Objective is the qualification of a PLBR-size primary loop flexible piping joint to the ASME Band PVC rules. Progress and activities are reported for: Class 1 flexible joint code approval support, engineering and design, material development, component testing, and manufacturing development. (DLC)

Present techniques for measuring sound velocity in liquid metals have been limited by the use of transducers which cannot survive in extreme temperature conditions. These methods also require relatively long measurement times. An optical noncontacting method has been developed which may be used for extremely short experimental times and very high temperatures and pressures. This technique is being incorporated into an isobaric expansion apparatus in which a 1 mm diam wire sample in a high pressure argon gas environment is resistively heated to melt within a time period of only a few microseconds. Before instability of the liquid column occurs, thermal expansion, enthalpy, and temperature are measured. The addition of the sound velocity measurement permits a more complete determination of the thermophysical properties of the liquid metal.

The advantages of high resolution electron diffraction and imaging have been revealed in a wide variety of metallic systems, providing insight into the mechanisms of such phase transformations as ordering, spinodal decomposition, grain boundary precipitation, and the martensitic reaction. Structural discontinuities in interphase interfaces (atomic plane ledges) and grain boundaries (plane matching defects) have been identified with high precision, and compositional variations on an atomic scale have been detected, including solute segregation within approximately 10 A of a grain boundary. In the study of ceramics, primary effort has been directed toward the detection of thin intergranular films with notable success. Atomic dimension microledges have also been revealed in crystallization interfaces, polytype boundaries and transformation fronts, and compositional variations near grain boundaries have recently been recorded in lattice images of a Magnesium Sialon. It therefore appears that the technique holds equal promise for analysis of the fundamental mechanisms of crystallization, phase transformation, diffusion and solute segregation in ceramics as well as metallic alloy systems. The work presented here represents some of the potential of high resolution methods and is an initial step towards complete atomic characterization of materials. The most desirable progression of such research should lead to the attainment of …

Pretreatment of {alpha}-bungarotoxin ({alpha}-Bgt) binding sites from rat brain with cholinergic agonists causes transformation of sites to a high-affinity form toward agonist over a time course of minutes, consistent with identity of those sites as central nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). This agonist-induced alteration in receptor state may be correlated with physiological densensitization. Agonist inhibition of toxin binding to the high-affinity state is non-competitive, suggesting the existence of discrete toxin-binding and agonist-binding sites on the central nAChR. These results thus offer a possible explanation of observed impotency of {alpha}-Bgt toward blocking in vivo cholinergic responses in the central nervous system.

The radial-outflow reaction turbine, a pure-reaction turbine designed to improve the conversion efficiency of geothermal energy into electrical power is described. It also has potential as a total-flow turbine for low-temperature water. The principle of incomplete expansion can be used to obtain a reduction in turbine size when the turbine exhausts into a low-pressure condenser. And, by adding this turbine to single- and two-stage flashed-steam systems, the conversion efficiency of systems utilizing low- and high-energy wellhead sources, respectively can be improved. The Appendix outlines the analysis of the radial-outflow reaction turbine and leads to an expression for engine efficiency.

This volume consists of four topical reports: a general discussion of the philosophy of unfolding spectra with continuum and discrete components, a mathematical treatment of the effects of various physical parameters on the uncollided gamma-ray spectrum at aircraft elevations, a discussion of the application of the unfolding code MAZNAI to airborne data, and a discussion of the effects of the nonlinear relationship between energy deposited and pulse height in NaI(T1) detectors.

Recognizing the need to consider several potentially suitable sites for disposal of high-level radioactive wastes, a very preliminary search was made through available data for such sites in the North Pacific and West North Atlantic Oceans. The criteria used were: the site must be between high-productivity belts and outside of 200 mile limit; a minimum of 50 meters of sediment, preferably 100 to 150 meters; the sediment should be red clay with minimum or no biogenic components; the sediment should contain no unconformities; and no strong discontinuous internal reflectors; the area should have no tele-seismicity, be topographically subdued, have minimal bottom currents, have no or low economical potential (Mn nodules, etc.), and be large enough (1 to 2/sup 0/ on a side) to be feasible for disposal. Some of these criteria may need to be relaxed; others may need to be added. Seismic data were the basic information used to cull out potential areas, and there are very few areas that meet the criteria as interpreted seismically. Initial site specific data assessment reported included examination of all available geophysical/geological data in and around the MPG-1 area (approximately 29/sup 0/ to 31/sup 0/N; approximately 156/sup 0/ to 160/sup 0/W); a topographic …

Both train speed and dollar damage have been used in transportation studies as measures of accident severity. Analysis of freight train accident data for the three year period, 1972-74 showed that, in general, as speed increases dollar damage to railroad property also increases. A greater percentage of high speed than low speed accidents result in high dollar damage. Factors, in addition to speed, that can have an important effect on accident severity include the type of accident, the kinds of railcars and other equipment involved, and the geographical environmental of the accident. Threshold levels of accident stresses (e.g., impact and puncture forces and fire temperature and duration) are required to compromise the integrity of shipping containers used for the transport of radioactive materials. Analyses of accident severity using either speed or dollar damage as a basis can provide some insights into the possible risks involved in transport of radioactive materials. however, care must be taken in the strict use of results since there is no direct correlation between either speed or dollar damage and cask failure threshold levels.

