In June 1975 a radiological survey was conducted of the terrestrial environment of Bikini and Eneu islands (Bikini Atoll) to evaluate the potential radiation dose to the returning Bikini population. In this report, we present measurements of the radionuclide concentration in soil profiles and in dominant species of edible and nonedible, indicator plants. The use of these data to derive relationships to predict the plant uptake of radionuclides from soil is described. Approximately 620 soil and vegetation samples from Bikini and Eneu Islands were analyzed by Ge(Li) gamma spectrometry and by wet chemistry. The predominant radionuclides in these samples were /sup 60/Co, /sup 90/Sr, /sup 137/Cs, /sup 239,240/Pu, /sup 241/Pu, and /sup 241/Am.

A section of notes on geothermal exploration using the resistivity method precedes the main body of the paper. Field data from the Broadlands Area of New Zealand, Java, and the Imperial Valley, California are included. The reconnaissance resistivity survey recently completed in the East Mesa Area confirmed that a broad zone of low resistivities at depth extends through the area in a NNW direction. The interpretation of the resistivity data and the location of the resistivity lows at depth is much less definite in the Imperial Valley than it is in other areas of geothermal exploration. This is due to the extremely low background level of resistivities. The low resistivities in the Imperial Valley are due to the high porosity of the sediments and the high salinity of the solutions contained within the rock. The expected decrease in resistivity due to elevated temperature is much more difficult to detect in this environment. Edges of the zones of low resistivities have been delineated in almost all directions. (JGB)

This Type B Investigative Report provides an evaluation of all relevant events and activities that led to, were an integral part of, and subsequently resulted from ORNL's November-December 1985 strontium-90 release incident. The impacts were evaluated in terms of radiological doses to ORNL and Rust employees associated with the incident, ORGDP employees who consumed potable water potentially impacted by the incident, and Kingston, Tennessee, residents who also consumed potable water potentially impacted by the incident; and in terms of reductions in ORNL's low-level liquid radioactive waste storage capabilities. The management systems evaluated include: (1) those intended to reduce the potential of occurrence of such events and (2) those intended to provide adequate response to such events should they occur. Inherent in the management system evaluations were reviews of applicable planning activities and intra- and inter-organization communications. The composition of the investigation board and its appointment letter are contained in Appendix 1. The investigation process included analyses of existing procedures; analyses of environmental data collected just prior to, during, and subsequent to the event; and interviews and discussions with ORNL, ORGDP, DOE, and Rust Engineering personnel. In addition, written comments on the draft report were received from Rust Engineering (Letter from …

The first two phases of this program developed a lighting system that improved the system efficacy from 46 lm/w to 58 lm/w. In addition, the a power factor of 90% was attained which reduced the supply current by 46% as well as reducing the harmonic content below 3%. This system is being demonstrated on board a ship for final acceptance, and is expected to be employed on newly constructed ships. Phase 3 of this program explores the development of a still more efficient lighting system, in which an efficacy of 80 lm/w is the target. The system is a centralized system in which the 115 volt a.c. is distributed to one or more site on board ship and converted to a d.c. voltage. The d.c. is distributed on to a large group of lamps. At each lamp there will be an oscillator that converts the d.c. to a high frequency a.c. voltage that drives the lamp. This report is an analysis of the rectifying circuit, its efficiency and an estimated cost. 1 fig., 5 tabs.

The following is a description of the endeavors being pursued at ARSD as potential means of directly reducing the reformer plant and/or product costs. Three broad areas are currently under evaluation to achieve the cost reduction objectives and they include: (1) reduced reformer cost by simplifying the design, (2) improving thermochemical performance by enhanced heat transfer and catalyst activity, and (3) modification of process condition assumptions.

Continued interest in high-energy {gamma} rays associated with fusion reactions has motivated an ongoing search for simple, effective measurement techniques. Past experiments have measured 16.7-MeV {gamma} rays with Compton-magnetic spectrometers. Some measurements have been performed with threshold Cherenkov detectors with enhanced sensitivity to high-energy {gamma} rays. The Compton spectrometers work quite well, but they require extensive calibrations and tend to be expensive and cumbersome. The threshold Cherenkov detectors are simpler to calibrate and physically compact, but have poor spectral definition and are vulnerable to background signals. This report is to describe a new type of {gamma}-ray detector, the MOLE, that may retain the simplicity of a threshold Cherenkov detector while still having sufficient energy discrimination to be effective for measuring high-energy {gamma}-rays in the presence of lower-energy {gamma}-ray fluxes.

