Strong free convection airflows occur within passive solar buildings resulting from elevated temperatures of surfaces irradiated by solar energy compared with the cooler surfaces not receiving radiation. The geometry of a building has a large influence on the directions and magnitudes of natural airflows, and thus heat transfer between zones. This investigation has utilized a variety of reduced-scale building configurations to study the effects of geometry on natural convection heat transfer. Similarity between the reduced-scale model and a full-scale passive solar building is achieved by having similar geometries and by replacing air with Freon-12 gas as the model's working fluid. Filling the model with Freon-12 gas results in similarity in Prandtl numbers and Rayleigh numbers based on temperature differences in the range from 10/sup 9/ to 10/sup 11/. Results from four geometries are described with an emphasis placed on the effects of heat loss on zone temperature stratification shifts.

A 7118 ft (2170 m) deep geothermal test well was drilled on the south edge of the city of Alamosa, Colorado as part of the Department of Energy's User Coupled Confirmation Drilling Program. The project was selected on the bases of a potential direct heat geothermal resource within the Rio Grande rift graben and resource users in Alamosa. The well site was selected on the hypothesis of a buried horst along which deep thermal fluids might be rising. In addition, there were city wells that were anomalous in temperature and the location was convenient to potential application. The Alamosa No. 1 penetrated 2000 ft (610 m) of fine clastic rocks over 4000 ft (1219 m) of volcaniclastic rock resting on precambrian crystalline rock at a depth of 6370 ft (1942 m). Due to poor hole conditions, geophysical logs were not run. The stabilized bottom hole temperature was 223/sup 0/F (106/sup 0/C) with a gradient of 2.6/sup 0/F/100 ft (47/sup 0/C/km). Limited testing indicated a very low production capacity. 16 refs., 6 figs.