Compressive strength measurements in aluminum for shock compression over the stress range of Journal of Applied Physics 98, 033524 (2005) Abstract. The US National Nuclear Security Agency has a Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) with the goal of reducing the worldwide use of high-enriched uranium (HEU). A salient component of that initiative is the conversion of research reactors from HEU to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuels. An innovative fuel is being developed to replace HEU in high-power research reactors. The new LEU fuel is a monolithic fuel made from a U-Mo alloy foil encapsulated in Al-6061 cladding. In order to support the fuel qualification process, the Laser Shockwave Technique (LST) is being developed to characterize the clad-clad and fuel-clad interface strengths in fresh and irradiated fuel plates. This fuel-cladding interface qualification will ensure the survivability of the fuel plates in the harsh reactor environment even under abnormal operating conditions. One of the concerns of the project is the difficulty of calibrating and standardizing the laser shock technique. An analytical study under development and experimental testing supports the hypothesis that the Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL) in materials can be a robust and simple benchmark to compare stresses generated by different laser shock systems.

This report describes progress made at the Idaho National Engineering • Laboratoryduring the first three quarters of Fiscal Year (FY) 1992 on the Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project to perform " preliminarydesign studies on the Broad ApplicationTest Reactor (BATR). This work builds on the FY-92 BATR studies,"which identifiedanticipatedmission and safety requirementsfor BATR and assessed a variety of reactor concepts for their potential capabilityto meet those requirements. The main accomplishmentof the FY-92 BATR program is the development of baseline reactor configurationsfor the two conventionalconceptualtest reactors recommended in the FY-91 report. Much of the present report consists of descriptionsand neutronicsand thermohydraulicsanalyses of these baseline configurations. In addition,we consideredreactor safety issues, compared the consequencesof steam explosionsfor alternativeconventionalfuel types, explored a Molten Chloride Fast Reactor concept as an alternate BATR design, and examined strategies for the reduction of operating costs. Work planned for the last quarter of FY-92 is discussed, and recommendationsfor future work are also presented.

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A field experiment was conducted to demonstrate and quantify the thermal effectiveness of rigid insulation board when installed on the exterior of a buried concrete foundation wall. A heated, insulated box was constructed along one wall of an existing, unheated building to simulate the living space of a home. The crawl space beneath the living space was divided into two sections. One featured external foundation insulation, while the other side had none.36 temperature and heat flux sensors were installed at predetermined locations to measure the temperature profile and heat flow out of the living space. The temperature profile through the foundation was then used to calculate the total heat flow out of the foundation for both cases.This experiment showed that a significant energy savings is available with exterior foundation insulation. Over the course of 3 months, the heat-loss differential between the insulated and non-insulated foundations was 4.95 kilowatthours per lineal foot of foundation wall, for a ratio of 3:1. For a 2200 sq. ft home with a foundation perimeter 200 ft. long, this would amount to a savings of 990 kW-hrs in just 3 months, or 330 kW-hrs per month. Extrapolating to an 8-month heating year, we would expect to save over 2640 kW-hrs per year for such a home. The savings for a basement foundation, rather than a crawlspace, would be approach twice that amount, nearing 5280 kW-hr per year. Because these data were not collected during the coldest months of the year, they are conservative, and greater savings may be expected during colder periods. SUMMARYWhile insulation of basement and crawlspace walls is necessary for a warm and energy efficient home, the common practice of insulating the inside face of the foundation wall can lead to serious moisture-related problems [1]. The fundamental cause of these troubles is that they create a cool concrete foundation surface exposed to warm moist room air on one side, and cool moist soil on the other. Thus moisture from the room air tends to condensate on the concrete surface. If a moisture barrier is placed anywhere in the wall to prevent room air from reaching the concrete, then any moisture that may get into the wall has no path to dry to, and is trapped.A solution to this dilemma, as detailed in the EEBA Builder's Guide [2], is to place insulation on the outside of the foundation wall, rather than the inside. This solution keeps the foundation wall warm, preventing condensation and leaving the inner surface free to dry to the inside. Because this is a relatively new building technique, and the construction industry is conservative, the efficacy of the approach must be quantitatively determined before it will see widespread acceptance.The goal of this study, sponsored by the State of Wyoming's Energy Programs Office, was to quantify the reduction in heat loss through the foundation by rigid insulation board placed on the outside of the foundation. This information may then be used to demonstrate the efficacy of external foundation insulation sy...