A lithium chloride open cycle absorption chiller has been designed, built and tested. Solution reconcentration takes place in a small counter-current packed column supplied with solar heated air. Removal of non-condensable gases that enter the chiller dissolved in the strong solution and the make-up refrigerant streams is accomplished by a liquid-jet ejector and a small vacuum pump. Cooling capacities approaching 1.4 tons and COP levels of 0.58 have been achieved at non-optimum operating conditions. Test results from preliminary system operation suggest that mass transfer processes in both the packed column reconcentrator and the absorber are controlled by concentration gradients in the lithium chloride solution. Liquid phase controlled mass transfer dictates an operating strategy different from the previously assumed gas phase controlled process to obtain maximum rates of evaporation in the packed column. Determination of optimal operating conditions leading to decreased electrical power consumption and improved cooling capacity and coefficient of performance will require further analysis and testing.

This thesaurus of terminology associated with the geopressured geothermal energy field has been developed as a part of the Geopressured Geothermal Information System data base. It is a compilation of terms displaying synomymous, hierarchical, and other relationships between terms. These terms, which are called descriptors, constitute the special language of the information retrieval system - the system vocabulary. The function of this thesaurus is to provide a standardized vocabulary for the information storage and retrieval system to facilitate both the indexing and subject-searching processes. In indexing, a thesaurus is used to translate the natural language of the document to be indexed into the standardized system vocabulary and to place the document at the appropriate level of generality or specificity in relation to the other documents in the data base. In subject retrieval, the thesaurus is used to match the natural language used in search requests with the system vocabulary and to find the most appropriate term to represent a concept.

A Test Plan Report has been prepared which details all the tests proposed for the 1983 operational season. One of these tests evaluates the thermal recycle mode which would be employed in a commercial configuration. In this mode, the condensate stream en route to the resaturator is passed back to the first gas cooler. The gas to liquid heat exchanger heats the condensate prior to resaturation. The analytical system simulation model, developed under this program, has been used to assess the operation of this mode and to select baseline conditions for the proposed test. Analysis of the data and results from tests conducted during the 1982 season has continued. In specific application, particularly power generation, the need exists to accommodate unanticipated contingency conditions. The response of the gasifier to such an occurrence was tested in 1982. Validation of the component models for the gasifier and the acid gas removal system has continued. Several enhancements to the gasifier model in the devolatilization zone are being added to increase accuracy. Improvements in the representation of the CO/sub 2/ absorption rate in the acid gas removal system model are being incorporated. A simplified combined cycle system model, integrated control system, and operator interface …

GEOTHERM sample file contains 225 records for Colorado. Three computer-generated indexes are found in appendices A, B, and C of this report. The indexes give one line summaries of each GEOTHERM record describing the chemistry of geothermal springs and wells in the sample file for Colorado. Each index is sorted by different variables to assist the user in locating geothermal records describing specific sites. Appendix A is sorted by the county name and the name of the source. Also given are latitude, longitude (both use decimal minutes), township, range, section, GEOTHERM record identifier, and temperature (/sup 0/C). Appendix B is sorted by county, township, range, and section. Also given are name of source, GEOTHERM record identifier, and temperature (/sup 0/C). Appendix C is first sorted into one-degree blocks by latitude, and longitude, and then by name of source. Adjacent one-degree blocks which are published as a 1:250,000 map are combined under the appropriate map name. Also given are GEOTHERM record identifier, and temperature (/sup 0/C). A bibliography is given in Appendix D.

This annoted bibliography contains 1131 citations. It represents reports, papers, and articles appearing over the past eighteen years covering topics from the scientific and technical aspects of geopressured geothermal reservoirs to the social, environmental, and legal considerations of exploiting those reservoirs for their energy resources. Six indexes include: author, conference title, descriptor, journal title, report number, and sponsor. (MHR)

The primary-coolant flow paths of a reactor system are usually subject to close scrutiny in a design review to identify potential flow-induced vibration sources. However, secondary-flow paths through narrow gaps in component supports, which parallel the primary-flow path, occasionally are the excitation source for significant vibrations even though the secondary-flow rates are orders of magnitude smaller than the primary-flow rate. These so-called leakage flow problems are reviewed here to identify design features and excitation sources that should be avoided. Also, design rules of thumb are formulated that can be employed to guide a design, but quantitative prediction of component response is found to require scale-model testing.

A central solar-heating plant with seasonal heat storage in a deep underground aquifer is designed by means of a solar-seasonal-storage-system simulation code based on the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) code for Solar Annual Storage Simulation (SASS). This Solar Seasonal Storage Plant is designed to supply close to 100% of the annual heating and domestic-hot-water (DHW) load of a hypothetical new community, the Fox River Valley Project, for a location in Madison, Wisconsin. Some analyses are also carried out for Boston, Massachusetts and Copenhagen, Denmark, as an indication of weather and insolation effects. Analyses are conducted for five different types of solar collectors, and for an alternate system utilizing seasonal storage in a large water tank. Predicted seasonal performance and system and storage costs are calculated. To provide some validation of the SASS results, a simulation of the solar system with seasonal storage in a large water tank is also carried out with a modified version of the Swedish Solar Seasonal Storage Code MINSUN.