The calculation of burnup in mixed-oxide fuel pins irradiated in EBR-II is shown to agree with burnup measured by postirradiation radiochemical analysis. The mean percent deviation is 0.12% with a variance of 2.49%. This gives a high level of confidence that HIST, which uses 91% of the nominal EBR-II power, provides an accurate estimate of burnup.

The problems associated with reinjecting spent geothermal brines are currently under investigation. This effort has included field tests of injection water to evaluate treating equipment effectiveness at the Niland Geothermal Test Loop. Membrane filter tests were conducted on fluids from the settling tanks, from the test loop, from the clarifier and at the injection well head (Magmamax No. 3). From this and other information concerning the injection interval, pressure, temperature and well history, an attempt to predict a well half life was made. The results of these calculations were not in agreement with observed well performance. An attempt with some apparent success has been made to understand the possible source of these discrepancies. The cyclic nature of the injection history dictated by need for descaling the test loop, followed by apparent partial recovery of injection acceptance, has led to a theory that is under investigation concerning effect of reheating the injection fluid containing amorphous particulate silica by the reservoir rock and fluid during well shut-in. Preliminary tests indicate some of this finely divided silica may be redisolving with consequent reduction in reservoir damage, and that two widely spaced injection wells in an alternating mode may provide low-cost, long-life injection capacity …

Environmental monitoring results continue to demonstrate that, except for penetrating radiation, environmental radiological impact due to SLAC operation is not distinguishable from natural environmantal sources. During 1977, the maximum neutron dose near the site boundary was 8.2 mrem. This represents about 8.2% of the annual dose from natural sources at this elevation, and 1.6% of the technical standard of 500 mrem per person annually.

The use of outside diameter ribs on nuclear reactor tubing presents severe problems to nondestructive testing of this tubing. A pulsed eddy-current apparatus for inspecting the integrity of smooth and ribbed tubing has been developed at Argonne National Laboratory. Test results for this apparatus and analysis and circuit block diagrams are presented. In addition, transducer and preamplifier features, scanning procedures, and theory of operation are discussed. To date, this apparatus has provided the best solution to the ribbed tubing problem because of its capability to time-sample data.

A review is given of reliable quantum chromodynamics predictions which either have or soon can be verified by experiment. Included are a discussion of the classic application of quantum chromodynamics perturbation theory and asymptotic freedom to predict scaling violations in deep inelastic leptoproduction experiments, with emphasis on the first direct experimental confirmation of the numerical values of the anomalous dimensions; a review of recent advances in developing and justifying quantum chromodynamics perturbation theory predictions for a number of physical applications not underwritten by the operator product expansion and renormalization group arguments; and mention of attempts to consider the reliability of quantum chromodynamics perturbation theory predictions, given the fact that nonperturbative effects are presumably crucial in quantum chromodynamics. 100 references. (JFP)

The AREAS area-source computer code, written in FORTRAN IV, is described and listed. This code, which runs in less than 7 seconds on the IBM 360/91 computer, estimates annual-average concentrations of an air pollutant at ground level in each of 400 grid squares in a 20 by 20 area reference grid. AREAS can be used for multiple, dispersed sources located in each of the 400 grid squares by treating them as area sources. Required input includes 20 by 20 arrays of annual-average point-source chi/Q values generated by use of a point-source model or computer code for specific grid sizes relative to the size of the area reference grid. AREAS can be applied to any size area for which a uniform meteorology can be assumed. It has been applied to dispersed emissions of fossil fuel combustion products and automobile emissions in Roane County, Tennessee, and to the atmospheric dispersion of radionuclides emitted from the tailings piles of uranium mills.

Surface topography of texturized solar cells was investigated., No significant differences were found between high output and low output cells with a common texturizing treatment. Differences were found between high output and low output cells with a common texturizing treatment. Differences were found associated with variation in the damage removal etch prior to texturizing.

A number of materials in and within the proximity of buildings housing fusion energy experiments (FEE) were analyzed for their potential fire hazard. The materials used in this study were mostly: electrical and thermal insulations. The fire hazard of these materials was assessed in terms of their ease of ignition, heat release rate, generation of smoke, and the effect of thermal environment on the combustion behavior. Several fire protection measures for buildings housing the (FEE) projects are analyzed and as a result of this study are found to be adequate for the near term.

This report summarizes the expected tritium and activation-product inventories and presents an assessment of the potential radiological releases from a fusion reactor power plant, hypothetically located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Routine tritium releases and the resulting dose assessment are discussed. Uncertainties associated with the conversion of tritium gas to tritium oxide and the global tritium cycling are evaluated. The difficulties of estimating releases of activated materials and the subsequent dose commitment are reviewed.

