[en] This report presents the results of a study to evaluate the adequacy of leak detection systems in light water reactors. The sources of numerous reported leaks and methods of detection have been documented. Research to advance the state of the art of acoustic leak detection is presented, and procedures for implementation are discussed

[en] The current design and fabrication process for RERTR fuel plates utilizes film radiography during the nondestructive testing and characterization. Digital radiographic methods offer a potential increases in efficiency and accuracy. The traditional and digital radiographic methods are described and demonstrated on a fuel plate constructed with and average of 51% by volume fuel using the dispersion method. Fuel loading data from each method is analyzed and compared to a third baseline method to assess accuracy. The new digital method is shown to be more accurate, save hours of work, and provide additional information not easily available in the traditional method. Additional possible improvements suggested by the new digital method are also raised. (author)

[en] This report presents the results of a study to evaluate the adequacy of leak detection systems in light water reactors. The sources of numerous reported leaks and methods of detection have been documented. Research to advance the state of the art of acoustic leak detection is presented, and procedures for implementation are discussed

[en] Some progress has been made both experimentally and conceptually in regard to plasmas that could be compressed by liner implosion, but no experimental test has yet been accomplished successfully in which the energy and temperature of the magnetically-confined plasma has been increased into a significant regime by liner implosion. Considerable progress has been made, however, in developing liner implosion techniques suitable for both experimental development and eventual imploding liner fusion reactors. The principal development has been the achievement of controlled, reversible liner implosions with excellent symmetry and surface quality. The paper reviews some of the highlights of th development of liner implosion systems at the Naval Research Laboratory and indicates directions of future work

[en] The development of imploding liner flux compression techniques for application to compact, pulsed fusion reactors has led to the concept of rotating liquid metal implosions driven by free-pistons. In hydrodynamic model tests, such implosions have been demonstrated to be stable and reversible, allowing serious consideration of a new class of pulsed fusion reactor. The next step is to demonstrate repetitive, controlled operation at high energy densities with liquid metal liners, for which peak magnetic field levels approaching a megagauss are possible. A prototype controlled liner implosion system, LINUS-O, has been designed and is under construction. During operation, the annular driving-piston surrounding the implosion chamber is displaced axially by the action of pulsed high pressure gas at several hundred atmospheres. The piston and chamber rotate at 2100 RPM, allowing the free inside surface of the liner to implode stably from 30 cm diameter to 1.0 cm at turnaround. The experimental facility is described and engineering problems associated with design and operation of controlled high energy implosion systems are discussed

[en] This chapter reports that the basic thrust of the liner implosion research at the Naval Research Laboratory for the LINUS program has been the design, development and characterization of liner implosion techniques that have the required properties of safety, reproducibility and scalability for both near-term plasma compression experiments and eventual fusion reactor applications. Discusses early work; initial NRL LINUS activities; solid liner experiments on the 540 kJ SUZY II capacitor bank; liquid liner implosions on SUZY II; piston-driven liner implosions; and some new directions