In lead-acid battery systems, cycling systems are often managed using float management strategies. There are many differences in battery management strategies for a float environment and battery management strategies for a cycling environment. To complicate matters further, in many cycling environments, such as off-grid domestic power systems, there is usually not an available charging source capable of efficiently equalizing a lead-acid battery let alone bring it to a full state of charge. Typically, rules for battery management which have worked quite well in a floating environment have been routinely applied to cycling batteries without full appreciation of what the cycling battery really needs to reach a full state of charge and to maintain a high state of health. For example, charge target voltages for batteries that are regularly deep cycled in off-grid power sources are the same as voltages applied to stand-by systems following a discharge event. In other charging operations equalization charge requirements are frequently ignored or incorrectly applied in cycled systems which frequently leads to premature capacity loss. The cause of this serious problem: the application of float battery management strategies to cycling battery systems. This paper describes the outcomes to be expected when managing cycling batteries with …

The transition-metal oxides LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4}, MnO{sub 2}, CrO{sub 2}, and LiCoO{sub 2} were evaluated for possible use as high-voltage cathodes for potential geothermal power applications. These were coupled with Li(Si) anodes and a low-melting CsBr-LiBr-KBr eutectic electrolyte that melts at 228.5 C. Single-cell tests at 250 C and 300 C at 15.8 and 31.6 mA/cm{sup 2} showed that MnO{sub 2} performed the best overall and had the lowest polarization. A 5-cell battery test using LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} cathodes was only modestly successful due to possible parasitic chemical reactions between the cathode and electrolyte at the much higher temperature (500 C) during discharge. The overall energy densities for these cathode were still less than for FeS{sub 2}.

Over 75,000 permeability measurements were collected from a meter-scale block of Massillon sandstone, characterized by conspicuous cross bedding that forms two distinct nested-scales of heterogeneity. With the aid of a gas minipermeameter, spatially exhaustive fields of permeability data were acquired at each of five different sample supports (i.e. sample volumes) from each block face. These data provide a unique opportunity to physically investigate the relationship between the multi-scale cross-stratified attributes of the sandstone and the corresponding statistical characteristics of the permeability. These data also provide quantitative physical information concerning the permeability upscaling of a complex heterogeneous medium. Here, a portion of the data taken from a single block face cut normal to stratification is analyzed. Results indicate a strong relationship between the calculated summary statistics and the cross-stratified structural features visible evident in the sandstone sample. Specifically, the permeability fields and semivariograms are characterized by two nested scales of heterogeneity, including a large-scale structure defined by the cross-stratified sets (delineated by distinct bounding surfaces) and a small-scale structure defined by the low-angle cross-stratification within each set. The permeability data also provide clear evidence of upscaling. That is, each calculated summary statistic exhibits distinct and consistent trends with increasing sample support. …

The ultrasonic pulse transmission method (100-500 kHz) was adapted to measure compressional (P) and shear (S) wave velocities for synthetic soils fabricated from quartz-clay and quartz-peat mixtures. Velocities were determined as samples were loaded by small (up to 0.1 MPa) uniaxial stress to determine how stress at grain contacts affects ave amplitudes, velocities, and frequency content. Samples were fabricated from quartz sand mixed with either a swelling clay or peat (natural cellulose). P velocities in these dry synthetic soil samples were low, ranging from about 230 to 430 m/s for pure sand, about 91 to 420 m/s for sand-peat mixtures, and about 230 to 470 m/s for dry sand-clay mixtures. S velocities were about half of the P velocity in most cases, about 130 to 250 m/s for pure sand, about 75-220 m/s for sand-peat mixtures, and about 88-220 m/s for dry sand-clay mixtures. These experiments demonstrate that P and S velocities are sensitive to the amount and type of admixed second phase at low concentrations. They found that dramatic increases in all velocities occur with small uniaxial loads, indicating strong nonlinearity of the acoustic properties. Composition and grain packing contribute to the mechanical response at grain contacts and the …

With the recent development of an International Comparisons Database which provides worldwide access to measurement comparison data between National Measurement Institutes, there is currently renewed interest in developing a database of comparisons for calibration laboratories within a country. For many years, the National Conference of Standards Laboratories (NCSL), through the Measurement Comparison Programs Committee, has sponsored Interlaboratory Comparisons in a variety of measurement areas. This paper will discuss the need for such a National database which catalogues and maintains Interlaboratory Comparisons data. The paper will also discuss future requirements in this area.

We have compiled a topical reference on the phenomena, experiences, experiments, and prediction of uranium pyrophoricity for the Hanford Spent Nuclear Fuel Project (SNFP) with specific applications to SNFP process and situations. The purpose of the compilation is to create a reference to integrate and preserve this knowledge. Decades ago, uranium and zirconium fires were commonplace at Atomic Energy Commission facilities, and good documentation of experiences is surprisingly sparse. Today, these phenomena are important to site remediation and analysis of packaging, transportation, and processing of unirradiated metal scrap and spent nuclear fuel. Our document, bearing the same title as this paper, will soon be available in the Hanford document system [Plys, et al., 2000]. This paper explains general content of our topical reference and provides examples useful throughout the DOE complex. Moreover, the methods described here can be applied to analysis of potentially pyrophoric plutonium, metal, or metal hydride compounds provided that kinetic data are available. A key feature of this paper is a set of straightforward equations and values that are immediately applicable to safety analysis.