Nuclear Engineering Commons^™

Prospects For Nuclear Fusion Power, William C. Gough

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

The prospects for fusion power are discussed including the need for fusion, its environmental advantages, and the research results that form the basis for present confidence that the program will succeed. The steps remaining before commercial fusion power will be available are outlined. Exploratory ideas for second generation fusion electric power plants, and non electrical applications of fusion technology and reactors are briefly covered.

Are Nuclear Shipments Really Safe?, William A. Brobst

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

The transportation of nuclear materials is on the increase. Although nuclear shipments are only a very small fraction of the Nation’s hazardous materials shipments, they attract a great deal of public attention. Shipments of spent nuclear fuel and nuclear wastes are a particular concern.

One of the many fears that people have about nuclear energy is the possibility that a nuclear shipment might somehow go awry and cause a serious public hazard. Primarily, they are worried that a shipment of spent reactor fuel or highly radioactive waste could be involved in a serious rail or highway accident and dump its …

The Assessment Of Environmental Impacts At Nuclear Power Generating Stations, Thomas H. Row, J. R. Mcwherter

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

The Federal actions that are required with regard to nuclear power stations are the granting of a construction permit and later the issuance of a license to operate the station. Since the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) is responsible for these actions, the Commission is also responsible for preparation of an environmental statement on the proposed actions. The National Laboratories including the one at Oak Ridge are used as part of the staff in preparing the statements.

The staff makes an independent determination of the plant effluents and their dispersions. The impact of these and plant construction on the environment are …

1st Umr-Mec Conference On Energy Resources -- Entire Proceedings, University Of Missouri--Rolla

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

No abstract provided.

Reliability Analysis Of The University Of Missouri--Rolla Reactor, Jimmy Dale Schottel

Masters Theses

"The reliability of Nuclear Installations is becoming an important area of research. In this report an approach to reliability analysis was made. The actual failure data was utilized to predict theoretical failure distributions. These distributions were then used to determine future reliability of components, subsystems and system"--Abstract, p. ii

The Effects Of Washout In Polydispersed Metalic Aerosols, Jerry N. Burford

Masters Theses

"Experimental Collection Efficiencies are presented for drops of approximately 0.1cm radius falling through aluminium, magnesium and molybdenum oxide polydispersed aerosols. The experimentation was conducted in two identical cylindrical chambers, one being used for aerosol washout, and the other for allowing the aerosol to decay normally. The Collection Efficiency data were thus determined by comparing the aerosol concentration changes in the two chambers. The rather strong effects that induced micro-turbulence and relative humidity have on aerosol collection and aerosol decay were observed and are discussed"--Abstract, page ii.

Feasibility Study Of An Electromagnetic Trap Fusion Reactor., Dennis Gilbert Blondin

Masters Theses

"Through the use of detailed particle and energy balances, electromagnetic traps with magnetic cusps are found to be unsatisfactory for continuous operation when using only neutral particle beams to sustain a thermonuclear plasma. Low power multiplication characteristics inherent in this CTR design probably preclude supplemental plasma heating methods. However, by using an alternate Yin-Yang magnetic system, continuous CTR operating regimes are found at an ion temperature of 20 keV while assuming only neutral particle beam heating. Although these regimes require applied electrostatic potentials approaching a half-million volts, this device demonstrates a capability for efficient power production"-- Abstract, p. ii

Post Irradiation Changes Of The Elastic Modulus Of Aluminum, Dale A. Powers

Masters Theses

"Aluminum samples of 99.99% and 99.999% purity were irradiated to neutron fluences of 3·8·10¹⁸ nvt and 1.4·10¹⁹ nvt (E greater than 0.1 Mev) at one-third of the melting temperature. The change in Young's modulus of elasticity after isothermal annealing in the temperature range of 110⁰C to 130⁰C was measured. After 2.5 hours of annealing, the modulus reached a steady state value which was decreased by 0.25% ± 0.17% from the unannealed value. Electron microscopy suggests the hardening mechanisms were dispersion hardening by silicon precipitates and void hardening"--Abstract, page ii.

Waste Heat Utilization From A Direct Cycle High Temperature Gas Cooled Nuclear Reactor For District Heating And Air Conditioning, John Joseph Blase

Masters Theses

"An analysis was conducted to determine the economic as well as technical feasibility of waste heat utilization from the proposed direct cycle high temperature gas cooled nuclear reactor, as designed by the General Atomic Company.

The rejected heat from this system is at considerably higher temperatures than those normally encountered in conventional steam-electric Rankine cycles. By taking advantage of these higher rejection temperatures, heat was translated into energy available to a district heating and air conditioning service. The transportation of this energy was considered to be in the form of heated and chilled water.

