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The purpose of this contract effort is to understand how nonfuel components of coal will affect the electron and alkali seed chemistry in a high temperature coal combustion system like that envisioned for direct fired MHD generators. Three specific problems are being considered during this contract period. The first problem area is to characterize the formation of negative ions due to electron attachment processes in the combustion flow. While some stable negative ions may be formed from hydrocarbon combustion species (OH/sup -/), the bulk of the stable negative ions are expected to be formed from oxidized inorganic coal slag constituents (BO/sup -//sub 2/, PO/sup -//sub 2/, AlO/sup -//sub 2/, etc). Negative ion formation can reduce the conductivity of the MHD plasma, particularly at the low temperature end of the MHD channel, thus decreasing the efficiency of power generation. The second problem area involves the role slag condensation may play in determining the electron density through recombination, also adversely affecting conductivity in the core flow. The competitive balance between thermionic emission from slag droplets and electron/ion recombination on the droplet surfaces may be severely tipped in favor of electron loss processes, depending on the slag properties. The third problem area is …

An analysis was performed investigating the potential of retrofitting Detroit Edison's Conners Creek power plant to supply district heating and cooling to an area surrounding the plant and within the City of Detroit. A detailed analysis was made of the types and ages of the buildings in the service area as a basis for establishing loads. The analysis of the power plant established possible modifications to the turbines to serve the load in the area. Based upon the service area data and plant retrofit schemes, a distribution system was developed incrementally over a 20-y period. An economic analysis of the system was performed to provide cash flows and payback periods for a variety of energy costs, system costs, and escalation rates to determine the economic viability of the system analyzed. The legal and regulatory requirements required of the district heating and cooling system owner in Michigan were also analyzed to determine what conditions must be met to own and operate the system.

The effect of shock wave risetime on material ejection in aluminum has been studied for loading stresses of 21 GPa. Uniform loading was accomplished with plate impact techniques by mounting specimens on a ramp wave generator. Projectile impact on one side of the wave generator produced a wave which dispersed with propagation distance. This wave was then made incident to an aluminum specimen, so that the specimen experienced non-shock loading. It was found that mass ejection from aluminum surfaces can be reduced by over two orders of magnitude relative to shock loading conditions by accelerating the surface with a wave risetime greater than about 35 ns. These results suggest an explanation for the apparent discrepancies which are sometimes observed in mass ejection measurements utilizing either plate impact or electron beam deposition to generate stress waves.

The Laboratory for Nuclear Science (LNS) has continued its study of resource sharing via general-purpose computer networks. This report describes experiments performed with the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the Argonne National Laboratory in using the network for off-loading calculations and obtaining access to unique hardware and software. It also gives performance statistics of the network and cost comparisons. Continued investigation of message and teleconferencing systems is described. Plans for improved usage of the ARPANET, for expansion of computer-aided communications facilities, and for investigation of networks other than the ARPANET are proposed. To date the study has demonstrated that resource sharing via networks will provide LNS with access to computer facilities not available on site, and thus improve the quality of energy research done in the laboratory. However, certain barriers, both technical and nontechnical, exist that must be overcome. In the technical area continued investigation is planned into improving the user interface to the network with cooperative projects at other sites, such as the development of a standard command language, expanded network oriented documentation, and consulting facilities. Methods of managing network services and allocating costs will be studied in an effort to eliminate some of the nontechnical barriers.

These appendices to the Near Term Hybrid Vehicle Trade-off Studies reports present data on the SPEC-78 computer model for simulating vehicle performance, fuel economy, and exhaust emissions; propulsion system alternatives; lead-acid and sodium-sulfur batteries; and production cost estimates. (LCL)

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The development of a Kilowatt Isotope Power System (KIPS) was begun in 1975 for the purpose of satisfying the power requirements of satellites in the 1980's. The KIPS is a /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/-fueled organic Rankine cycle turbine power system to provide a design output of 500 to 2000 W. Phase II of the overall 3-phase KIPS program is described. This volume presents a program plan for qualifying the organic Rankine power system for flight test in 1982. The program plan calls for the design and fabrication of the proposed flight power system; conducting a development and a qualification program including both environmental and endurance testing, using an electrical and a radioisotope heat source; planning for flight test and spacecraft integration; and continuing ground demonstration system testing to act as a flight system breadboard and to accumulate life data. (LCL)

Operation of the existing Hanford nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities will increase the release of nitrogen oxides (NO/sub x/) to the atmosphere over present emission rates. Stack emissions from two reprocessing facilities, one waste storage facility and two coal burning power plants will contain increased concentrations of NO/sub x/. The opacity of the reprocessing facilities' emissions is predicted to periodically exceed the State and local opacity limit of twenty percent. Past measurements failed to detect differences in the ambient air NO/sub x/ concentration with and without reprocessing plant operations. Since the facilities are not presently operating, increases in the non-occupational ambient air NO/sub x/ concentration were predicted from theoretical diffusion models. Based on the calculations, the annual average ambient air NO/sub x/ concentration will increase from the present level of less than 0.004 ppM to less than 0.006 ppM at the Hanford site boundaries. The national standard for the annual mean ambient air NO/sub 2/ concentration is 0.05 ppM. Therefore, the non-occupational ambient air NO/sub x/ concentration will not be increased to significant levels by reprocessing operations in the Hanford 200 Areas.

