This report is about Proposed Tax Reform: Summaries of items included in the Tentative Decisions of the Committee on ways and means, House of representatives 93rd congress.

The objective of this project is the development of a preliminary design for a full-sized, closed cycle, ammonia power system module for the 100 MWe OTEC demonstration plant. In turn, this demonstration plant is to demonstrate, by 1984, the operation and performance of an Ocean Thermal Power Plant having sufficiently advanced heat exchanger design to project economic viability for commercial utilization in the late 1980's and beyond. Included in this power system development are the preliminary designs for a proof-of-concept pilot plant and test article heat exchangers which are scaled in such a manner as to support a logically sequential, relatively low-cost development of the full-scale power system module. The conceptual designs are presented for the demonstration plant power module, the proof-of-concept pilot plant, and for a pair of test article heat exchangers. Costs associated with the design, development, fabrication, checkout, delivery, installation, and operation are included. The accompanying design and producibilty studies on the full-scale power system module project the performance/economics for the commercial plant. This section of the report contains appendices on the developed computer models, water system dynamic studies, miscellaneous performance analysis, materials and processes, detailed equipment lists, turbine design studies, tube cleaner design, ammonia leak detection, …

An evaluation of several recent ERDA/ORNL sponsored studies on the application of a small, 365 MW(t) pressurized water reactor for industrial energy is presented. Preliminary studies have investigated technical and reliability requirements; costs for nuclear and fossil based steam were compared, including consideration of economic inflation and financing methods. For base-load industrial steam production, small reactors appear economically attractive relative to coal fired boilers that use coal priced at $30/ton.

The potassium vapor topping cycle is a concept for increasing the efficiency of the Rankine vapor cycle by raising the peak temperature by employing a potassium vapor cycle with a turbine inlet temperature of 1500 to 1600/sup 0/F (815 to 870/sup 0/C) in which the waste heat rejected from the condensing potassium vapor is transferred to boiling water and steam in a conventional steam cycle. An efficiency of about 50% is calculated for this cycle with a natural circulation potassium boiler fired by gas or oil. An Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) program is under way at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to build a full-scale potassium boiler tube bundle and burner module and test it with water and then potassium. Progress in this program is reported. The design work necessary for the installation of the potassium system was completed during the quarter. Fabrication of the potassium system components was finished. Installation of the condenser enclosure was completed and the drain tank was installed. Construction work on the equipment tower was completed.

One of the major problems needing consideration when bringing a geothermal field into production is the anticipation and control of mineral precipitation in both the producing formations and production equipment. Prediction of the chemical interactions between natural multicomponent thermal fluids and the minerals comprising a producing formation can be accomplished by the study of equilibrium models approximating the natural system. Models are constructed from theoretically and experimentally derived thermodynamic data for the involved minerals and aqueous species. This equilibrium modeling approach was applied to the rock-water system at the East Mesa geothermal area in the Imperial Valley of California. Results of petrographic and fluid analyses are given. (JGB)

This Quality Program Plan describes the manner in which the Energy Systems Unit of the Advanced Technology Group Division of Sunstrand Corporation applies its Quality Assurance Program and Systems to control and assure commpliance to the Quality requirements in accordance with NRA-1, dated July 1, 1977, in support of the Kilowatt Isotope Power Systems (KIPS) Program Technology Verification Phase.

A new, wide-range equation of state (EOS) for vanadium is presented. The generation of this EOS was of a fast-response nature. That is, the data base was constructed very rapidly, the analysis was very cursory, and it was inserted into the Bi-linear Logorithm (BLL) EOS library in 3 to 5 days. The composite theoretical model incorporates condensed matter, ionization equilibrium, and multiphase physics. The theoretical EOS was compared with all available high-temperature and high-pressure data for vanadium; good agreement was obtained. The welting on the Hugoniot could be observed because the Kopyshev gamma nuclear correction was used to generate the high-density region. 8 figures, 1 table.

The evolution of the primary control rod system design for FFTF and CRBR, beginning with the initial choice of the basic concepts, is described. The significant component and systems tests are reviewed together with the test results which referenced the development of the CRBR primary control rod system design. Modifications to the concepts and detail designs of the FFTF control rod system were required principally to satisfy the requirements of CRBR, and at the same time incorporating design refinements shown desirable by the tests.

The Grants Uranium Region is a 2500 mile area of northcentral New Mexico which has produced about 40 percent of all domestic uranium, and holds over one-half of the current reserves. The increasing demand for uranium to fuel commercial nuclear power plants is resulting in rapid growth of the uranium industry and economic, social, and environmental changes are occurring. One of the environmental issues of this region is the concern for eventually unacceptable levels of air and water pollution from effluents from uranium mill tailings piles. This study addresses these potential impacts in relation to industrial environmental control practices, siting features, and other regional/temporal variables, including rates of production, locations and sizes of new mills, and population distributions.

We provide, on microfiche records, tabulated values for data points in the Experimental Cross-Section Information Library (ECSIL). The microfiche records also include corresponding bibliographic information and data indexes. ECSIL now contains 1,600,000 neutron-cross-section data points.

