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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
Massimo Zucchetti
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 26 | Number 4 | December 1994 | Pages 1275-1287
Technical Paper | Safety/Environmental Aspect | doi.org/10.13182/FST94-A30312
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Activation data are needed for many evaluations concerning fusion reactors and, in particular, safety and environmental impact assessments. A stepwise description of the activation analysis process is given. A neutron source description for one-dimensional neuronic models is compared with that for three-dimensional models. Concerning neutron flux calculations, the choice between one-dimensional deterministic codes and three-dimensional Monte-Carlo codes is examined, taking into account their interface with activation codes. A reliable inventory code and an updated activation library are essential to obtain good activation data: The problems in the modeling of either pulsed irradiation or operation at different flux levels are tackled. The analysis and comparison of activation calculations for two different machine concepts [the Next European Torus (NET)/International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and Ignitor], are carried out, showing how pulsed irradiation affects the results in the two cases and the main differences between the two analyses. As an example of the application of inventory calculations, a classification of NET/ITER and Ignitor materials into waste categories is proposed and discussed.