An HCl laser which uses isotopic V-V energy transfer collisions as a pumping mechanism has been demonstrated. This multiline laser, which utilized an intracavity cold gas isotope filter, increased the energy from the P/sub 1/ lines of H/sup 37/Cl while decreasng the energies of the P/sub 1/ and P/sub 2/ lines of H/sup 35/Cl. Previously unreported lines, including emission from R branch transitions, have also been observed from single-line HCl and HBr lasers.

A study on how nonfuel components of coal will affect the electron and alkali seed chemistry in a high temperature coal combustion system like those envisioned for direct fired MHD generators is described. Three specific problems are being considered. The first problem area is to characterize the formation of negative ions due to electron attachment processes in the combustion flow. While some stable negative ions may be formed from hydrocarbon combustion species (OH, HCO/sup -//sub 3/), the bulk of the stable negative ions are expected to be formed from oxidized inorganic coal slag constituents (CO/sup -//sub 2/, PO/sup -//sub 2/, AlO/sup -//sub 2/, etc). Negative ion formation can reduce the conductivity of the MHD plasma, particularly at the low temperature end of the MHD channel, thus decreasing the efficiency of power generation. This phenomena is expected to be particularly severe in electrode boundary layers, and particular attention will be paid to conditions characteristic of flow along the electrodes. The second problem area involves the role slag condensation may play in determining the electron density through recombination, also adversely affecting conductivity in the core flow. The competitive balance between thermionic emission from slag droplets and electron/ion recombination on the droplet surfaces …

In the Baseball II-T experiment a pellet generation and injection system was employed to place frozen ammonia pellets at the focus of a laser beam. The original trajectory guidance system suffered a number of problems that limited its accuracy and complicated the operation of the system. These problems were related to variable charge-to-mass ratios, timing, pellet discrimination, and computer speed. The original system design was improved by changes to the sensing components, microcomputer, and trajectory guidance system.

A parametric analysis and a preliminary conceptual design for a 1000 MWe Tandem Mirror Reactor (TMR) are described. The concept is sufficiently attractive to encourage further work, both for a pure fusion TMR and a low technology TMR Fusion-Fission Hybrid.

Construction of the components of an automated solar cell layup and interconnect system is now complete. This system incorporates a Unimate 2000 B industrial robot with an end effector consisting of a vacuum pick up and induction heating coil. The robot interfaces with a smart cell preparation station which correctly orients the cell, applies solder paste and forms and positions the correct lengths of interconnect lead. The system is controlled and monitored by a TRS-80 micro computer. The entire system is presently undergoing integration prior to formal testing. A survey of elastomer manufacturers has shown transfer molded EPDM to be a strong candidate for the edge sealing material.

Following DOE's RFP for District Heating and Cooling Through Power Plant Retrofit, Detroit Edison and the City of Detroit decided to respond, even though it would mean redirection and a delay in their plan that was already under study. The analysis reported here proceeded in six steps. The first step was to identify the service area under the constraint that it be within the City of Detroit and in close proximity to the candidate plant. With the basic service area to be considered established, the load within the service area was defined for the five categories of end-users chosen: general residential, major residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial. Parallel to all tasks and continuing throughout the phase, a definition of institutional requirements - including regulatory, legal, and licensing aspects of a district heating and cooling project - was carried out to determine the ability of Detroit Edison to own and operate such a project and to define the limitations or problems that may be encountered in the project. The capacity of the retrofitted power plant to supply heating and cooling was determined as a basis for sizing the distribution systems and for determining which end-user loads could be served. The distribution …

Efforts at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory toward the production of pure polycrystaline silicon are centered on the concept of silicon particle growth in a fluidized bed reactor (FBR) and a continuous flow pyrolyzer (CFP). The CFP possibly can provide the seed particles which will be grown to larger sizes in the FBR. In both the reactors polycrystalline silicon is obtaned from the pyrolysis of silane. A part of the JPL effort is to develop a model of silicon particle growth for the purpose of predicting particle growth rates and product particle size distributions in the FBR and the CFP. This repot describes the mathematical models of silicon particle growth in the FBR and the CFP.

