The BEACON process involves the catalytic deposition of a highly reactive form of carbon from a gas stream which contains carbon monoxide. The carbon-depleted gas is combusted with air to produce power, and the carbon is reacted with steam to produce methane or hydrogen. Experiments were continued this quarter with the objective of improving the carbon deposition efficiency using a Paraho retort off-gas mixture. Analysis has shown that the use of the Paraho off-gas to make hydrogen would be attractive if the ratio of the heat content of the feedgas to the heat content of the hydrogen produced is less than 3. Experimental conditions to achieve this ratio have been established. Recent work had shown that the volume of a BEACON supported catalyst bed increased with an increase in carbon loading level. Four series of experiments were performed where sieve analyses were made after one or more BEACON process cycles. These tests showed that the volume expansion is due to an increase in the number and size of the larger catalyst particles. The bench-scale testing of unsupported catalysts concentrated in two areas: (a) the completion of batch testing in the 4-inch reactor, and (b) the construction of the Tandem Reactor …

ICRC has reviewed and updated its List of critical technology. The List comprises all proposed SRC-I Demonstration Plant equipment whose use has been determined to involve some degree of potential safety, performance, or environmental risk. ICRC has subjected equipment on the Critical Technology c to special technical review to ensure the highest possible level of quality and lowest cost commensurate with acceptable overall risks. Equipment or equipment systems still considered to be high risk are the following: Coal Slurry/Hot Oil Heat Exchangers, Coal Slurry Heaters, Second-Stage Feed Heaters, Vacuum Tower Heater, Vacuum Column, SRC/Light SRC Stripper - CSD, Severe Service Valves, Wastewater Reuse System, and the Solid Waste Disposal System. Equipment systems or pieces of equipment that have been downgraded to a lower risk category are the following: Coal Weigh-Feed System, Coal Slurry Dissolvers, Coal Dissolver Effluent Separator, and LC-Fining Reactors. Finally, ICRC has determined that many types of equipment are no longer Critical Technology, and has therefore removed them from the List.

This revised grant application manual describes the kinds of activities eligible for geothermal grants, who may apply, and how to apply. It also describes the criteria and procedures the California Energy Commission will use in selecting proposals for grant awards.

When a small generator is connected to the distribution system, the voltage at the point of interconnection is determined largely by the system and not the generator. This report examines the effect on the generator, on the load voltage and on the distribution system of a number of different voltage control strategies in the generator. Synchronous generators with three kinds of exciter control are considered, as well as induction generators and dc/ac inverters, with and without capacitor compensation. The effect of varying input power during operation (which may be experienced by generators based on renewable resources) is explored, as well as the effect of connecting and disconnecting the generator at ten percent of its rated power.

Progress is reported on the development of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) systems that will provide synthetic fuels (e.g., methanol), energy-intensive products such as ammonia (for fertilizers and chemicals), and aluminum. The work also includes assessment and design concepts for hybrid plants, such as geothermal-OTEC (GEOTEC) plants. Another effort that began in the spring of 1982 is a technical advisory role to DOE with respect to their management of the conceptual and preliminary design activity of industry teams that are designing a shelf-mounted offshore OTEC pilot plant that could deliver power to Oahu, Hawaii. In addition, a program is underway to evaluate and test the Pneumatic Wave-Energy Conversion System (PWECS), an ocean-energy device consisting of a turbine that is air-driven as a result of wave action in a chamber. This Quarterly Report summarizes the work on the various tasks as of 31 March 1983.

A process is being developed by the Sodium Waste Technology Program at ANL-W to remove metallic sodium from scrap and waste. The final step in the process is the removal of residual metallic sodium by evaporation at temperatures up to 482 C (900 F) and at pressures of about 10⁻² torr (1.3 Pa). Efficient operation of this process requires that the operators have a method to indicate the completion of the evaporation. This end point would signify when the chamber and scrap and waste is free of metallic sodium. It was determined that a measure of the vacuum was not sufficiently sensitive, and a research effort was undertaken to select an on-line monitoring device. In this effort, three promising methods were reviewed. The use of quadrupole mass spectrometer was recommended and an on-line device was designed for use in a Sodium Process Demonstration (SPD) Plant.

