Monsanto Research Corporation operates Mound Laboratory, a government-owned facility of the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration, at Miamisburg, Ohio. Mound Laboratory is an integrated, research, development, and production facility performing work in support of ERDA weapon and nonweapon programs with emphasis on explosive and nuclear technology. Mound Laboratory originated as a technical organization in 1943 when Monsanto Chemical Company was requested to accept responsibility for determining the chemical and metallurgical properties of polonium as a project of the Manhattan Engineering District. Work was carried on at Monsanto`s Central Research Department and several satellite units in the Dayton, Ohio area. Late in 1945, the Manhattan Engineering District determined that the research, development and production organization established by Monsanto at Dayton should become a permanent facility. A search for a suitable location in early 1946 led to the selection of a 180-acre tract adjacent to Miamisburg, about ten miles (16 km) south of Dayton. Construction of Mound Laboratory, which was named after the Miamisburg Indian Mound adjacent to the site, began in February 1947 and was completed in 1948. The new laboratory was the first permanent facility of the Atomic Energy Commission which had succeeded the Manhattan Engineering District.

A Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-14 Industrial Programmable Controller was employed to provide automatic, closed-loop control for an explosive pellet manufacturing system at Mound Laboratory. Programmable controllers allow the application of sophisticated and flexible control, through programming. Advantages of the PDP-14 controller are ease of installation and maintenance, capability for modular expansion, and immunity to electrical noise. Safety requirements were met by using new techniques for adapting electrical equipment to a hazardous environment and by locating the PDP-14 remotely outside the explosive area. Another advantage of the new explosion proofing (EP) methods/equipment was that they produced a minimum of clutter on the controlled explosive pellet manufacturing system.

A small man-portable neutron detector was constructed using 18 /sup 3/He proportional counters arranged in three layers within a polyethylene moderator. Each counter is 25 mm in diameter by 340 mm long (sensitive length) and is filled with highly-purified /sup 3/He to a pressure of 400 kPa (4 atm). Efficiency measurements were made using a /sup 252/Cf neutron source. Detailed calculations of the detector efficiency were done using the TART Monte Carlo transport code. Calculations and measurements were compared for several source/detector configurations.

Aluminum alloys 1100, 3003, 5052, and 6063 were examined for their compatibility with the proposed working fluids for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), anhydrous ammonia, Freon 22 and propane, and mixtures of these with sea water. Such mixtures would occur if leaks develop in evaporator or condenser heat exchangers. These aluminum alloys are compatible with the anhydrous working fluids. In ammonia-sea water solutions only limited general corrosion is found in 0 to 30 percent ammonia, no corrosion in 30 to 90 percent ammonia, and ''self limiting'' pits in 90 to 100 percent ammonia so rapid deterioration of the exchangers would not occur. No corrosion was observed in sea water saturated with Freon 22 or propane. No differences in alloy performance were evident in any of these tests so selection can be made on the basis of compatibility with sea water. A review of the available literature indicates that 5052 shows the best performance in surface sea water followed by 1100, 3003 and then 6063 alloy. In deep sea water only 5052 and 1100 alloys appear suitable although more data is required. In both surface and deep sea waters, alcladding offers the best protection against tube perforation; few instances of penetration …

The experimental technique for irradiating the specimen with 14-MeV neutrons from the LLL rotating target neutron source is described. No test results are given. (MOW)

In the development of a heat storage system based on inorganic hydroxide--oxide chemical transitions, the method of transferring heat into and out of the hydroxide storage material is of prime importance. This report presents the results of a series of tests using circulating gas as a means of heat transfer. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that circulating gas is a technically feasible concept, using steam as heat transfer fluid and using the chemical in the form of a fixed bed of porous granules.

