A new test method has been developed at the Savannah River Laboratory for evaluating the iodine retention capabilities of carbon used in the airborne-activity confinement system. Methyl iodide tagged with I-131 is injected into a test gas stream continuously for 5 hours with test conditions of 80/sup 0/C temperature, 95% relative humidity, and 55 feet per minute linear flow velocity. Results show that the CH/sub 3/I retention efficiency is independent of the inlet CH/sub 3/I concentration over the range of at least 0.9 to 200 ..mu..g/m/sup 3/ in the test gas stream. The method was also used to evaluate the effects of paint fumes on in-service carbons and showed that solvent exposure reduced carbon service life by 5 to 7 months. Experimental carbons both before and after service exposure in the SRP carbon test facility were also evaluated.

In this paper measurement of the purely leptonic reactions: nu/sub ..mu../e ..-->.. nu/sub ..mu../e and anti nu/sub ..mu../e ..-->.. anti nu/sub ..mu../e, and the semileptonic reactions: nu/sub ..mu../p ..-->.. nu/sub ..mu../p and anti nu/sub ..mu../p ..-->.. anti nu/sub ..mu../p are presented and discussed in terms of the standard model. The data also places limites of interest on the magnitudes of a possible neutrino charge radius and a neutrino magnetic moment.

Subsidence and settlement are phenomena that are much more destructive than generally thought. In shallow land burials they may lead to cracking of the overburden and eventual exposure and escape of waste material. The primary causes are consolidation and cave-ins. Laboratory studies performed at Los Alamos permit us to predict settlement caused by consolidation or natural compaction of the crushed tuff overburden. We have also investigated the shear failure characteristics of crushed tuff that may lead to subsidence. Examples of expected settlement and subsidence are calculated based on the known geotechnical characteristics of crushed tuff. The same thing is done for bentonite/tuff mixes because some field experiments were performed using this additive (bentonite) to reduce the hydraulic conductivity of the crushed tuff. Remedial actions, i.e., means to limit the amount of settlement, are discussed. We finally discuss our field experiment, which studies the influence of subsidence on layered systems in general and on biobarriers in particular. The share of the produced cavities is compared with cavities produced by idealized voids in an idealized environment. Study of root penetration at subsidence sites gives us an indication of the remaining degree of integrity. 30 refs., 24 figs., 19 tabs.

An unusually wet season permitted us to test the integrity of our biobarrier installed in the improved or modified plots in our integrated system. Although the modified plots had a reduced water-holding capacity, they delivered leachate only at the drain installed above the biobarrier, demonstrating once more that the biobarrier is behaving successfully as a capillary barrier in rerouting the subsurface flow around the tuff beneath the biobarrier. As a result of vertical water flow impedance, more water was made available to plot vegetation, enhancing its growth dramatically. The capillary barrier theory was backed up by the tensiometer results showing saturation at the upper biobarrier interface. 11 refs., 19 figs

Savannah River Laboratory 165 type glass was leached with equilibrated J-13 groundwater at 90{degree}C for times up to 182 days. These experiments were performed as part of an effort by the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations Project to assess the importance of radiation effects on repository performance and waste glass corrosion. The gamma radiation field used in this work was 1. 0 +- 0.2 x 10{sup 4} rad/h. Glass dissolution is notably incongruent throughout the entire experimental periods and normalized releases follow the sequence Li {ge} Na {ge} B {approx_equal} U {ge} Si. The normalized leach rates of these elements, as well as the measured growth rates of the reaction layers, decreased with time. The only significant variation observed in the abundance of anions is the systematic decrease in NO{sub 3}/sup {minus}//NO{sub 2}/sup {minus}/ ratio from the starting EJ-13 groundwater to the EJ-13 blank experiments to the tuff- and glass-containing experiments. A leaching model that is consistent with the observed solution data and depth profiles is presented. The applicability and limitation of the present results in predicting the actual interactions that may occur in the NNWSI repository are discussed. 35 refs., 30 figs., 12 tabs.