This report presents a diagnostic automation that can be used to investigate classes of systems without feedback loops. This report shows the input needed for the automation, the algorithm used, and the PROLOG program for the simulation.

The goal of this study was to develop an iron-based alloy, similar to Type 316 stainless steel in mechanical and corrosion properties but with a reduced chromium content or, ideally, no chromium. A total of twenty-six 225-g ingots and ten 2.5 to 12 kg ingots of various compositions in the Fe-Si-Mn-Ni-C system were prepared. All ingots contained from 5 to 11 w/o silicon and drew their corrosion resistance primarily from this component. The composition ranges of the remaining major alloying elements were (in w/o) 0-24 Mn, 0-35 Ni, and 0.08 to 0.95 C. Most of the alloys were reduced to sheet, demonstrating the hot fabricability of these high-silicon alloys. The mechanical and corrosion properties of these alloys are attractive. Tensile tests showed yield strengths of 303 to 379 Mpa (44 to 55 ksi), ultimate tensile strengths of 731 to 882 MPa (106 to 128 ksi), and elongations of 34 to 77%. Air oxidation rates were lower than those of 300-series stainless steels at 1000 C. Salt water corrosion rates for these alloys fall between those of stainless steels and plain carbon steels and are 5 to 10 times lower than the rates for plain carbon steels.

Computer graphic representation of the antigen-binding sites of two Bence-Jones proteins (antibody light chain diners), Loc (left) and Mcg (right). The spheres represent individual amino acids. Each binding site is composed of two variable domains and each domain consists of framework segments and the hyper-variable segments which confer the specificity to the antibody molecule.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS 41) activities emphasize the advanced HTGR modular reactor system (MRS) for reformer (R) and steam cycle/-cogeneration (SC/C) applications. This report describes progress in system performance for a 250-MW(t) MRS-R and a 300-MW(t) MRS-SC/C plant; it details the groundrules and parameters for the FY-83 nuclear core design and examines and compares fuel cycle economics. This report gives results from a study on decay heat removal transients for the MRS-R and MRS-SC/C variants. It evaluates the bypass valve system and the number and location of helium circulators, and it describes the progress on circulator component design, a prestressed concrete vessel steel closure design, and plant licensing and safety. Under the Advanced Technology Transfer Task (WBS 15), this report includes a section on a pebble bed reactor (PBR) MRS core heatup thermal model analysis. This report also gives the results of a survey on candidate reformer tube materials from GA Technologies Inc. to identify acceptable substitute materials for Inconel 617 to alleviate possible cobalt activation and carburization problems.

The use of snubbers for safety related piping systems has increased significantly during the last decade. A corresponding increase in snubber requirements (criteria) has also occurred. A review of these criteria indicates inconsistencies and contradictions, and reflects how rapidly knowledge and experience has been gained and applied. This study reviews and summarizes existing criteria, illustrates inconsistencies and recommends research to resolve conflicts.

Fuel and fission-product interactions with the fuel-pin cladding is an area of concern and has been evaluated in the past principally by in-cell optical metallographic and electron-microprobe examinations. The applicability of three techniques for preparing specimens to reveal the microstructural details and local microchemistry of the fuel/cladding interface under conditions of high-resolution-scanning transmission-electron microscopy has been investigated. The specimen preparation techniques were designed to preserve the fuel/cladding interface and provide and maintain a specimen surface free from smearable alpha contamination. One of the techniques, Ni plating of a fuel cladding sample, preserved the entire cladding cross-section for examination. An Fe-oxide layer on the cladding inner surface was found in specimens prepared by this method. All three techniques of specimen preparation are described in some detail, along with their advantages and disadvantages.

This GEOTHERM sample file contains 643 records for Utah. Records may be present which are duplicates for the same analyses. A record may contain data on location, sample description, analysis type (water, condensate, or gas), collection condition, flow rates, and the chemical and physical properties of the fluid. Stable and radioactive isotopic data are occasionally available. Some records may contain only location and temperature. This compilation should contain all the chemical data for geothermal fluids in Utah available as of December, 1981. 7 refs. (ACR)

Report issued by the National Bureau of Standards over studies conducted on glass cladding behavior under wind loads. Procedures for investigating cladding behavior are discussed. This report includes graphs, illustrations, and photographs.

Report issued by the National Bureau of Standards over studies conducted on vapor compression cycles. Methods of operation are discussed. This report includes graphs, illustrations, and photographs.

