Analytic modeling of several heat exchanger concepts to couple the SP-100 nuclear reactor lithium loop and the Space Stirling Power Convertor (SSPC) was performed. Four 25 kWe SSPC`s are used to produce the required 100 kW of electrical power. This design work focused on the interface between a single SSPC and the primary lithium loop. Manifolding to separate and collect the four channel flow was not modeled. This work modeled two separate types of heat exchanger interfaces (conductive coupling and radiative coupling) to explore their relative advantages and disadvantages. The minimum mass design of the conductively coupled concepts was 18 kg or 0.73 kg/kWe for a single 25 kWe convertor. The minimum mass radiatively coupled concept was 41 kg or 1.64 kg/kWe. The direct conduction heat exchanger provides a lighter weight system because of its ability to operate the Stirling convertor evaporator at higher heat fluxes than those attainable by the radiatively coupled systems. Additionally the conductively coupled concepts had relatively small volumes and provide potentially simpler assembly. Their disadvantages were the tight tolerances and material joining problems associated with this refractory to superalloy interface. The advantages of the radiatively coupled designs were the minimal material interface problems.

A Department of Energy (DOE) multi-laboratory Water Cycle Pilot Study (WCPS) investigated components of the local water budget at the Walnut River Watershed in Kansas to study the relative importance of various processes and to determine the feasibility of observational water budget closure. An extensive database of local meteorological time series and land surface characteristics was compiled. Numerical simulations of water budget components were generated and, to the extent possible, validated for three nested domains within the Southern Great Plains; the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement/Cloud Atmospheric Radiation Testbed (ARM/CART), the Walnut River Watershed (WRW), and the Whitewater Watershed (WW), Kansas A 2-month Intensive Observation Period (IOP) was conducted to gather detailed observations relevant to specific details of the water budget, including fine-scale precipitation, streamflow, and soil moisture measurements not made routinely by other programs. Event and season al water isotope (delta 18O, delta D) sampling in rainwater, streams, soils, lakes, and wells provided a means of tracing sources and sinks within and external to the WW, WRW, and the ARM/CART domains. The WCPS measured changes in leaf area index for several vegetation types, deep groundwater variations at two wells, and meteorological variables at a number of sites in the WRW. …

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The 2001 Proceedings include various papers regarding different areas of hydrogen-related research.