Various schemes for cosmological compactification of higher dimensional theories are considered. Possible instabilities which drive the ground state with static internal space to de Sitter-like expansion of all dimensions are discussed. These instabilities are due to semiclassical barrier penetration and classical thermal fluctuations. For the case of the ten dimensional Chapline-Manton action, it is possible to avoid such difficulties by balancing one-loop Casimir corrections against monopole contributions from the field strength H/sub MNP/ and fermionic condensates. 10 refs.

Resuls of analytical and experimental studies on hydraulic fracturing and on the characterization and modeling of hot dry rock geothermal energy reservoirs are presented. The first four Chapters are concerned with problems of thermal cracking and heat transfer, with fluid flow through large cracks, and with the stable and unstable growth of water-filled cracks under internal pressure and thermal loading. Experiments are reported, which present visually observable hydraulic fractures in transparent materials to demonstrate the interaction between hydraulic fractures and the development of thermal cracks. Seismic detection of hydraulic fractures is discussed, and a method to invert crack-scattering data is presented. Separate abstracts were prepared for each of the six chapters.

The MITRE Corporation conducted a five-month study for the Office of Resource Applications in the Department of Energy on the regulatory requirements of low-Btu coal gasification. During this study, MITRE interviewed representatives of five current low-Btu coal gasification projects and regulatory agencies in five states. From these interviews, MITRE has sought the experience of current low-Btu coal gasification users in order to recommend actions to improve the regulatory process. This report is the third of three volumes. It contains the results of interviews conducted for each of the case studies. Volume 1 of the report contains the analysis of the case studies and recommendations to potential industrial users of low-Btu coal gasification. Volume 2 contains recommendations to regulatory agencies.

This ADM documents the evaluation of the potential environmental impact hazards from the Environmental, Safety and Health Upgrades, Phase 3 project.

The project scope of work included the complete decontamination and decommissioning (D and D) of the Westinghouse ARD Fuel Laboratories at the Cheswick Site in the shortest possible time. This has been accomplished in the following four phases: (1) preparation of documents and necessary paperwork; packaging and shipping of all special nuclear materials in an acceptable form to a reprocessing agency; (2) decontamination of all facilities, glove boxes and equipment; loading of generated waste into bins, barrels and strong wooden boxes; (3) shipping of all bins, barrels and boxes containing waste to the designated burial site; removal of all utility services from the laboratories; and (4) final survey of remaining facilities and certification for nonrestricted use; preparation of final report. These four phases of work were conducted in accordance with applicable regulations for D and D of research facilities and applicable regulations for packaging, transportation, and burial and storage of radioactive materials. The final result is that the Advanced Fuel Laboratories now meet requirements of ANSI 13.12 and can be released for unrestricted use. The four principal documents utilized in the D and D of the Cheswick Site were: (1) Plan for Fully Decontaminating and Decommissioning, Revision 3; (2) Environmental …

The progress of the LLL Laser Fusion Program to achieve high gain thermonuclear micro-explosions is discussed. Many experiments have been successfully performed and diagnosed using the large complex, 10-beam, 30 TW Shiva laser system. A 400 kJ design of the 20-beam Nova laser has been completed. The construction of the first phase of this facility has begun. New diagnostic instruments are described which provide one with new and improved resolution, information on laser absorption and scattering, thermal energy flow, suprathermal electrons and their effects, and final fuel conditions. Measurements were made on the absorption and Brillouin scattering for target irradiations at both 1.064 ..mu..m and 532 nm. These measurements confirm the expected increased absorption and reduced scattering at the shorter wavelength. Implosion experiments have been performed which have produced final fuel densities over the range of 10x to 100x liquid DT density.

This report is divided into the following sections: (1) facility reports (Argus and Shiva); (2) Nova project; and (3) fusion experiments. In the Fusion Experiments section of this report, the author describes the results of a series of experiments on Shiva which further the understanding of the production and transport of suprathermal electrons. He found that of the suprathermal electrons which strike a laser irradiated disk target or which interact with the rear surface of a half Cairn hohlraum target, a significant fraction of these electrons orbit the target and strike the rear of the disk. These results have significant implications in the interpretation and modeling of the laser irradiated target experiments.