The products of sodium-water reactions which had taken place in the Large Leak Test Rig at the Liquid Metal Engineering Center were sampled and characterized. The products consisted of the expected compounds in the Na-O-H system, and dissolved readily in ethanol. Removal of such products from a system by melting and draining does not appear feasible, but removal by dissolution in alcoholic solvents should be investigated further.

The parametric analysis and preliminary conceptual design for a multicell field reversed mirror reactor (FRM) are described.

Information is presented concerning corrosion studies on steels.

Data were acquired on the behavior of the polyethylene upwelling pipe for the GRI/DOE Marine Biomass Biological Test Farm during several phases of pipe assembly and ocean towing and deployment. The pipe is nominally 28 in O.D., 1400 feet long with wall thicknesses of 0.9 and 1.75 inches. The entire effort was conducted over a period of six weeks and was implemented on a strictly non-interference basis with the main Biomass Program. Three types of data were acquired during shore and ocean based operations conducted in the southern California area during the period from 15 September-27 September 1978. Axial strain data were obtained from two rows of 15 transducers each, separated circumferentially by 90/sup 0/ and distributed along the entire length of the pipe. Photographic data were also acquired from helicopter, boat and shore stationed cameras. The third type of data acquired were lowering line tension measurements made during the second successful deployment operation.

The use of a biphase turbine system to recover waste heat from diesel engines was examined and found to have many favorable attributes. Among these were low rpm, high torque, low heat exchanger cost, and simplicity. Several candidate working fluid combinations were tested at temperatures of interest. The contact heat exchanger concept was substantiated by large scale experiment. The program includes subscale tests of key hardware components of a biphase turbine bottoming system. These are the two-phase nozzle, two-phase turbine, and direct contact heat exchanger. A comprehensive cost analysis was completed. A three-year program leading to a full-size system field demonstration has been planned. Progress in the first year of this program and the effort started on the second year program are reported.

Bench-scale pilot plant studies were conducted to evaluate chemical coagulation and ion exchange for decontamination of 2724-W laundry wastewater. Chemical coagulation is accomplished at pH 11 to avoid complexant problems and assure good transuranic radionuclide removals. Clinoptilolite is used to remove cesium and strontium. Results of the pilot plant studies are summarized as follows: Decontamination factors of 70 (strontium) and more than 100 (cesium) were achieved by chemical coagulation and ion exchange. Decontamination factors exceeding 90 were measured for europium by coagulation with a combination of ferric chloride, magnesium chloride, and calcium chloride added to the wastewater at pH 11. Coagulation with these three agents in the wastewater at pH 11 was more effective for turbidity removal than coagulation with lime. Addition of up to 1.7 lb of clinoptilolite fines per 1000 gallons of wastewater during coagulation did not substantially increase strontium and cesium removal. Filtration without chemical coagulation reduced suspended solids by only 25%. About 70% of the suspended solids remaining in the filtered wastewater were removed in the zeolite column causing plugging which could not be easily dislodged by backwashing. Plugging of the ion exchange columns by previously clarified wastewater required short periods of limited backwashing to relieve …

A 15-kilowatt, continuous-wave carbon dioxide laser was contracted to make partial-penetration welds in 6.35-and 12.7-mm-thick wrought depleted uranium plates. Welding power and speed ranged from 2.3 to 12.9 kilowatts and from 21 to 127 millimeters per second, respectively. Results show that depth-to-width ratios of at least unity are feasible. The overall characteristics of the process indicate it can produce welds resembling those made by the electron-beam welding process.

From July, 1974, to December, 1979, the Laboratory for Nuclear Service (LNS) conducted a study of the feasibility of resource sharing via general - purpose computer networks. Originally, the study focused on methods of implementing an ARPAnet connection for LNS in collaboration with the MIT Information Processing Center (IPC). When it appeared that the most feasible solution for LNS was to access the ARPANET via the MIT Multics system, the investigation expanded to a consideration of the implementation of computer resource sharing via networks. Experiments were performed at various ERDA installations on the ARPANET in using the networks for offloading large calcuations and obtaining access to unique hardware and software. Performance statistics were collected and cost comparisons, made. Both the benefits and barriers of networking were analyzed. The value of electronic mail, teleconferencing, and other forms of computer-aided communication was also investigated. The study demonstrated that resource sharing via networks can provide small computer installations access to computer facilities not available on site. However, it is not adequate substitute for an on-site computer. There must be enough computing power locally to service the average load. Certain types of computations are not effectively done on the network. Use of the network …