The atomic iodine photodissociation laser has been under intensive study for a number of years. The physics associated with this system is now well understood and it is possible to produce a 0.1 nsec (or longer) near-diffraction-limited laser pulse which can be amplified with negligible temporal distortion and little spatial deformation. The output of either a saturated or unsaturated amplifier consists of a high-fidelity near-diffraction-limited, energetic laser pulse. The report is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 is a survey of the important areas affecting efficient laser operation and summarizes the findings of Chap. 2. Chapter 2 presents detailed discussions and evaluations pertinent to pumps, chemical regeneration, and other elements in the overall laser system. Chapter 3 briefly discusses those areas that require further work and the nature of the work required to complete the full-scale evaluation of the applicability of the iodine photodissociation laser to the inertial confinement program.

A nondestructive autoradiographic method is described which can provide a verification that rods in the interior of unirradiated LWR fuel assemblies contain low-enriched uranium. Sufficient absorber must be used to reduce contributions to image density by beta radiation from /sup 238/U daughters. When appropriate absorbers are used, the density of the image of a uranium-containing fuel rod is proportional to the /sup 235/U enrichment in that rod. Exposure times as short as 1.5 hours can be achieved by using fast film and intensifying screens. Methods are discussed for reducing contributions to the image density of any single rod from radiation produced by all other rods in the assembly. The technique is useful for detecting missing rods, dummy rods, and rods containing depleted uranium. These defects can be detected by visual inspection of the autoradiographs. In its present state of development, the technique is not sensitive enough to reliably detect the difference between the various /sup 235/U enrichments encountered in current BWR fuel assemblies. Results are presented for field tests of the technique at BWR and PWR facilities.

Since Dow Corning discontinued production of 93-119, 93-120, 93-122, Pantex joined with the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory to develop substitutes for these materials. Raw materials chosen for this project include Sylgard 184, Sylgard 186, Q3-6527 Dielectric Gel, Q3-6559 Accelerator, DC 1107 and Cab-o-Sil MS-75. This report deals with physical and chemical properties of these materials.

A system used to monitor secondary beam profiles at the LAMPF Linac for channel tune-up and diagnostics is described. The multiwire proportional chamber design is discussed, and descriptions and drawings of the gate card, the amplifier/multiplexer card, the output amplifier card, and the overall system are given. (PMA)

The problem of beam tilt caused by beam-beam crossing at an angle has been treated by B. Richter and D. Ritson. An electron at a longitudinal position z relative to the center of the bunch experiences on the average a transverse kick proportional to z from the on-coming bunch. This kick produces a closed orbit for the electron being considered. The closed orbit is different for electrons with different values of z. Consequently, the beam will become tilted relative to its direction of motion. On the other hand, there is a longitudinal kick proportional to z of the particle due to both the rf focusing and the beams crossing at an angle. This longitudinal kick will cause the particle's energy to change and the energy change will, in turn, change the particle's z in the next revolution. It is, therefore, clear that a complete treatment of this problem should take the synchrotron oscillation, as well as the transverse betatron oscillation, into account. We will assume in a later calculation that the longitudinal defocusing effect due to beam-beam crossing at an angle is a dominated by the focusing effect provided by the rf cavities. The present note is to recalculate this …

Fusion reactor irradiation response in alloys containing nickel can be simulated in thermal-spectrum fission reactors, where displacement damage is produced by the high-energy neutrons and helium is produced by the capture of two thermal neutrons in the reactions: /sup 58/Ni + n ..-->.. /sup 59/Ni + ..gamma..; /sup 59/Ni + n ..-->.. /sup 56/Fe + ..cap alpha... Examination of type 316 stainless steel specimens irradiated in HFIR has shown that swelling due to cavity formation and degradation of mechanical properties are more severe than can be predicted from fast reactor irradiations, where the helium contents produced are far too low to simulate fusion reactor service. Swelling values are greater and the temperature dependence of swelling is different than in the fast reactor case.

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the performance characteristics of the methane fermentation process using beef feed lot manure as a substrate. Manure was obtained from the University of Illinois beef farm. This manure was processed through four parallel fermentors each having a capacity of 775 liters. A continuous feed system was employed to determine the conversion efficiency. The effluent from the fermentation units was evaluated to determine its dewatering characteristics and the quality of the liquid and solid residues. A simple simulation model was developed to evaluate the effect of various operating conditions on processing costs and the net income. These studies clearly show that thermophilic fermentation (58 to 60/sup 0/C) substantially increase the gas yield and the rate of gas production over that obtained at the mesophilic fermentation temperature. System stability is very good. Substantial decreases in temperature or significant increases in loadings did not disrupt the process. Solids recovery from the fermented slurry was accomplished with screens, vacuum drum filters and centrifuge. Solids capture was poor unless massive dosags of conditioning chemicals were added. In terms of investment and operating costs, simple screens (20 mesh size) would capture 75 to 80 percent of the recoverable …