We report on a search for neutrino oscillations of the type nu/sub ..mu../ ..-->.. nu/sub e/ in a detector located an effective distance of 96m from the neutrino source in the wide band neutrino beam at the Brookhaven AGS. No excess of electron events was observed. The resulting upper limit on the strength of the mixing between nu/sub ..mu../ and nu/sub e/ in the case of large mass difference ..delta..m/sup 2/ = absolute value m/sub 1//sup 2/ - m/sub 2//sup 2/ between the neutrino mass eigenstates m/sub 1/ and m/sub 2/ is sin/sup 2/2..cap alpha.. less than or equal to 3.4 x 10/sup -3/ at 90% CL. The corresponding upper limit for small mass difference is ..delta..m/sup 2/sin2..cap alpha.. < 0.43 eV/sup 2/. 9 refs.

Research progress is reported in the development of new seismological tools to define and characterize the geometry, mechanical construction and mass transport process of a geothermal system, and their application to various geothermal systems including the Fenton Hill Hot Dry Rock System, New Mexico, Kilauea and Kilauea Iki, Hawaii, Mt. St. Helens, Washington, and Long Valley, California. (ACR)

A process to photochemically remove tritium from heavy water has been described previously. Order-of-magnitude cost estimates for this process have been made, based on the specifications, assumptions, and parameters. The estimated costs of each unit and of the complete system are given. The total capital cost (excluding laser cost) of $650,000 corresponds to a cost of $0.08/Ci tritium removed, for plant amortization over one year. The electrical load is about 154 kW; this is equal to a cost of $0.01/Ci tritium removed (80% capacity factor, $0.05/kWh). Therefore the order-of-magnitude total cost of tritium removal is about $0.09/Ci. Experimental data on the D/sub 2/0/DTO/CDCl/sub 3/ system are needed to permit a detailed design of the exchange unit; the necessary experiments will soon be performed by a summer student. The stripper concept must also be better defined. With a good understanding of these units, the crucial parameters and tradeoffs can be identified and balanced in a final process design. The collaborative effort with the Savannah River Laboratory will help with process development, and will ensure that all Savannah River Plant requirements are met.

Recent events, such as Three Mile Island-2, Brown's Ferry-3, and Crystal River-3, have demonstrated that complex accidents can occur as a result of dependent (common-cause/mode) failures. These events are now being called Systems Interactions. A procedure for the identification and evaluation of Systems Interactions is being developed by the NRC. Several national laboratories and utilities have contributed preliminary procedures. As a result, there are several important views of the Systems Interaction problem. This report reviews some fundamental mathematical background of both fault-oriented and success-oriented risk analyses in order to bring out the advantages and disadvantages of each. In addition, it outlines several fault-oriented/dependency analysis approaches and several success-oriented/digraph-matrix approaches. The objective is to obtain a broad perspective of present options for solving the Systems Interaction problem.

Test results from a full-length prototype of the drift chamber vertex detector for the Mark II SLC Upgrade detector are presented. The 22 cell jet chamber employs planes of grid wires above and below the sense wire plane to increase the electrostatic stability of the sense wires and to narrow the electron arrival time distribution. Two different grid designs have been investigated. The spatial resolution and pulse widths have been measured at a variety of operating points and for different timing schemes in a mixture of 92% CO/sub 2/ and 8% isobutane. Typical results at 3 atmospheres pressure give an average resolution over a 2 cm drift distance of 30 ..mu..m for both designs. Efficient double track detection is achieved for tracks separated by 500 ..mu..m for one design and by 1000 ..mu..m for the other.