SPEC is the name of the operating system designed to control the NMR spectrometers in lab. SPEC is actually one large program which handles many functions necessary to control each spectrometer. The program handles all I/O with peripheral devices such as the console ('terminal' or 'CRT'). The program carries out its operations by accepting commands which each invoke specific subroutines to perform their function. There are a total of 60 commands in SPEC, each carrying out a different function. Because so many commands make SPEC a very large program, not all of the program is core resident. Rather, each command calls in an overlay handler which loads into memory the appropriate overlay from the disk and begins execution of the command. Thus SPEC is an independent disk based operating system. The commands in SPEC are capable of operating the microprocessor based pulse programmer, starting and acquiring data from the spectrometer data acquisition system, storing data on disk and manipulating it mathematically, displaying and plotting data. All arithmetic operations within SPEC are performed on integers. Since the DATA GENERAL computers are 16 bit machines operating in two's complement mode, the integer range is +32767. Many of the mathematical operations of SPEC …

Uranium and plutonium separations were made from simulated breeder reactor spent fuel dissolver solution with laboratory-sized pulse column contactors. Hydroxylamine nitrate (HAN) was used for reduction of plutonium (1V). An integrated extraction-partition system, simulating a breeder fuel reprocessing flowsheet, carried out a partial partition of uranium and plutonium in the second contactor. Tests have shown that acceptable coprocessing can be ontained using HAN as a plutonium reductant. Pulse column performance was stable even though gaseous HAN oxidation products were present in the column. Gas evolution rates up to 0.27 cfm/ft/sup 2/ of column cross section were tested and found acceptable.

This report documents the waste package performance requirements and geologic and waste form data bases used in developing the conceptual designs for waste packages for salt, tuff, and basalt geologies. The data base reflects the latest geotechnical information on the geologic media of interest. The parameters or characteristics specified primarily cover spent fuel, defense high-level waste, and commercial high-level waste forms. The specification documents the direction taken during the conceptual design activity. A separate design specification will be developed prior to the start of the preliminary design activity.

Spin polarization of the deuterons and tritons in a reacting plasma can result in an increase in the fusion reactivity and variation of the angular distribution of emission of the fusion neutrons. The increased fusion reactivity relaxes the confinement-temperature conditions for breakeven and ignition. We have determined the effect of varying the angular distribution of the fusion neutrons on the spatial distribution of fusion neturon current and flux at the first wall, on the global tritium breeding ratio, and on the first-wall radiation damage in low-aspect-ratio toroidal geometry.

A system for in-situ removal of helium by trapping in freshly deposited metal surface layers of a limiter or divertor has been studied. The system would trap helium on a limiter front surface, or a divertor plate, at low plasma edge temperatures, or in a limiter slot region, at high edge temperatures. Fresh material, introduced to the plasma and/or scrape-off zone, would be added at a rate of about five times the alpha production rate. The material would be reprocessed periodically, e.g., once year. Possible materials are nickel, vanadium, niobium, and tantalum. Advantages of a self-pumping system are the absence of vacuum ducts and pumps, and the minimization of tritium processing and inventory.

This guidebook contains information on alternative financing methods that could be used to develop solar thermal systems. The financing arrangements discussed include several lease alternatives, joint venture financing, R and D partnerships, industrial revenue bonds, and ordinary sales. In many situations, alternative financing arrangements can significantly enhance the economic attractiveness of solar thermal investments by providing a means to efficiently allocate elements of risk, return on investment, required capital investment, and tax benefits. A net present value approach is an appropriate method that can be used to investigate the economic attractiveness of alternative financing methods. Although other methods are applicable, the net present value approach has advantages of accounting for the time value of money, yielding a single valued solution to the financial analysis, focusing attention on the opportunity cost of capital, and being a commonly understood concept that is relatively simple to apply. A personal computer model for quickly assessing the present value of investments in solar thermal plants with alternative financing methods is presented in this guidebook. General types of financing arrangements that may be desirable for an individual can be chosen based on an assessment of his goals in investing in solar thermal systems and knowledge of …

The techniques used to optimize and design a solar salt-gradient pond (SSP) power plant for installation at the Great Salt Lake are described. The method and results of the site selection study are described as well as the characteristics of the selected site. The figure of merit used as well as the characteristics of the selected site. The figure of merit used in the optimization study, the general optimization approach, and the specific optimization method used for each subsystem are described. Results are then discussed of the optimization of the pond configuration, total system, and piping. Pond design and ground rule sensitivity studies are reported. (LEW)

This technical monthly report covers studies related to the use of /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/ in radioisotope power systems carried out for the Office of Special Nuclear Projects of the US Department of Energy by Los Alamos National Laboratory. Most of the studies discussed here are ongoing. Results and conclusions described may change as the work continues.