[en] Because of the ubiquitous nature of turbulence and the vast array of different systems which have turbulent solutions, the study of turbulence is an area of active research. Much present day understanding of turbulence is rooted in the well established properties of homogeneous Navier-Stokes turbulence, which, due to its relative simplicity, allows for approximate analytic solutions. This work examines a group of turbulent systems with marked differences from Navier-Stokes turbulence, and attempts to quantify some of their properties. This group of systems represents a variety of drift wave fluctuations believed to be of fundamental importance in laboratory fusion devices. From extensive simulation of simple local fluid models of long wavelength drift wave turbulence in tokamaks, a reasonably complete picture of the basic properties of spectral transfer and saturation has emerged. These studies indicate that many conventional notions concerning directions of cascades, locality and isotropy of transfer, frequencies of fluctuations, and stationarity of saturation are not valid for moderate to long wavelengths. In particular, spectral energy transfer at long wavelengths is dominated by the E x B nonlinearity, which carries energy to short scale in a manner that is highly nonlocal and anisotropic. In marked contrast to the canonical self-similar cascade dynamics of Kolmogorov, energy is efficiently passed between modes separated by the entire spectrum range in a correlation time. At short wavelengths, transfer is dominated by the polarization drift nonlinearity. While the standard dual cascade applies in this subrange, it is found that finite spectrum size can produce cascades that are reverse directed and are nonconservative in enstrophy and energy similarity ranges. In regions where both nonlinearities are important, cross-coupling between the nolinearities gives rise to large no frequency shifts as well as changes in the spectral dynamics

[en] This work examines a group of turbulent systems with marked differences from Navier-Stokes turbulence, and attempts to quantify some of their properties. This group of systems represents a variety of drift wave fluctuations believed to be of fundamental importance in laboratory fusion devices. From extensive simulation of simple local fluid models of long wavelength drift wave turbulence in tokamaks, a reasonably complete picture of the basic properties of spectral transfer and saturation has emerged. These studies indicate that many conventional notions concerning directions of cascades, locality and isotropy of transfer, frequencies of fluctuations, and stationarity of saturation are not valid for moderate to long wavelengths (kρ_s ≤ 1). In particular, spectral energy transfer at long wavelengths is dominated by the E x B nonlinearity, which carries energy to short scale (even in 2-D) in a manner that is highly nonlocal and anisotropic. In marked contrast to the canonical self-similar cascade dynamics of Kolmogorov, energy is efficiently passed between modes separated by the entire spectrum range in a correlation time. At short wavelengths, transfer is dominated by the polarization drift nonlinearity. While the standard dual cascade applies in this subrange, it is found that finite spectrum size can produce cascades that are reverse directed (i.e., energy to high k) and are nonconservative in enstrophy and energy similarity ranges (but conservative overall). In regions where both nonlinearities are important, cross-coupling between the nonlinearities gives rise to large nonlinear frequency shifts as well as changes in the spectral dynamics. This profoundly affects the dynamics of saturation by modifying the growth rate and nonlinear transfer rates. These modifications can produce a nonstationary saturated state with large amplitude, long period relaxation oscillations in the energy, spectrum shape, and transport rates

[en] Describes an experiment to measure beta decays of the sigma particle. Sigmas produced by stopping a K^- beam in a liquid hydrogen target decayed in the following reactions: Kp → Σπ; Σ → Neν. The electron and pion were detected by wire spark chambers in a magnetic spectrometer and by plastic scintillators, and were differentiated by a threshold gas Cherenkov counter. The neutron was detected by liquid scintillation counters. The data (n = 3) shell electrons or the highly excited electrons decay first. Instead, it is suggested that when there are two to five electrons in highly excited states immediately after a heavy ion--atom collision the first transitions to occur will be among highly excited Rydberg states in a cascade down to the 4s, 4p, and 3d-subshells. If one of the long lived states becomes occupied by electrons promoted during the collision or by electrons falling from higher levels, it will not decay until after the valence shell decays. LMM rates calculated to test the methods used are compared to previous works. The mixing coefficients are given in terms of the states 4s4p, 45sp+-, and 5s5p. The applicability of Cooper, Fano, and Prats' discussion of the energies and transition rates of doubly excited states is considered