This report begins with a discussion of flat plate solar collector principles. Evaluation data are presented for thirteen manufacturers of medium temperature collectors that have met the criteria: (a) intention by the manufacturer that the equipment be used only for heating and cooling buildings and for domestic hot water heating and (b) evaluation of the collector by NASA using a solar simulator as a basis for collector selection and performance prediction. (WDM)

The transport equation may be solved by expanding it in spherical harmonics, Y{sub lm}, and truncating the resultant infinite set of equations at some finite order L. This procedure leaves the (L + 1)th order moments which appear in the Lth order equation undetermined, and the standard procedure for obtaining a closed set of equations has been to set all the (L + 1)th order moments to zero. It has been shown here that this procedure actually violates the apriori knowledge that one is solving for the moments of a probability measure on the unit sphere. Using the theory of moments of a probability measure on the unit sphere. Using the theory of moments as discussed above, the (L + 1)th order moments can be chosen in accordance with apriori knowledge. The resultant truncated set of equations has properties much truer to the original transport equation than the usual set obtained by setting the (L + 1)th order moments to zero. In particular the truncated set of equations gets the solution of the transport equation exactly right in both the diffusion limit and the free streaming limit. Furthermore, this has been achieved by merely truncating the set of equations properly …

A unified Hamiltonian approach to the theory of nonlinear interactions among waves and particles is discussed. The unifying feature of the approach is a generalization of the concept of pondermotive force. The usual method of time averaging is replaced by a canonical transformation. The transformation is designed to eliminate the terms in the Hamiltonian of a particle which are linear in the wave potentials, replacing them with bilinear terms at combination frequencies. An oscillation center approach is illustrated by deriving a compact general formula for the three-wave coupling coefficient in collisionless plasma. (MOW)

2000 solar power modules capable of producing over 10 kW of peak power were delivered by Spectrolab, Inc., during the period March to October 1976. These modules were comprised of twenty 2-inch diameter silicon solar cells embedded in a silicone elastomeric potting compound on an aluminum T beam extrusion with a glass cover plate and were typical of standard commercial products being manufactured during that time period. These modules have good structural and thermal dissipation characteristics, but difficulties were encountered with respect to delamination of the encapsulant material, low electrical breakdown resistance and humidity sensitivity. The extensive environmental test program and subsequent analytical analysis of results has provided a great deal of new knowledge of the module design. It has shown there were many limitations with this particular commercial module which were not known at the start of the program and should provide a good basis for developing an improved module in the future. Design modifications that have been recommended to improve reliability and reduce cost, include the elimination of metal substrate, replacement of silicone with a more suitable encapsulant, larger module size and use of series-parallel circuit configurations.

A proposed program is outlined covering the following areas: scale characterization and control, brine and effluent characterization, suspended solids characterization and control, effluent condition for reinjection, corrosion surveillance and Geothermal Loop Experimental Facility support, and materials testing and evaluation. (MHR)

The nation's transportation system faces problems on both sides of the supply-demand equation. Analysis of these problems has resulted in identification of two broad transportation energy conservation program areas: (1) more-efficient and environmentally acceptable heat engine systems are needed; they must be optimized for available fuels and eventually alternate fuels; and (2) alternate propulsion systems such as electric or hybrid vehicles are also required. A difficulty arises in that these solutions may not come about in a timely fashion due to market forces alone. It is necessary to understand why this is so in order that appropriate government actions can be taken. Discussed first is a fundamental premise or assumption that the public good is best served by a free market which presumably allocates resources optimally; in other words, for the greatest positive net social benefit. Optimal resource allocation is considered synonymous in this discussion with conservation. This fundamental assumption has been challenged in that, if public and private objectives diverge, sub-optimal resource allocation could result with attendant social disbenefit. This divergence of objectives can come about in the transportation sector in two ways. First, when the market value of energy is below the true marginal value, markets will tend …

The intent of this study is to: (1) make a preliminary assessment of the accuracy and precision of insolation data with respect to user requirements, and (2) make a corresponding assessment of the minimum/maximum geographic network coverage. In order to make these preliminary assessments, several specific questions have been addressed. Specifically: (1) how should users of solar radiation be classified and what principal uses of the data are made by each class, (2) what temporal and spatial properties of the data network are required to adequately serve the defined uses and users of solar radiation data, (3) to what degree does the existing network and associated data fulfill the desired data system properties, and (4) what criteria should be applied in identifying and evaluating expanded network/data options. The findings and conclusions of investigation of these questions are presented.

