Radiation heating in selected NERVA engine components

The role of heating from nuclear radiation in design of the NERVA engine is treated. Some components are subjected to very high gamma heating rates in excess of 0.5 Btu/cubic inch/sec in steel in the primary nozzle or 0.25 Btu/cubic inch/sec in aluminum in the pressure vessel. These components must be cooled by a fraction of the liquid hydrogen propellant before it is passed through the core, heated, and expanded out the nozzle as a gas. Other components that are subjected to lower heating rates such as the thrust structure and the disk shield are designed so that they would not require liquid hydrogen cooling. Typical gamma and neutron heating rates, resulting temperatures, and their design consequences are discussed. Calculational techniques used in the nuclear and thermal analyses of the NERVA engine are briefly treated

Test plan 241-C-103 natural breathing characteristics evaluation using the ultra sensitive flowmeter

To facilitate the reduction of worker exposure to hazardous fumes and vapors, it is imperative to characterize and measure flows out of waste tanks that breathe due to atmospheric pressure changes. These measurements will lead to a better understanding of how these tanks breathe and thus will aid in better worker exposure control at lower cost

The use of ultra high pressure water for installation of instrumentation in ``assumed`` leaker tanks

A technique using ultra high pressure water, using pressures up to 259,000 kPa (gage) (37,500 psig), was developed to install thermocouple trees. The technique will enable the use of water to be decreased by up to a factor of 30, thereby reducing the potential for leaks. Although the final design is specifically to install thermocouple trees, this concept also can be used for installation of many other types of equipment into waste storage tanks

Biomimetic self-assembling copolymer-hydroxyapatite nanocomposites with the nanocrystal size controlled by citrate

Citrate binds strongly to the surface of calcium phosphate (apatite) nanocrystals in bone and is thought to prevent crystal thickening. In this work, citrate added as a regulatory element enabled molecular control of the size and stability of hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocrystals in synthetic nanocomposites, fabricated with self-assembling block copolymer templates. The decrease of the HAp crystal size within the polymer matrix with increasing citrate concentration was documented by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), while the shapes of HAp nanocrystals were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Advanced NMR techniques were used to characterize the interfacial species and reveal enhanced interactions between mineral and organic matrix, concomitant with the size effects. The surface-to-volume ratios determined by NMR spectroscopy and long-range 31P{1H} dipolar dephasing show that 2, 10, and 40 mM citrate changes the thicknesses of the HAp crystals from 4 nm without citrate to 2.9, 2.8, and 2.3 nm, respectively. With citrate concentrations comparable to those in body fluids, HAp nanocrystals of sizes and morphologies similar to those in avian and bovine bones have been produced

Engineering task plan for the vapor monitor installation into 241-C-103 tank

A vapor flow monitor is to be installed into the 241-C-103 tank`s exhaust, just downstream of the HEPA filter. The flow monitor system includes the flow sensor, the baffle assembly, the signal conditioning and control electronics, and a chart recorder. The electronics package and the chart recorder are installed into a small, heated instrument cabinet that is mounted on the same steel pallet on which the flowmeter and the diffuser assembly is mounted. The flowmeter is connected to the HEPA filter with an unheated, un-insulated flex hose. An automatic drain, upstream of the flowmeter, is designed to automatically drain the condensate into an evaporating pan. The flowmeter is heated with a temperature controlled heater to avoid condensation