[en] The dual cascade is generally represented as a conservative cascade of enstrophy to short wavelengths through an enstrophy similarity range and an inverse cascade of energy to long wavelengths through an energy similarity range. This picture, based on a proof due to Kraichnan [Phys. Fluids 10, 1417 (1967)], is found to be significantly modified for a spectra of finite extent. Dimensional arguments and direct measurement of spectral flow in Hasegawa-Mima turbulence indicate that for both the energy and enstrophy cascades, transfer of the conserved quantity is accompanied by a nonconservative transfer of the other quantity. The decrease of a given invariant (energy or enstrophy) in the nonconservative transfer in one similarity range is balanced by the increase of that quantity in the other similarity range, thus maintaining net invariance. The increase or decrease of a given invariant quantity in one similarity range depends on the injection scale and is consistent with that quantity being carried in a self-similar transfer of the other invariant quantity. This leads, in an inertial range of finite size, to some energy being carried to small scales and some enstrophy being carried to large scales

[en] The development of a new research instrument, the positron polarization comparator, is described. It consists of a magnetic β-ray spectrometer coupled to a positron polarimeter. This device is capable of comparing the polarization of positrons from two different nuclei to an accuracy which we estimate to ultimately reach 2 x 10^-4, thus enabling investigations of weak interaction features previously inaccessible to experiment. The current comparator system, including the results of studies of the systematic effects to be anticipated in such devices, is described

[en] We examine correlations in a time series of electric power system blackout sizes using scaled window variance analysis and R/S statistics. The data shows some evidence of long time correlations and has Hurst exponent near 0.7. Large blackouts tend to correlate with further large blackouts after a long time interval. Similar effects are also observed in many other complex systems exhibiting self-organized criticality. We discuss this initial evidence and possible explanations for self-organized criticality in power systems blackouts. Self-organized criticality, if fully confirmed in power systems, would suggest new approaches to understanding and possibly controlling blackouts

No abstract available

[en] With the thrust of this meeting being ...to articulate the nuclear power industry's vigorous move toward excellence in operations and that such excellence is both cost-effective and safety enhancing, the subject of this paper is how the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant instituted a computerized work control and data processing system. The paper deals with the goals established and the approaches used. Also included is a description of the mechanisms and techniques utilized and an assessment of successes. It is hoped that by articulating the management techniques and methods used to institute a major functional and organizational change at Point Beach Nuclear Plant, the presentation will be beneficial

[en] The expected results are presented for a fast, selective 14-MeV neutron detector which should be capable of separately measuring the confinement and energy loss of fast tritons for the first time. The tritons, from D-D reactions in a deuterium plasma, are observed when they collide with deuterons while slowing down, producing a characteristic 14-MeV neutron. Triton experiments are an excellent test for the confinement of fusion-produced alphas in a self-sustained reactor, which is critically dependent on plasma heating by the alphas. The triton production rate is pulsed by injecting a burst of deuterium using a neutral-beam heating source. The temporal distribution of the 14-MeV neutron flux is determined by the confinement and slowdown rate of the tritons. The expected flux is calculated as a function of time for the predicted triton transport, anomalous particle losses, and anomalous energy-loss rates, thus demonstrating how the various effects can be separately determined

[en] A wide variety of magnetic confinement devices have found transitions to an enhanced confinement regime. Simple dynamical models have been able to capture much of the dynamics of these barriers however an open question has been the disconnected nature of the electron thermal transport channel sometimes observed in the presence of a standard ('ion channel' barrier. By adding to simple barrier model an evolution equation for electron fluctuations we can investigate the interaction between the formation of the standard ion channel barrier and the somewhat less common electron channel barrier. Barrier formation in the electron channel is even more sensitive to the alignment of the various gradients making up the sheared radial electric field than the ion barrier is. Electron channel heat transport is found to significantly increase after the formation of the ion channel barrier but before the electron channel barrier is formed. This increased transport is important in the barrier evolution. (author)