The LOCA-ECC Thermal Shock Program was established to investigate the potential for flaw propagation in pressurized-water reactor (PWR) vessels during injection of emergency core coolant following a loss-of-coolant accident. Studies thus far have included fracture mechanics analyses of typical PWRs, the design and construction of a thermal shock test facility, determination of material properties for test specimens, and four thermal shock experiments with 0.53-m-OD (21-in.) by 0.15-m-wall (6-in.) cylindrical test specimens. In the first experiment, initiation was not expected and did not occur, although there was a small amount of subcritical crack growth. In the second experiment, initiation of a semicircular flaw took place as expected; the final length along the surface was about four times the initial length, but there was no radial growth. The third and fourth experiments were similar, and the long axial flaw initiated in good agreement with predictions.

On November 15, 1976, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory completed its first comprehensive stemming experiment for measuring downhole parameters while varying fill material and rate. Stemming can be defined as backfilling a hole in which a device has been placed to prevent leakage of radioactive materials or gases to the surface. A computer code is being developed for stemming operations, and this experiment was designed to measure parameters under different stemming conditions so the code could be verified and modified. The experiment was conducted in the lower half of a steel-cased, 4-ft-diam, 2000-ft-deep hole at Nevada Test Site. The two stemming materials used in the experiment, Overton sand and LLL II mix, were tested at three fill rates. Significant results of this experiment included successful measurement of downhole air overpressures, vertical and horizontal soil-particle pressures, and temperature. Vertical soil-particle pressures were higher than expected. All surface measurements were valid. The slump-displacement measurements system provided a timing mark to indicate the occurrence of a slump. A major slump occurred on the third day of stemming; a minor slump occurred on the fourth day.

This report summarizes the preliminary design for the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Demonstration Plant project. The scope of Phase I was the conceptual design of: (1) full sized power system module; (2) scaled (5 MWe nominal) proof of concept power system; and (3) 1 MWe heat exchanger test article. Included were all components and subsystems specifically involved with the generation of power (warm and cold seawater pumps, heat exchangers, turbine/generator, etc.) The scope of Phase I preliminary design is: (1) conceptual design of a commercial size power system between 40 to 50 MWe(net) with costing on prototype, first production, and eighth unit; (2) preliminary design of a 10 MWe net modular application power module with tube material of titanium, and analogous to the commercial size power module. The heat exchangers are to be immersed and costing data should be provided for first unit and eighth unit; and (3) preliminary design of a heat exchanger test article.

In this task the historical performance of powerplants in Illinois was examined and the opportunities for improved powerplant productivity in Illinois was determined. The four utilities considered were the major investor-owned electric generating utilities in Illinois, i.e., Central Illinois Light Co., (CILCO), Central Illinois Public Service (CIPS), Commonwealth Edison (CECO), and Illinois Power (IP). The major findings are: (1) for evaluation purposes, the equivalent availability was judged to be the most-appropriate measure; (2) in terms of powerplant productivity, IP is among the best in the nation and, in terms of productivity from large coal units, it ranks in the top five nationally; (3) in general, the performance of coal-fired units of CILCO and CECO have been below national averages and in some cases, significantly below; (4) a review of the trends in production of all Illinois units reveals that Illinois units as a group have been generally below national averages for the respective unit classes; (5) as noted in this and other studies, productivities of the nuclear plants in Illinois have been below the national average for all comparable nuclear plants; and (6) this analysis should be updated when national 1977 and 1978 Edison Electric Institute data become publicly available.

A finite-element computer program, MULT-NOZZLE, was developed for the stress analysis of cylindrical pressure vessels with two or three closely spaced reinforced nozzles. MULT-NOZZLE consists of two modules which may be operated independently. The first module, FEMG, automatically prepares a finite-element mesh including the nodal point coordinates, finite-element connectivities, mesh options, and boundary value specifications for input to the finite-element solution module SAP3M. SAP3M, which is a modified and improved version of the SAP3 computer program, computes the nodal point displacements and stress tensor components, and prints and/or stores the results for later postprocessing. The accuracy of the SAP3M module is demonstrated by comparison studies of two classical theory-of-elasticity problems: a simply supported beam and a thick-walled ring under internal pressure loading. A complete discussion of MULT-NOZZLE is presented in four volumes. Volume develops the finite-element idealization for pressure vessels with two idential radially attached closely spaced nozzles for internal pressure loading. The nozzles may be unreinforced or fully reinforced according to the rules of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and may be located in either a longitudinal or a transverse plane of the vessel. Validation of the program for analyzing this type of structure is demonstrated by …

