic expansion travels at the sound speed (approximately 1500 m/s in tissue) and leaves the site of irradiation well before subsequent thermal events can be initiated. These stress waves, often evolving into shock waves, can be used to disrupt tissue. Shock waves are used in ophthalmology to perform intraocular microsurgery and photodisruptive procedures as well as in lithotripsy to fragment stones. We have explored a variety of transducers that can efficiently convert optical to mechanical energy. One …

We simulate boundary plasma turbulence using a 3D turbulence code BOUT and a linearized electromagnetic instability shooting code BAL. The code BOUT solves fluid equations for plasma vorticity,density, ion temperature and parallel momentum (along the magnetic field), electron temperature, and parallel momentum. A realistic DIII-D X point magnetic geometry is used. The focus is on the possible local linear instability drivers and turbulence suppression mechanisms from L to H mode. Comparison is made with data from the DIII-D toltamak where probe measurements provide turbulence statistics in the boundary plasma and transport modeling.

Topping the list of WHC Safety recognition during this reporting period is a commendation received from the National Safety Council (NSC). The NSC bestowed their Award of Honor upon WHC for significant reduction of incidence rates during CY 1995. The award is based upon a reduction of 48 % or greater in cases involving days away from work, a 30 % or greater reduction in the number of days away, and a 15% or greater reduction in the total number of occupational injuries and illnesses. (page 2-1). A DOE-HQ review team representing the Office of Envirorunent, Safety and Health (EH), visited the Hanford Site during several weeks of the quarter. Ile 40-member Safety Management Evaluation Team (SMET) assessed WHC in the areas of management responsibility, comprehensive requirements, and competence commensurate with responsibility. As part of their new approach to oversight, they focused on the existence of management systems and programs (comparable approach to VPP). Plant/project areas selected for review within WHC were PFP, B Plant/WESF, Tank Farms, and K-Basins (page 2-2). Effective safety meetings, prejob safety meetings, etc., are a cornerstone of any successful safety program. In an effort to improve the reporting of safety meetings, the Safety/Security Meeting Report …

This document is the final laboratory report for Tank 241-T-110. Push mode core segments were removed from risers 2 and 6 between January 29, 1997, and February 7, 1997. Segments were received and extruded at 222-S Laboratory. Analyses were performed in accordance with Tank 241-T-110 Push Mode Core Sampling and analysis Plan (TSAP) and Safety Screening Data Quality Objective (DQO). None of the subsamples submitted for total alpha activity (AT) or differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses exceeded the notification limits stated in DQO.