A large Leitz Universal Toolmakers' Microscope, Model UWM, was modified for use in an explosive environment defined by the National Electric Code as a rating of Class II, Group G. Use of the explosion-proof (EP) microscope provided a means for dimensionally measuring delicate pressed explosive material without contacting the material and subjecting it to possible contamination and mechanical destruction. Inexpensive design concepts, material, and hardware were used to effect the modifications of explosion-proofing. The accuracy, sensitivity, and repeatability of the Toolmakers' Microscope were not altered by the modification. (auth)

An ultrasonic method was developed for nondestructive inspection of the structural integrity of the 20-mil (0.0508-cm) thick iridium hemispheres that are used in the fabrication of Multihundred Watt (MHW) radioisotopic heat sources. A hemisphere was considered unacceptable if a back-surface ultrasonic response change was equivalent to that obtained from a 0.010-in. (0.0254-cm) diameter flat-bottomed hole in the standard. Flaws were detected in hemispheres made by the initial fabrication process. Typical flaws found ultrasonically in these units and revealed by metallography are shown. Hemispheres formed after a change to a different fabrication process were free of flaws. (auth)

At Rocky Flats approximately 1000 effluent and process area air samples are collected daily. These samples are then transferred to a central facility and direct counted for gross alpha concentrations. These concentrations are determined by utilizing a 100 detector system with a mini-computer. The computer controls the count cycle and performs data manipulations. The results are stored on magnetic tape. This system is designed and programmed in such a manner that it can be operated by semi-skilled personnel with a minimum of training.

The Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) of the BIPS-GDS is a tabular summary of hazards and undesired events which may lead to system damage or failure and/or hazard to personnel. The PHA reviews the GDS as it is envisioned to operate in the Vacuum Test Chamber (VTC) of the GDS Test Facility. The VTC and other equipment which will comprise the test facility are presently in an early stage of preliminary design and will undoubtedly undergo numerous changes before the design is frozen. The PHA and the FMECA to follow are intended to aid the design effort by identifying areas of concern which are critical to the safety and reliability of the BIPS-GDS and test facility.

This preliminary hazards analysis of the Brayton Isotope Power System (BIPS) Ground Demonstration Systems (GDS) presents tabulated information on possible hazards or undesirable events during the preparation and operation of the BIPS-GDS and of the test facilities, category of each hazard from negligible to catastrophic, cause and effect of hazard, and corrective actions. (LCL)

The initial results of a comparative study of the radiation strengthening and damage structures produced in Cu and Nb by D-T fusion and fission reactor neutrons are described. The radiation strengthening produced by a given fluence of fusion neutrons above about 10$sup 17$n/cm$sup 2$ is equal to that produced by a fluence of fission reactor neutrons (E greater than 0.1 MeV) ten times as great. This difference is about twice as large as would be expected if the strengthening scaled with damage energy or dpa. Initial transmission electron microscopy observations of the damage structures in fusion and fission reactor neutron irradiated copper indicate that the same type of primary structural defects, vacancy and interstitial point defect clusters and small dislocation loops with a/3 (111) and a/2 (110) Burgers vectors, are produced in both cases. The difference in the radiation strengthening produced by fusion and fission reactor neutrons in Cu appears to result from a substantially greater rate of accumulation of damage, in the form of point defect clusters, during irradiation with fusion neutrons than during irradiation with fission reactor neutrons plus a significant difference in the size and spatial distributions of the damage clusters. (auth)

The selection of interturn and interlayer insulation for superconducting magnets is discussed. The magnet problems of the Baseball II device are described. Manufacture of the insulation and radiation damage are mentioned. A planned experimental program is outlined. (MOW)

The data systems on the three mass spectrometers at LLL are computer- controlled, pulse-counting systems synchronized to a repeatedly-swept magnetic field. The data are accumulated in the memory of the computer or in a Nuclear Data ND 180 in a multi-scaler mode of operation. This mode of sweeping allows a continuous check of the background stability and makes tune-up easier. But the main benefit is a reduction in the required ion emission rate stability. By the use of standards to set the system dead time, we have been able to utilize the sensitivity of a pulse counting system without the expense of exotic equipment. (auth)