The 200 Sand Steamflood Demonstration Project is testing an enhanced steamflooding technique in the Midway-Sunset Field, Kern County, California. This project was initiated to demonstrate the operational, recovery, and economic aspects of steamflooding a typical heavy oil reservoir which had unfavorable response to cyclic steam stimulation. A pilot test was conducted in four (4) 2.35 acre inverted seven-spot steam drive patterns, which were not fully developed with producers. As a result of the response shown by the pilot, in April 1980, work began to expand the pilot area to a total of fourteen (14) fully developed 2.35 acre inverted seven-spot patterns. Expansion to a full-scale steamflood test will consist of drilling and completing 30 producing wells and 10 steam injection wells. The reservoir contains approximately 50 million barrels of oil-in-place in a structure that lies between 400 and 700 feet in depth.

The Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP) Materials Testing Group (MTG) provides large quantities of reference basalt for testing waste package materials under repository conditions, site sorption characteristics and other experimental purposes. This document describes the reference rock materials currently used in testing, namely entablature and colonnade basalt from the Umtanum and Cohassett flows. The data include sampling locations, bulk chemical composition, modal percentages of major phases, and the chemical and mineralogical compositions of these phases. 8 refs., 17 figs., 15 tabs.

This report summarizes the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) DIII-D cooperation during FY87. The LLNL participation in DIII-D concentrated on three principal areas: ECH and current-drive physics, divertor and edge physics, and tokamak operations. These topics are dicussed in this report. 27 refs., 11 figs.

A study of transient stress wave propagation in graphite HTGR fuel elements has been undertaken as a step toward developing techniques for the evaluation of seismic impact loads. The objectives of the study were to identify appropriate numerical methods, to understand the influence of the geometry and the multiple holes on the response, and to determine the relative importance of high frequency response and lower mode vibrations. A general review is made of the dynamic contact problem, and the methods available to model impact phenomena and stress wave propagation are evaluated.

This paper is intended as a survey of collective plasma processes which can affect the transfer of high frequency radiation in a hot dense plasma. We are rapidly approaching an era when this subject will become important in the laboratory. For pedagogical reasons we have chosen to examine plasma processes by relating them to a particular reference plasma which will consist of fully ionized carbon at a temperature kT=1 KeV (10/sup 70/K) and an electron density N = 3 x 10/sup 23/cm/sup -3/, (which corresponds to a mass density rho = 1 gm/cm/sup 3/ and an ion density N/sub i/ = 5 x 10/sup 22/ cm/sup -3/). We will consider the transport in such a plasma of photons ranging from 1 eV to 1 KeV in energy. Such photons will probably be frequently used as diagnostic probes of hot dense laboratory plasmas.

Thermal damage to susceptible materials in accessible regions shows damage-distribution patterns that indicate nonuniform intensity of exposure. No clear explanation for nonuniformity is found in existing evidence; e.g., in some regions a lack of thermally susceptible materials frustrates analysis. Elsewhere, burned materials are present next to materials that seem similar but appear unscathed - leading to conjecture that the latter materials preferentially absorb water vapor during periods of high local steam concentration. Most of the polar crane pendant shows heavy burns on one half of its circumferential surface. This evidence suggests that the polar crane pendant side that experienced heaviest burn damage was exposed to intense radiant energy from a transient fire plume in the reactor containment volume. Tests and simple heat-transfer calculations based on pressure and temperature records from the accident show that the atmosphere inside the reactor building was probably 8% hydrogen in air, a value not inconsistent with the extent of burn damage. Burn-pattern geography indicates uniform thermal exposure in the dome volume to the 406-ft level (about 6 ft below the polar crane girder), partial thermal exposure in the volume between the 406- and 347-ft levels as indicated by the polar crane cable, and lack of …

One method of generating short, high-power microwave pulses is to store rf energy in a resonant cavity over a relatively long fill time and extract is rapidly. A power gain roughly equal to the ratio of fill time to extraction time can be obtained. During the filling of a resonant cavity some of the energy is lost in heating the cavity walls, and some will generally be reflected at the input coupling of the cavity. In this paper we discuss the time dependence of the stored energy and related quantities and the way in which it depends on the coupling of the source to the cavity.