The objective of this project is the development of a preliminary design for a full-sized, closed cycle, ammonia power system module for the 100 MWe OTEC demonstration plant. In turn, this demonstration plant is to demonstrate, by 1984, the operation and performance of an Ocean Thermal Power Plant having sufficiently advanced heat exchanger design to project economic viability for commercial utilization in the late 1980's and beyond. Included in this power system development are the preliminary designs for a proof-of-concept pilot plant and test article heat exchangers which are scaled in such a manner as to support a logically sequential, relatively low-cost development of the full-scale power system module. The conceptual designs are presented for the demonstration plant power module, the proof-of-concept pilot plant, and for a pair of test article heat exchangers. Costs associated with the design, development, fabrication, checkout, delivery, installation, and operation are included. The accompanying design and producibilty studies on the full-scale power system module project the performance/economics for the commercial plant. This section of the report contains appendices on the electrical system, instrumentation and control, ammonia pump evaluation study, ammonia and nitrogen support subsystems, piping and support design calculations, and plant availability. (WHK)

Westinghouse has completed the Preliminary Desigh Phase for the Power System Development of the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Demonstration Plant project. This study included the development of a preliminary design for a Modular Application scaled power system (10MWe) and Heat Exchanger Test Articles, both based on the concept developed in the Conceptual Design Phase. The results of this study were used to improve the baseline design of the 50MWe module for the Commercial Size Power System, which was recommended for the demonstration plant by the conceptual design study. The 50MWe module was selected since it has the lowest cost, and since its size convincingly demonstrates that future economically viable commercial plants, having reliable operation with credible anticipated costs, are possible. Additional optimization studies on the size of the power system plus hull continue to identify 50MWe as the preferred minimum cost configuration. This study was limited to a closed cycle ammonia power system module, using a seawater temperature difference of 40/sup 0/F, and a surface platform/ship reference hull. This volume presents the preliminary design configuration and system optimization. (WHK)

Rogers Engineering was contracted to determine the technical feasibility and cost/benefit ratios for Pacific Gas and Electric Company to replace the iron-catalyst/peroxide/ caustic systems with surface condensers and Stretford H{sub 2}S abatement systems for Units 1 through 12 at the Geysers. This Milestone No.1 Report is a 6 week progress report and will not have the cost benefit analyses which is planned for in the Final Report. This report will focus only on Units 1 and-3, which are thought of as typical to Units 2 and 4 in our contract. The work performed analyzes the cooling water cycle for both units and determines the turbine operating back pressure as a function of cold water from the existing cooling towers to the new surface condensers. Any power penalty is noted and assessed to the respective turbine-generator with necessary definition for the reason in heat rate deterioration. The direction of Rogers Engineering Co.'s efforts was the conceptual system analysis for Units 1 and 3. But cooling tower performance differences between Units 1 and 2 influenced the similarity of, the cycle thermodynamics and power output at the generator for these two units. We therefore are reporting on Units One and Two. Units Three …

Thermal modeling of a nuclear waste repository is basic to most waste management predictive models. It is important that the modeling techniques accurately determine the time-dependent temperature distribution of the waste emplacement media. Recent modeling studies show that the time-dependent temperature distribution can be accurately modeled in the far-field using a 2-dimensional (2-D) planar numerical model; however, the near-field cannot be modeled accurately enough by either 2-D axisymmetric or 2-D planar numerical models for repositories in salt. The accuracy limits of 2-D modeling were defined by comparing results from 3-dimensional (3-D) TRUMP modeling with results from both 2-D axisymmetric and 2-D planar. Both TRUMP and ADINAT were employed as modeling tools. Two-dimensional results from the finite element code, ADINAT were compared with 2-D results from the finite difference code, TRUMP; they showed almost perfect correspondence in the far-field. This result adds substantially to confidence in future use of ADINAT and its companion stress code ADINA for thermal stress analysis. ADINAT was found to be somewhat sensitive to time step and mesh aspect ratio. 13 figures, 4 tables.

The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory was asked by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to investigate the inelastic behavior of a representative noncategory I structure and determine the amount of reserve seismic capacity that is available beyond elastic design levels. Elastic and elastic-plastic seismic analyses were conducted on a braced steel frame using eight time-history records. In addition, two spectra were ultimate capacity, the reserve strength of the frame was determined. In order to ensure operability, a frame model incorporating a piping system was subjected to the above seismic loadings using elastic analyses. It was found that the piping system components controlled the seismic capacity of the combined structure. The average results show a reserve capacity of 2.6 times the seismic design level.

A representative cross section of the literature on the disposal of geothermal brine was perused and some of the general information and concepts is summarized. The following sections are included: disposal statistics--Texas Railroad Commission; disposal statistics--Louisiana Office of Conservation; policies for administering salt water disposal operations; salt water disposal experience of Gulf Coast operators; and Federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve Program's brine disposal operations. The literature cited is listed in the appended list of references. Additional literature is listed in the bibliography. (MHR)

The objective of the study program was to determine the best method of charging 20,000 to 132,000 microfarads of capacitance to 22 kVdc in 14 to 15 sec. Component costs, sizes, weights, line current graphs, copies of calculations and manufacturer's data are included.

A self-consistent plasma simulation code has been used to simulate a hot (5 keV), overdense (approx. 10/sup 4/), microwave-corona interaction for a hydrogen plasma.

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