The questions asked and answered include: Why was the program renamed from PNE (Peaceful Nuclear Explosives) to NEA? Why are storage cavities needed? Why can`t existing caves and mines be used? Isn`t a mined cavity safer for radioactive disposal? Why can`t one tolerate asymmetry between the US and USSR PNE capability? Why do we need PNE execution capability to support verification capability? Why shouldn`t the money go directly to verification? What is the priority of PNE research compared to other energy technology research? What is the US obligation under Article V of the NPT if it is determined that PNE`s are not worthwhile? What new information is available which shows that PNE`s will be politically acceptable? How much has been spent to develop PNE`s to date? What viable technology has resulted? The remainder of the paper discusses research programs being carried out on nuclear explosion technology and one technology that has resulted from the PNE program, namely, stimulation of oil and gas extraction.

The purpose of this report is to develop a new dry cooling tower surface.

Project Rio Blanco was designed to increase rock permeability in an existing gas reservoir by fracturing the rock with a vertical array of three simultaneous nuclear explosions. The project site was CER Geonuclear hole RB-E- 01, Section 14, T35, R98W, Rio Blanco County, in the Piceance Creek Basin of northwest Colorado. The most essential part of this project was to produce fracturing in, and thereby to increase the permeability of, the reservoir rock. This report contains the results of optical and scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies done on unstressed and laboratory-stressed samples of graywacke sandstone from the 6458-ft level of the emplacement hole. Laboratory-stressed samples were from uniaxial-stress and uniaxial-strain tests made as part of equation-of-state measurements used to provide input parameters for preshot code calculations. (auth)

A broad range of problems in the legal and institutional environment which hampers the development of the geothermal industry is discussed. The topics include: the development of geothermal energy; pre-leasing procedures--public vs. private assessment; exploratory permits and related strategies; the rate of geothermal leasing-past and future; compensation strategies; lessee qualifications; lands available for leasing; noncompensatory lease terms; ongoing leasehold and production requirements; problems of ''secondary'' geothermal uses; and water law conflicts. (LBS)

Studies of reactions between core materials and coolant impurities, basic fission product transport mechanisms, core graphite development and testing, the development and testing of recyclable fuel systems, and physics and fuel management studies are described. Materials studies include irradiation capsule tests of both fuel and graphite. Experimental procedures and results are discussed and, where appropriate, the data are presented in tables, graphs, and photographs. (auth)

In the past several years, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory CLYDE code has been revised and modified extensively. Processing of photon production was incorporated, and the processing of higher-order S/sub n/ transfer matrices was speeded up. A Doppler broadening option was also added. On the other hand, the CLYDE routines that process evaporation models and cumulative probability distributions (I = 5,6) were deleted. The processing of Monte Carlo output was spun off into a separate code, CTART. 3 figures, 11 tables. (auth)

The design of the high-pressure liquid-phase microreactor has been completed, and assembly of the reactor system is at least half completed. The analytical techniques available for the analysis of sulfur and nitrogen-containing compounds in multicomponent white oil have been thoroughly reviewed, and a satisfactory analysis scheme has been developed. The scheme is centered around high-temperature gas chromatography with a nitrogen-specific detector for analysis of nitrogen-containing organic compounds and a sulfur-specific detector for sulfur-containing compounds. Samples of deactivated catalyst from the Synthoil pilot plant reactor have been analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe. Catalyst near the front of the reactor is 50 to 70% covered with a crust of ferrous sulfide which appears to be responsible for activity reduction. Smaller amounts of Cu, Si, Al, Zn and Ti were also present. Catalyst samples from near the exit of the reactor are essentially free of ferrous sulfide but have an irregular crust of Si-Al ash which covers 20 to 40% of the surface. A 300-cc autoclave has been purchased and set up for the hydrodenitrogenation studies. A catalyst-oil injection system which allows the catalyst and the nitrogen-containing reactant to be injected into the white oil in the autoclave which is …

The reliability and quality assurance organizational relationships, the methods to be used, the tasks to be completed, and the documentation to be published are presented. The total program is intended to provide the necessary reliability and quality assurance associated with the design, fabrication, and testing of the GDS. It is consistent with the general objectives of the ERDA Quality Assurance (QA) program requirements document ''SNS-1'' dated April 1972 and reliability program requirements document ''SNS-2'' dated 17 June 1974 but has been specifically modified for the GDS with the intent of establishing background data for the subsequent Phase II effort.