We have made and tested several sliced multilayer structures which can function as transmissive x-ray optical elements (diffraction gratings, zone plates, and phase gratings) at 8 keV. Our automated multilayer sputtering system is optimized to sputter layers of arbitrary thickness for very large total deposits at high deposition rates. Diffraction patterns produced by the multilayer devices closely match theoretical predictions. Such transmissive optics have the potential for wide application in high resolution microscope and spectrometer systems. 13 refs., 10 figs.

Several approaches have been developed to establish a relation between the soil-moisture retention curve and readily available soil properties. Those relationships are referred to as pedotransfer functions. Described in this paper are the rationale, approach, and corroboration for use of a nonparametric pedotransfer function for the estimation of soil hydraulic-parameter values at the yucca Mountain area in Nevada for simulations of net infiltration. This approach, shown to be applicable for use at Yucca Mountain, is also applicable for use at the Hanford Site where the underlying data were collected.

Part of the 300 Area Integrated Field-Scale Subsurface Research Challenge (IFC) will be installation of a network of high density borings and wells to monitor migration of fluids and contaminants (uranium), both in groundwater and vadose zone, away from an surface infiltration plot (Figure A-1). The infiltration plot will be located over an area of suspected contamination at the former 300 Area South Process Pond (SPP). The SPP is located in the southeastern portion of the Hanford Site, within the 300-FF-5 Operable Unit. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with the support of FH shall stake the well locations prior to the start of drilling. Final locations will be based on accessibility and will avoid any surface or underground structures or hazards as well as surface contamination.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) inaugurated a program addressing research and development for an Exoskeleton for Human Performance Augmentation in FY!2001. A team consisting of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the prime contractor, AeroVironment, Inc., the Army Research Laboratory, the University of Minnesota, and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute has recently completed an 18-month Phase I effort in support of this DARPA program. The Phase I effort focused on the development and proof-of-concept demonstrations for key enabling technologies, laying the foundation for subsequently building and demonstrating a prototype exoskeleton. The overall approach was driven by the need to optimize energy efficiency while providing a system that augmented the operator in as transparent manner as possible (non-impeding). These needs led to the evolution of two key distinguishing features of this team's approach. The first is the ''no knee contact'' concept. This concept is dependent on a unique Cartesian-based control scheme that uses force sensing at the foot and backpack attachments to allow the exoskeleton to closely follow the operator while avoiding the difficulty of connecting and sensing position at the knee. The second is an emphasis on energy efficiency manifested by an energetic, power, actuation and controls approach designed to enhance …

As modern supercomputing systems reach the peta-flop performance range, they grow in both size and complexity. This makes them increasingly vulnerable to failures from a variety of causes. Checkpointing is a popular technique for tolerating such failures, enabling applications to periodically save their state and restart computation after a failure. Although a variety of automated system-level checkpointing solutions are currently available to HPC users, manual application-level checkpointing remains more popular due to its superior performance. This paper improves performance of automated checkpointing via a compiler analysis for incremental checkpointing. This analysis, which works with both sequential and OpenMP applications, reduces checkpoint sizes by as much as 80% and enables asynchronous checkpointing.

In light water reactors, austenitic stainless steels (SSs) are used extensively as structural alloys in reactor core internal components because of their high strength, ductility, and fracture toughness. However, exposure to high levels of neutron irradiation for extended periods degrades the fracture properties of these steels by changing the material microstructure (e.g., radiation hardening) and microchemistry (e.g., radiation-induced segregation). Experimental data are presented on the fracture toughness and crack growth rates (CGRs) of wrought and cast austenitic SSs, including weld heat-affected-zone materials, that were irradiated to fluence levels as high as {approx} 2x 10{sup 21} n/cm{sup 2} (E > 1 MeV) ({approx} 3 dpa) in a light water reactor at 288-300 C. The results are compared with the data available in the literature. The effects of material composition, irradiation dose, and water chemistry on CGRs under cyclic and stress corrosion cracking conditions were determined. A superposition model was used to represent the cyclic CGRs of austenitic SSs. The effects of neutron irradiation on the fracture toughness of these steels, as well as the effects of material and irradiation conditions and test temperature, have been evaluated. A fracture toughness trend curve that bounds the existing data has been defined. The synergistic …