A refrigeration capacity on the order …

Possible Damage Mechanism In Dresden 2 Class Boiling Water Reactor Fuel, Donald Lee Moffett

Masters Theses

"A thermal hydraulic analysis of a typical hot channel of a Dresden 2 class boiling water reactor is studied for possible severe local overheating. The COBRA-II thermal hydraulic analysis code is modified to include critical heat flux calculations for each subchannel. The effects of flow distribution, inlet mass velocity variations, dimensional tolerances, enrichment variations, and input parameters are examined in detail. Bulk channel results are in good agreement with the published data, but the assembly wall side of the corner fuel rod has a minimum critical heat flux ratio of less than unity for a number of the situations examined. …

Calculation Of The Neutron Flux In The Side Regions Of The Prestressed Concrete Reactor Vessel Of A High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor, Richard Robert Kent Jr.

Masters Theses

"Neutron flux in the side regions of the High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor's (HTGR) Prestressed Concrete Reactor Vessel (PCRV) was determined using the Monte Carlo method. One quarter of the PCRV was modeled, with all major structures inside it, e.g. steam generator, auxiliary cooling loop, etc. imaged at their exact position and size. Initial neutron energies range from .001 eV to 3 MeV. Three neutron interactions were considered: absorbtion, elastic scattering, and inelastic scattering.

The flux was calculated for two different PCRV temperatures, 155° F and 647° F. The thermal flux showed a minor increase at the higher temperature. In …

Radiation Testing Under Simulated Loca Conditions, Kenneth G. Mayhan, D. R. Edwards, W. F. Oberbeck, J. F. Montle

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

The purpose of this evaluation is to gather data to determine whether or not radiation during a simulated Loss of Coolant Accident would have any effect upon the coatings being used. Because of the concern in industry regarding the safety of nuclear power generating stations and the strong actions of the various environmentalist clubs and agencies clubs and agencies, the utilities have been required to prove the safety of the power facilities to extraordinary degrees before licensing can be obtained to operate. One of the areas regarding the safety is the necessity of proving that the coatings will remain intact …

Explosive Electron Emission And The Characteristics Of High-Current Electron Flow, Robert Kelley Parker

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Within the past several years, an increasing effort has been concen­trated on the application of high-current, relativistic electron beams to the problem of controlled thermonuclear fusion. Initially, this effort had been impeded by limitations in the high-voltage and pulsed-power technology required to develop pulsed, high-power electron accelerators. These technologies have been developed to a level where powers on the order of 10¹³ watts are now available for time durations of approximately 100 nanoseconds. With the initial limitations removed, the emphasis has more recently been centered on controlling and concentrating these beams to achieve the parameters necessary for fusion experimentation. …

Neutronics Calculations Of Two Fusion Reactor Blankets, James Edward Struve

Masters Theses

"At the present state of engineering development, the most probable fusion reactor fuel cycle will use deuterium and tritium in the reaction ²₁D + ³ ₁T → ¹₀n + ⁴₂He. This reaction is exothermic and provides 17.6 Mev of energy of which 14.1 Mev are given to the neutron. The reaction will take place in a plasma environment inside an evacuated chamber. This chamber will be surrounded by a "blanket" which will serve to transform the kinetic energy of the neutron into heat and produce tritium for subsequent use in the fuel cycle. …

Use Of Radioactive Iodine Evolved Into Reactor Cooling Water To Locate Defective Fuel Elements, Carl Mozel Stroud

Masters Theses

"The relative amount of radioactive iodine evolved in reactor cooling water by each fuel element provides an excellent indication of defective cladding on fuel elements. The radioactive iodine evolved into the reactor cooling water from a defective fuel element should be higher than the average radioactive iodine evolved by other fuel elements into the cooling water by an order of magnitude or more.

Radioactive iodine with non-radioactive iodine carrier is adsorbed on DOWEX SBR resin in the iodide form. The iodide is eluted from the resin with sodium hypochlorite and extracted into carbon tetrachloride. The iodine is reduced to iodide …

Break-Even Criteria For A Pulsed D-T Reactor, Kenneth Franklin Keller

Masters Theses

"To those who keep track of such things and are in a position to make predictions, it appears that the use of controlled thermonuclear reactions to economically produce electric power is well within a lifetime from now. Indeed, experiments presently being conducted are putting us closer and closer to the development and construction of demonstration fusion reactors. Understandably, the people working on such products and processes are optimistic about their results. This is as it should be if our nation is to avoid major energy shortages in the future.