For the past two decades, programs have been conducted to develop ZrH reactor space power systems. Present development plans for reactor space system components are geared to the development of off-the-shelf standardized reactor components which can be used without modification in either Brayton, thermoelectric (TE), or organic Rankine power systems over a power range of 3 to 15 kW(e). In recent years, national energy programs have highlighted the need to increase production of oil and gas from domestic sources. The US oil and ocean engineering industries are developing subsea production methods and equipment for recovering petroleum from deep water and ice-covered regions. There is the need for a subsea power source for highly reliable, unattended operation. Preliminary studies indicate that ZrH reactor subsea power systems may offer advantages in deep water sites remote from surface support facilities, in regions of severe surface or icing conditions, and in areas of critical environmental problems. A number of major US oil companies have indicated a potential need for a subsea nuclear power system for future offshore operations and have expressed their interest in a concept based on the ZrH reactor and an organic Rankine power conversion system (PCS). Work pursued during FY 1975 …

This publication continues the quarterly series presenting results of work performed under the National HTGR Fuel Recycle Program (also known as the Thorium Utilization Program) at General Atomic Company. Results of work on this program prior to June 1974 were included in a quarterly series on the HTGR Base Program. The work reported includes the development of unit processes and equipment for reprocessing of High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) fuel and the design and development of an integrated line to demonstrate the head end of HTGR reprocessing using unirradiated fuel materials. Work is also described on the evaluation of alternate techniques for fuel reprocessing to surmount possible operating problems with the reference flow sheet and the development of the conceptual design of a target recycle facility to identify the requirements of large-scale recycle of HTGR fuels. (auth)

The availability of the Bevalac facility of energetic heavy ions with range greater than the size of small mammals makes possible the determination of the biological effects of relatively well defined high LET, whole body irradiation. With the increasing application of high-energy heavy ions in radiobiology there is a corresponding need to develop reliable techniques of both relative and absolute absorbed dose measurement. This paper describes dosimetry studies by the Health Physics Department of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory with activation detectors, ionization chambers, nuclear emulsion, thermoluminescent dosimeters and X-ray film. The application of these techniques to an experiment designed to study the leukemogenic effect of the whole-body irradiation of mice by 250 MeV/amu carbon ions is briefly described. Values of absorbed dose in tissue, obtained during this experiment, with a nitrogen filled ionization chamber and $sup 7$LiF thermoluminescent dosimeters are compared and shown to be in good agreement. As a result of this work a value for the average energy to produce an ion pair (W) in nitrogen by 250 MeV/amu $sup 6+$C ions of 37 +- eV was determined. Values of the efficiency of $sup 7$LiF relative to $sup 60$Co $gamma$-rays for ions with dE/dx in the range 110-260 …

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The program objective is to evolve and define an accessory drive system that will minimize system power consumption of driven accessories on an internal combustion engine in a passenger automobile. The initial three program phases established concept feasibility, determined potential fuel savings, and selected a drive system design for concept mechanization. During this quarter the major program accomplishments were: selection of candidate belt-drive concepts; completion of Phase III baseline vehicle drive systems physical and operational envelopes; completion of analysis for a mechanically controlled direct-operated belt drive with input programming; and completion of design layout and analysis for a hydromechanically controlled, servo-operated belt drive with output-speed sensing. (LLL)

The elements and structure of a small-scale regional energy-environment game are presented, with special emphasis on the definition of appropriate actors and state variables as well as characterization of the target region for which the game is designed. The results of this Phase I game will be used to aid the design of components in a more comprehensive game (Phase II) that can be used for investigating various energy-environment scenarios in a regional assessment study program. The principal results that will be used in the Phase II effort are: (1) definition of the target region; (2) development of reference scenarios describing energy-environment trends and mechanisms within the target region; (3) characterization of principal actors involved in the regional energy - environment system; and (4) definition of a set of factors or state variables that reflect the state of that system. (auth)

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