This report describes the preparation of a series of manganese oxides and an analysis of their sorptive, structural, and surface characteristics as low-energetic desiccants for passive dehumidification and active desiccant cooling systems. A cusped Type III isotherm for the adsorption of water is reported for the first time. The data are interpreted as evidence of a first-order phase change from a two-dimensional gas to a liquid film in the first reversibly adsorbed layer. It appears that the water adsorption characteristics of MnO2 compared to standard desiccants which exhibit Type II isotherms are due at least in part to differences in the physical topography and electronic properties of the desiccant substrates: MnO2 is a p-type semiconductor with essentially-flat, monoenergetic surface structures, while standard desiccants like silica gel are electronic insulators with irregular, heteroenergetic surfaces.

The need to understand concrete behavior under high temperatures in the nuclear industry has become rather acute. For this purpose, a constitutive model of concrete especially developed for this severe environment is indispensable. This report reviews the presently available constitutive models of concrete at standard-temperature conditions and considers their advantages and drawbacks. A rather simple but effective approach is selected to treat concrete behavior at high temperatures. Special emphasis is devoted to the modeling of concrete up to and including failure. The derived constitutive model is checked with biaxial and triaxial benchmark experimental results. Very good agreement is obtained.

Measurements of the optical properties of metallic aluminum are reviewed and available data are analyzed to obtain the bulk values of the optical constants and the complex dielectric function from 0.04 eV to 10 keV. The intra- and interband contributions to the dielectric function are discussed briefly, and recently proposed values for the Drude parameters describing the intraband absorption are critically considered. Factors influencing experimental measurements are discussed with emphasis on sample properties such as surface oxide layers, bulk inclusion of gases, surface roughness, and degree of crystallinity. The results of recent optical measurements are tabulated, along with recommended values of the optical properties resulting from a self-consistent Kramers-Kronig analysis of reflectance, transmission, and electron-energy-loss studies. The tabular data include the complex dielectric function, the complex index of refraction, and the reflectance and phase shift for normal incidence on a smooth, oxide-free surface. Detailed tabulations are given for the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum.

This conference evolved out of an idea that originated Department of Energy contractor's meeting in Gettysburg to have a conference devoted to topics of interest to both radiation chemists and physicists in radiation research. Radiation chemists tend to operate in a time domain where chemical reactions can be observed and to deduce values from that data. Meanwhile, physicists naturally focus considerable attention on initial energy deposition events and perform calculations which should predict the same initial yields. Contributed papers and remarks have been grouped according to broad subjects.

A nodal method is developed for the solution of the neutron-diffusion equation in two- and three-dimensional hexagonal geometries. The nodal scheme has been incorporated as an option in the finite-difference diffusion-theory code DIF3D, and is intended for use in the analysis of current LMFBR designs. The nodal equations are derived using higher-order polynomial approximations to the spatial dependence of the flux within the hexagonal-z node. The final equations, which are cast in the form of inhomogeneous response-matrix equations for each energy group, involved spatial moments of the node-interior flux distribution plus surface-averaged partial currents across the faces of the node. These equations are solved using a conventional fission-source iteration accelerated by coarse-mesh rebalance and asymptotic source extrapolation. This report describes the mathematical development and numerical solution of the nodal equations, as well as the use of the nodal option and details concerning its programming structure. This latter information is intended to supplement the information provided in the separate documentation of the DIF3D code.

REBUS-3 is a system of programs designed for the fuel-cycle analysis of fast reactors. This new capability is an extension and refinement of the REBUS-3 code system and complies with the standard code practices and interface dataset specifications of the Committee on Computer Code Coordination (CCCC). The new code is hence divorced from the earlier ARC System. In addition, the coding has been designed to enhance code exportability. >Major new capabilities not available in the REBUS-2 code system include a search on burn cycle time to achieve a specified value for the multiplication constant at the end of the burn step; a general non-repetitive fuel-management capability including temporary out-of-core fuel storage, loading of fresh fuel, and subsequent retrieval and reloading of fuel; significantly expanded user input checking; expanded output edits; provision of prestored burnup chains to simplify user input; option of fixed-or free-field BCD input formats; and, choice of finite difference, nodal or spatial flux-synthesis neutronics in one-, two-, or three-dimensions.

Quarterly report of the Argonne National Laboratory Chemical Engineering Division regarding activities related to properties and handling of radioactive materials, operation of nuclear reactors, and other relevant research.

Annual report of the environmental monitoring program at Argonne National Laboratory, discussing activities and findings of the group.

This monthly report for /sup 238/Pu Fuel Form Activities has two main sections: SRP-PuFF facility and SRL Fuel Form Activities. The program status, budget information, and milestone schedules are discussed in each main section. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for this program is shown. Only one monthly report per year is processed for EDB.