Unfortunately, the tenor of this paper is pessimistic. This is not …

Calculation Of Gamma-Ray Albedo Using The Monte Carlo Method, Ezatholah Aslani-Amoli

Masters Theses

"Gamma-ray number, energy and dose albedo are calculated with the Monte Carlo technique. A plane monoenergetic beam was considered at normal incidence upon single material shields at initial gamma energy up to 10 MeV. Aluminum, iron and lead are used as shield material. The contribution of secondary photons which are produced as a result of various photon interactions in the shield are taken into account. These secondary photons are annihilation gammas, X rays and bremsstrahlung gammas. In certain cases, they constitute a considerable fraction of the reflected radiation.

Annihilation gammas predominate in the reflected radiation for all energies above 1.02 …

Elastic-Plastic Poisson's Ratio Of Borsic-Reinforced Aluminium Composites, Ronald Edward Allred

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Poisson's ratio as a function of tensile strain has been examined for four volume fractions of unidirectional Borsic-reinforced aluminum composites. Linear relationships were found between Poisson's ratio and fiber volume fraction during Stage I (elastic filaments-elastic matrix) and Stage II (elastic filaments-plastic matrix) deformation which confirms that rule-of-mixtures equations may be used to predict Poisson's ratios for metal-matrix composites. These equations must be used with care, however, due to differences in the Poisson's ratio behavior of the components of the composite when tested alone and in situ in the composite. These differences are attributed to the triaxial stress field generated …

The Effect Of Porosity On Transverse Tensile Strength Of Filament Wound/Cvd Carbon-Carbon Composites., Gilbert William Brassell

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Filament wound/CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) carbon­carbon composites have received considerable attention within the past few years due to desirable characteristics such as high heat of ablation, thermal shock resistance, strength improvement at elevated temperatures, and chemical inertness. However, poor mechanical properties in the trans­verse direction have hampered the total effectiveness of these composites in some applications and a study of the effects of porosity on transverse tensile strength of filament wound/CVD carbon carbon composites has been conducted.

Two types of filament wound/CVD carbon carbon composites were studied. A standard filament wound/CVD carbon composite, and a composite similar to the standard …

Use Of Isotopes To Reduce Neutron-Induced Radioactivity And Augment Thermal Quality Of The Environment Of An Underground Nuclear Explosion, Nathaniel Fred Colby

Masters Theses

"The use of isotopes to include radioactive waste products to reduce the neutron-induced activity of an underground nuclear explosion and its application in the field of geothermal power stimulation is discussed. A shield composed of selected isotopes surrounding a fusion device will capture excess neutrons producing isotopes with short half-lives. Subsequent rapid decay will prolong the high temperature in the vicinity of the explosion and decrease the activity. Long-lived isotopes created by neutron capture in the host rock would be minimized. The investigation is conducted for strontium-90, cesium-137, cerium-144, technetium-99, rhodium-103 and -105. Of these, the first three appear to …

Computer Simulation Of The Primary Recoil Spectra And Damage Cross Section Of Fe₃Al Using Endf/B Ii Data, Daniel Willard Smith

Masters Theses

"A computer program, using Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF/B II) information, was used to develop energy-exchange kernels which delineate the energy transfer probabilities between neutrons and Fe₃Al lattice atoms. The kernels combine all available information on elastic and inelastic scattering contained in the ENDF/B II data.

The computer program used to generate the primary recoil spectra is SAKI, a modified version of RICE (1). SAKI is designed to calculate energy-exchange probabilities in any binary alloy as well as damage cross sections and optimum cutoff energies for use in comparing displacement effects in different reactor spectra."--Abstract, page ii.

Experimental Study Of Neutron Reflection From A Cylindrical Surface, Dale Lee Holtzscher

Masters Theses

"The reflection patterns for an elliptical neutron beam impinging upon cylindrical and planar surfaces were measured. The flux intensity as a function of distance from the surface of either planar or cylindrical reflectors decreased monotonously with distance. No "focusing" of the neutron beam appeared in the case of the cylindrical reflectors but the flux did not decrease as rapidly as in the planar case. For the elliptical neutron beam the experimentally determined neutron flux distribution agrees with calculation"--Abstract, page ii.