The program has been concerned with gas-phase carbon 1s photoelectron spectroscopy of a number of molecules of potential chemical interest. The primary goals have been to determine carbon 1s ionization energies with a view of relating these to other chemical properties such as electronegativity, acidity, basicity, and reactivity, in order to provide a better understanding of these fundamental properties. The role of electron-donating (methyl) and electron-withdrawing (fluoro) substituents on the carbon 1s ionization energies of substituted benzenes has been studied., and these results have been related to measurements of the reactivities of the same molecule as well as to their affinities for protons (basicity). Opportunities for investigation in unplanned areas have arisen, and the program has been modified to take advantage of these. One has been the realization that, under certain circumstances, inner-shell ionization energies may depend on the molecular conformation. Several examples of this phenomenon have been investigated and it has been shown that this technique provides a tool for the measurement of the energy differences between different conformers of the same substance. The other has been the demonstration that photoelectron recoil can lead to the excitation of vibrational modes that are forbidden in the normal view of photoemission …

This paper summarizes the current state of art of sampling, characterizing, retrieving, transferring and treating the incidental waste and stabilizing the void space in tank ancillary systems and the needs involved with closure of these systems. The overall effort for closing tank and ancillary systems is very large and is in the initial stages of being addressed in a systematic manner. It was recognized in doing this effort, that gaps in both technology and material application for characterization and removal of residual waste and closure of ancillary systems would be identified. Great efficiencies are to be gained by defining the technology need areas early in the closure process and providing recommendations for technical programs to improve the closure strategies. Therefore, this paper will not only summarize the state of closure of ancillary systems but also provide recommendations to address the technology gaps identified in this assessment.

This cleanup verification package documents completion of remedial action, sampling activities, and compliance criteria for the 118-B-1, 105-B Solid Waste Burial Ground. This waste site was the primary burial ground for general wastes from the operation of the 105-B Reactor and P-10 Tritium Separation Project and also received waste from the 105-N Reactor. The burial ground received reactor hardware, process piping and tubing, fuel spacers, glassware, electrical components, tritium process wastes, soft wastes and other miscellaneous debris.

A significant effort has recently been initiated to address probabilistic issues within radiological Performance Assessments (PA's) conducted at the Savannah River Site (SRS). This effort is considered to be part of a continual process, as is the program of PA analysis and maintenance across the Department of Energy (DOE) complex. At SRS, findings in the initial probabilistic analysis of the Slit Trenches in the E-Area PA were built upon and improved in the later development of the probabilistic model for the F-Area Tank Farm. Within the PA studies conducted at SRS, the initial effort of the uncertainty analyses was focused on the Slit Trenches as part of the E-Area PA. Specifically, a probabilistic model was developed for Slit Trench 5 within the E-Area. This model was utilized in deterministic mode to compare its results against the 2- and 3-D model results of the deterministic models. Then, utilizing the PDFs, the model was used to perform multiple realizations and produce probabilistic results. Later, a second probabilistic sensitivity and uncertainty analysis was undertaken for the F-Area Tank Farm PA. This effort is currently underway. Many improvements were made in how the flow and transport processes were incorporated within this model.

The objective of this research is to determine the relationship between the size and shape of coal and petroleum macromolecules and their diffusion rates i.e., effective diffusivities, in catalyst pore structures. That is, how do the effective intrapore diffusivities depend on molecule configuration and pore geometry.

Progress reports are presented for the following projects: (1) factors influencing the leaching performance of hollandiate; (2) incorporation of uranium and rare earths into zirconolite; (3) reconnaissance studies of the stability relations of Ca-Ti-Al phases in SYNROC C formulations; (4) immobilization of highly aluminous sludges; (5) SYNROC D formulations produced by sintering in air; (6) crystallization behavior of interstitial glass in SYNROC D formulations. Some of the highlights are: (1) leaching performance of all hollandites irrespective of preparation technique, can be improved by hot-pressing under specific controlled redox conditions, below Ni-NiO; (2) there is no satisfactory crystal-chemical reason why the leaching performance of Ti/sup 3 +/-bearing hollandite should be superior to that of Al/sup 3 +/ hollandite; (3) experiments have shown that the zirconolite lattice can accept up to 30% rare earths (Sm/sub 2/O/sub 3/) before becoming destabilized in favor of pyrochlore or a related f.c.c. structure; (4) SYNROC zirconolites will therefore be well below their saturation limits in rare earths and trivalent actinides; (5) experiments have established that the Ca-Ti-Al phase (CTA) is compatible with perovskite, hollandite and zirconolite; (6) magnetoplumbite-type phases coexists with hollandite, perovskite, zirconolite and Fe-bearing pseudobrookite, but do not coexist with the CTA phase CaTi/sub …