Many plutonium contaminated waste materials decompose into gaseous products because of exposure to alpha radiation. The gases generated (usually hydrogen) over long-storage periods may create hazardous conditions. To determine the extent of such hazards, knowing the gas generation yields is necessary. These yields were measured by contacting some common Rocky Flats Plant waste materials with plutonium and monitoring the enclosed atmospheres for extensive periods of time. The materials were Plexiglas, polyvinyl chloride, glove-box gloves, machining oil, carbon tetrachloride, chlorothene VG solvent, Kimwipes (dry and wet), polyethylene, Dowex-1 resin, and surgeon's gloves. Both /sup 239/Pu oxide and /sup 238/Pu oxide were used as radiation sources. The gas analyses were made by mass spectrometry and the results obtained were the total gas generation, the hydrogen generation, the oxygen consumption rate, and the gas composition over the entire storage period. Hydrogen was the major gas produced in most of the materials. The total gas yields varied from 0.71 to 16 cm/sup 3/ (standard temperature pressure) per day per curie of plutonium. The oxygen consumption rates varied from 0.0088 to 0.070 millimoles per day per gram of plutonium oxide-239 and from 0.0014 to 0.0051 millimoles per day per milligram /sup 238/Pu.

The stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of U--6 wt percent Nb in three different heat-treated conditions was investigated. The three heat treatments were: (a) solution quenched (the nonaged condition); (b) solution quenched and aged 6 hours at 250/sup 0/C (the underaged condition); and (c) solution quenched and aged 80 minutes at 600/sup 0/C (the overaged condition). The SCC tests utilized smooth, dead-weight loaded, static tensile specimens exposed to nitrogen-saturated or oxygen-saturated water containing 50 ppM chloride ions. The alloy in the solution-quenched condition was not susceptible to SCC when loaded to 90 percent of yield strength in either the oxygen or nitrogen-saturated chloride solutions. The underaged material (6 hours at 250/sup 0/C) was susceptible to SCC in oxygen or nitrogen-saturated water containing 50 ppM chloride ions. The underaged material was more susceptible to cracking in the oxygen-saturated solution than in the nitrogen-saturated solutions. The SCC in the underaged material proceeded by a principally intercrystalline fracture mode with the overload condition being principally transgranular. The overaged material also exhibited SCC, but to a lesser extent than the underaged material. Here again, cracking was more pronounced in the oxygen-saturated solution than in the nitrogen-saturated solution. The overaged material fractured by a combined SCC …

The behavior of an antenna or scatterer when loaded with a nonlinear impedance can be changed greatly from that observed under linear conditions. In some cases, the nonlinearity causes detrimental effects, such as the intermodulation products arising from the nonlinear mixing of two frequencies. In other cases, the nonlinearity may be exploited profitably, e.g., to reduce late-time ringing on a pulse-excited antenna. This report describes and illustrates a procedure for treating general nonlinear loads. This procedure is applied through a computer program to several specific types of nonlinearities. The treatment is developed within the framework of the thin-wire approximation to the electric-field integral equation. As such, the treatment can be applied to the large class of objects modeled by wires. The nonlinear load types that are considered include those with piecewise-linear voltage--current curves (e.g., one or more diodes), a load with a time-varying impedance (which permits modulating the fields scattered from it), and a general nonlinear load represented by specified voltage--current functions. 7 figures.

The Mortran processor was slightly modified, and a new set of macros was written, to act as an aid in the translation of IBM Fortran programs to CDC Fortran. A 30,000-source-card program was successfully converted by using the resulting package. The capabilities and limitations of this approach to Fortran conversion are described, and two examples of the output of the package are given.