Calculation Of Buildup Factors For Multilayer Slab Shields Using The Monte Carlo Method, John Paul Kuspa

Masters Theses

"Gamma-ray beams normally incident upon slab shields of varying compositions are studied using a computer program based upon the Monte Carlo technique. Initial gamma energies of 1, 4, 6, and 8 MeV are considered. The shielding materials used were aluminum, iron, and lead. Both single and double material shields were investigated, at a variety of thicknesses up to a maximum of five mean free paths. Two secondary gamma processes are included in this simulation: annihilation gammas from pair production and bremsstrahlung from the electrons. The primary effort is the calculation of the dose, energy, and number buildup factors for these …

A Monte Carlo Calculation Of Neutron Reflection From Various Curved Surfaces, Charles Jack Kalter

Doctoral Dissertations

"Plane parallel neutron beams normally incident upon the curved surface of a solid reflector are studied with the Monte Carlo method. The geometries studied are cylindrical, parabolic, and hemispherical. It is shown that when the curved surface is cylindrical, a small "focusing effect" occurs in the reflected neutron beam. Parabolic and hemispherical surfaces do not show "focusing". A study of the factors which determine the spatial dependence of the reflected flux shows that the probability of emergence of a neutron, traveling a fixed distance from a point inside the reflector, depends upon the curvature of the surface. It is only …

Comprehensive Calculations Of The Parameters Describing Proton Energy Loss In Matter, Joseph F. Janni

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Extensive calculations have been made of the mean energy loss, pathlength, range, multiple scattering, and pathlength straggling of protons in many materials. Emphasis has been placed on obtaining accurate results, especially for heavy materials and protons of very low energy. Values of the energy loss between .01 and 1.0 Mev were obtained by smoothing and interpolating experimental information. Above 1.0 Mev, the Bethe equation with all the necessary shell corrections has been used. Values of the adjusted ionization potential have been determined by least squares fitting the Bethe equation to all available energy loss data. The polarization effect has been …

Techniques For Active 3he Activation Analysis For Carbon And Oxygen, William Mort Sanders

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

The surface and body concentrations of carbon and oxygen have been measured in various materials using ³He activation. Channeling techniques have been used to differentiate between interstitial and substitutional location of these impurities.

Thin target excitation functions were determined for (³He,p) reactions with carbon and oxygen over a ³He energy range from 2.5 to 9.0 MeV. These data were used to calculate the activation curves for various combinations of incident particle energy, impurity distributions, and material.

Information on several computer codes used during this study is presented.

Dynamic Measurements Of The GrüNeisen Coefficients Of Tantalum, Uranium, And Uranium-Molybdenum Alloys, James E. Gover

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Hooke's Law, Newton's Law, and the Grüneisen Equation of State are combined to develop a non-homogeneous, displacement wave equation and the stress/displacement relationship for an isotropic solid in which there has been a time and spatially dependent change in thermal energy. These equations are applied to two solids that are in perfect mechanical contact. One of the materials has had its thermal energy changed along one direction by a high energy electron beam while the thermal energy of the other has remained unchanged. It was assumed that the time dependence of the thermal energy change could be approximated by a …

Numerical Simulation Of Partially Neutralized Relativistic Electron Streams., Ludwig Adam Gritzo

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

The self-focusing of partially neutralized relativistic electron streams {Bennett pinch) is briefly discussed, and analytic solutions for idealized sets of conditions are reviewed.

A computer code for the numerical simulation of the drifting of a relativistic electron stream through an initially neutral gas, with the concurrent production and motion of ions and secondary electrons, is discussed in detail. The simulation conditions are restricted to (1) electron streams whose transverse momentum is small compared with their longitudinal momentum, and (2) low gas pressures, where the background plasma current and current density are low compared with the injected current. Only those electromagnetic …

Irradiation Enhanced Decomposition Of A Nickel-Carbon Solid Solution, Bryce Linn Shriver

Masters Theses

"This investigation was performed to determine the effects of room temperature neutron irradiation on the distribution of carbon in a nickel--0.3 wt. % carbon alloy. The experiment consisted of comparing the amount of carbon in solid solution and the internal stresses of both unirradiated and irradiated (10¹³ fn-cm⁻² < Φ_F < 10¹⁸ fn-cm⁻²) samples following isochronal anneals between 100ºC and 1200ºC by using the magnetic disaccommodation technique. The results indicate that the amount of carbon remaining in solid solution decreases with increasing neutron dose. At temperatures below 200ºC this is due to the trapping of carbon by mobile irradiation-produced defects. Between 200ºC and 600ºC the formation of metastable carbides is enhanced by the presence of irradiation-produced defects. No differences are observed in irradiated and unirradiated samples above 600ºC"--Abstract, page iii.

Low-Energy Electron Transport By The Method Of Discrete Ordinates, David E. Bartine

Doctoral Dissertations

"The one-dimensional discrete ordinates code ANISN has been adapted to simulate the transport of low-energy (on the order of a few MeV) electrons. Two different calculational techniques have been utilized for the treatment of electron-electron collisions that result in a small energy transfer. One method treats such collisions by a continuous slowing-down approximation, while the other method treats these collisions by the use of a very approximate cross section. Calculated results obtained with ANISN are compared with experimental data for the transmitted energy and angular distributions for 1-, 2.5-, 4-, and 8- MeV electrons normally incident on aluminum slabs of …