During the last quarter, work has focused on developing a numerical model to. approximate the flow characteristics of the Gladys McCall reservoir. Various reservoir models have been used in the study to simulate the well transient pressure and pressure derivative behavior during the reservoir production period. The pressure behavior of the 1983 Reservoir Limits Test (RLT) was closely matched by an elongated linear reservoir model with the well located off-center. The matching procedure appears to provide reasonable estimates of the probable configuration of Gladys McCall reservoir.geometry. Double-slope pressure behavior (on a semilog plot) develops after the. early radial flow period, indicating the existence of a no-flow boundary near the well. At later times, linear flow character (square-root-time straight line) becomes clear when two closer boundaries are both felt at the well.

Diffusion-bonded NiAl-Al[sub 2]O[sub 3] and Ni[sub 3]Al-Al[sub 2]O[sub 3] couples were thermally fatigued at 900 C for 1500 and 3500 cycles. The fiber-matrix interface weakened after 3500 cycles for the Saphikon fibers, while the Altex, PRD-166, and FP fibers showed little, if any, degradation. Diffusion bonding of fibers to Nb matrix is being studied. Coating the fibers slightly increases the tensile strength and has a rule-of-mixtures effect on elastic modulus. Push-out tests on Sumitomo and FP fibers in Ni aluminide matrices were repeated. Al[sub 2]O[sub 3] was evaporated directly from pure oxide rod onto acoustically levitated Si carbide particles, using a down-firing, rod-fed electron beam hearth; superior coatings were subsequently produced using concurrent irradiation with 200-eV argon ion-assist beam. The assist beam produced adherent films with reduced tensile stresses. In diffusion bonding in B-doped Ni[sub 3]Al matrices subjected to compressive bonding at 40 MPa at 1100 C for 1 hr, the diffusion barriers failed to prevent catastrophic particle- matrix reaction, probably because of inadequate film quality. AlN coatings are currently being experimented with, produced by both reactive evaporation and by N[sup +]-ion enhanced deposition. A 3-kW rod-fed electron-beam-heated evaporation source has been brought into operation.

This report examines, for technical merit, the combination of a fusion reactor driver and a thermochemical plant as a means for producing synthetic fuel in the basic form of hydrogen. We studied: (1) one reactor type - the Tandem Mirror Reactor - wishing to use to advantage its simple central cell geometry and its direct electrical output; (2) two reactor blanket module types - a liquid metal cauldron design and a flowing Li/sub 2/O solid microsphere pellet design so as to compare the technology, the thermal-hydraulics, neutronics and tritium control in a high-temperature operating mode (approx. 1200 K); (3) three thermochemical cycles - processes in which water is used as a feedstock along with a high-temperature heat source to produce H/sub 2/ and O/sub 2/.

To help achieve the quantitative and mechanistic understanding of these processes, the kinetic theory of radiation effects has been developed in the DOE basic energy sciences radiation effects and fusion reactor materials programs, as well as in corresponding efforts in other countries. This discipline grapples with a very wide range of phenomena and draws on numerous sub-fields of theory such as defect physics, diffusion, elasticity, chemical reaction rates, phase transformations and thermodynamics. The theory is cast in a mathematical framework of continuum dynamics. Issues particularly relevant to the present inquiry can be viewed from the standpoints of applications of the theory and areas requiring further progress.

This Type B Investigative Report provides an evaluation of all relevant events and activities that led to, were an integral part of, and subsequently resulted from ORNL's November-December 1985 strontium-90 release incident. The impacts were evaluated in terms of radiological doses to ORNL and Rust employees associated with the incident, ORGDP employees who consumed potable water potentially impacted by the incident, and Kingston, Tennessee, residents who also consumed potable water potentially impacted by the incident; and in terms of reductions in ORNL's low-level liquid radioactive waste storage capabilities. The management systems evaluated include: (1) those intended to reduce the potential of occurrence of such events and (2) those intended to provide adequate response to such events should they occur. Inherent in the management system evaluations were reviews of applicable planning activities and intra- and inter-organization communications. The composition of the investigation board and its appointment are contained in Appendix 1. 2 figs., 1 tab.

Goal is to study selective poisoning by fractional monolayers of chemisorbed sulfur on metal catalysts. A Pt catalyst on alumina support has been synthesized. Stabilized Fe catalysts without and with half monolayers of chemicsorbed S have been prepared. These catalysts, along with a Ni-alumina reference catalyst, will be used in experimental studies. 2 figs.