The tunnel in this model of construction is 3-1/2 feet wide by 5 feet high. It is assumed that the tunnel contains a rail system and guidance system for: (1) An enclosed car used for transport of 2 people and some tools. (2) A magnet mover. This robot could pick up a magnet and transport it at about 10 miles per hour. (3) An alignment robot. The alignment robot would intercept E.M. waves (microwaves, lasers) to determine its position in the tunnel. Then workers could come along inside the tunnel hoop and nail it together and to the floor. The trench would then be back-filled with a 1 foot berm on top. A rail system would be installed and a support stand for the magnet.

Iron dominated magnets are characterized in the limit of infinite permeability by a pole shape that is a magnetic equipotential. Deviations from this ideal because of finite permeability are associated with differences in path length, local saturation, flux concentration in slotted pole if crenellation is used, and sub surface voids. For moderate field levels the variation in flux path length throughout the iron lowers the magnetic potential on the iron surface more for the longer paths. As the excitation increases the permeability is lowered in regions of high flux density. Crenellation in this region offers some degree of control over the permeability by concentrating the flux. To a lesser degree sub surface voids can be used to control the reluctance of a flux path. The net result suggests that the shape of the effective air gap can be adjusted to be a magnetic equipotential sensibly equivalent to the ideal pole shape for infinite permeability.

The systems engineering and analysis (SEA) computer program (code) evaluates complete horizontal-axis SWECS performance. Rotor power output as a function of wind speed and energy production at various wind regions are predicted by the code. Efficiencies of components such as gearbox, electric generators, rectifiers, electronic inverters, and batteries can be included in the evaluation process to reflect the complete system performance. Parametric studies can be carried out for blade design characteristics such as airfoil series, taper rate, twist degrees and pitch setting; and for geometry such as rotor radius, hub radius, number of blades, coning angle, rotor rpm, etc. Design tradeoffs can also be performed to optimize system configurations for constant rpm, constant tip speed ratio and rpm-specific rotors. SWECS energy supply as compared to the load demand for each hour of the day and during each session of the year can be assessed by the code if the diurnal wind and load distributions are known. Also available during each run of the code is blade aerodynamic loading information.

The goal of this project was to construct a low-technology, maintenance-free dc electrical generator suited for use with low-speed rotating machines such as windmills or waterwheels. The generator consists of permanent magnets affixed to the circumference of the rotating device, and stationary coils mounted on a semicircular frame. As the device rotates, the magnets move past the coils and magnetically induce an ac voltage in the coils. This voltage is rectified and stored in a battery. No gears, belts, or brushes are used, so the generator operates quietly and without maintenance. The purpose of mounting the magnets at the circumference of the rotating device is to achieve high relative velocities between magnets and coils even at slow rotations, in the hope of extracting energy from very light winds or slowly flowing water. Such a generator was constructed as part of a ten-foot-diameter windmill to test the concept. The generator easily reaches charging voltages at low speeds, and operates quietly without mechanical wear. But the charging current is very low in comparison to a wind turbine of conventional design. The experiment allows fundamental design problems to be identified.

The project was designed to take 95/sup 0/F water from an existing well and process it through a heat exchanger carrying supply water for our boiler make up and domestic hot water systems. The temperature of this water runs from 55/sup 0/F to 65/sup 0/F. In operation it was possible to raise the temperature of this water an average of approximately 12/sup 0/F. The amount of energy captured was recorded and it was found that one can capture approximately 199 x 10/sup 6/ Btu/Mo. Using current energy costs and a boiler efficiency factor of .8 a potential annual savings of approximately $11,104/year was calculated. The total cost of the project was $31,893.68. Using these figures a simple pay back period of 2.9 years was calculated.

The Utility Task Force report found that there is a wide range of possible alternatives for funding a portion of the CRBRP costs which could reduce Federal outlay requirements and attract significant private sector participation. These alternatives range from off-budget Federal guaranteed project financing, to traditional financing of the market value of the plant. The Task Force report considers the family of concepts that are based on seeking private investment commensurate with the market value of the CRBRP as the most viable alternative funding approach although it may be necessary to augment this concept with others of the discussed alternatives depending on the amount of private funding required.

Report issued by the National Bureau of Standards on "surge response to turbulent wind in the presence of current and waves" (p. iii). Methods for estimating surge response are discussed. This report includes tables, graphs, and illustrations.

Report issued by the National Bureau of Standards over the energy performance of a day-lighted building. The different models and functions are discussed. This report includes tables, graphs, illustrations, and photographs.

This report includes statements form OTA Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Director, as well as TAAC Chairman. The report also discusses industry, commerce, and international security division, as well as health, life sciences and the environment division.