The optimization code ETRANS was developed at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory to design and estimate the costs associated with energy transport systems for distributed fields of solar collectors. The code uses frequently cited layouts for dish and trough collectors and optimizes them on a section-by-section basis. The optimal section design is that combination of pipe diameter and insulation thickness that yields the minimum annualized system-resultant cost. Among the quantities included in the costing algorithm are (1) labor and materials costs associated with initial plant construction, (2) operating expenses due to daytime and nighttime heat losses, and (3) operating expenses due to pumping power requirements. Two preliminary series of simulations were conducted to exercise the code. The results indicate that transport system costs for both dish and trough collector fields increase with field size and receiver exit temperature. Furthermore, dish collector transport systems were found to be much more expensive to build and operate than trough transport systems. ETRANS itself is stable and fast-running and shows promise of being a highly effective tool for the analysis of distributed solar thermal systems.

The joint distribution of the electric microfield and its longitudinal derivative is required for the calculation of line profiles for the He-like ions in very dense plasmas. We used a molecular dynamics code to compute exact distributions in single- and multi-component plasmas, and then we investigated various analytical approximations to these results. We found that a simplified, two-nearest-neighbor scheme leads to surprisingly accurate distribution functions. Our results are illustrated by sample profiles for Ne/sup +8/ and Ar/sup +16/ resonance lines.

This report was prepared at the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to clarify the development status of the pressurized fluidized bed combustor (PFBC) and to place in perspective the problems which are yet to be solved before commercialization of the concept is practical. This report, in essence, supersedes the interim report published in 1979, Assessment of the State of the Art of Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion Systems. A brief overview of the PFBC concept is included citing potential advantages and disadvantages relative to atmospheric fluidized bed combustion (AFBC) and conventional pulverized coal plants. A survey of existing and developing PFBC experimental facilities is presented in some detail which includes the major accomplishments at the respective facilities. Recent data on plant emissions, turbine/gas cleanup systems, and overall efficiency are provided. Findings of several design studies are also discussed. The results of recent gas turbine and cascade tests have been encouraging although the full assessment of the accomplishments have not been made. The delay in construction of the Grimethorpe plant causes further delay in proof-testing full-size, rotating turbomachinery. Several parameters are recommended for further assessment in design studies including: (1) effect of turbine life on cost of power; and (2) …

The Nashville quadrangle covers a portion of the interior lowland plateau region of the Midwestern Physiographic Province. The quadrangle contains a shallow to moderately thick Paleozoic section that overlies a Precambrian basement complex. Paleozoic carbonates dominate surficial exposures. A search of available literature revealed no known uranium deposits. Fifty-five uranium anomalies were detected and are discussed briefly. Most anomalies appear to relate to cultural features. Some have relatively high uranium concentration levels that may be significant despite their correlation with culture. Magnetic data appear to illustrate complexities in the Precambrian basement.

The Fort Smith quadrangle in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma overlies thick Paleozoic sediments of the Arkoma Basin. These Paleozoics dominate surface exposure except where covered by Quaternary Alluvial materials. Examination of available literature shows no known uranium deposits (or occurrences) within the quadrangle. Seventy-five groups of uranium samples were defined as anomalies and are discussed briefly. None were considered significant, and most appeared to be of cultural origin. Magnetic data show character that suggest structural and/or lithologic complexity, but imply relatively deep-seated sources.

The Helena quadrangle covers a region largely within the Mississippi River flood plain in the extreme northern Gulf Coastal Province. Tertiary sediments in this area are relatively thick, and overlie a Paleozoic basin gradually shoaling to the northeast. The Oachita Tectonic Zone strikes southeasterly through the center of the quadrangle. The exposed sequence is almost entirely Quaternary sediments of the flood plain area. Older Cenozoic deposits crop out in upland areas on the west side of the river valley. A search of available literature revealed no known uranium deposits. Sixty uranium anomalies were detected and are discussed briefly. None were considered significant, and all appeared to occur as the result of cultural and/or weather effects. Magnetic data appear to be in agreement with existing structural interpretations of the region.

The Geoecology Data Base represents a unique compilation of computerized environmental data for research and development needs. Environmental assessment and planning for energy development require rapid access to data at appropriate spatial and temporal scales. In the Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), we have developed an integrated data base of diverse environmental resource information from extant sources. Data are stored at the county level of resolution for the conterminous United States with some data available for subcounty units within larger, more diverse eastern counties. The Geoecology Data Base contains selected data on terrain and soils, water resources, forestry, vegetation, agriculture, land use, wildlife, air quality, climate, natural areas, and endangered species. Basic files on human population are also included to complement the environmental files. Data are stored in metric-SI units. The Geoecology Data Base is currently fulfilling diverse ongoing research needs while it is being expanded and updated as needs and new data are identified. This report is both a documentation and a user's guide to the Geoecology Data Base. It describes the Data Base design, illustrates applications, provides examples of accessing the Data Base, and gives general information on the data set contents.

The solar energy hot water system installed in the Days Inns of America, Inc., Days Inn Motel (120 rooms) I-95 and Cagle Road, Jacksonville, Florida, is described. The solar system was designed by ILI, Incorporated to provide 65 percent of the hot water demand. The system is one of eleven systems planned under this grant. Water (in the Solar Energy Products, Model CU-30ww liquid flat plate collector (900 square feet) system) automatically drains into the 1000 gallon lined and vented steel storage tank when the pump is not running. Heat is transferred from storage to Domestic Hot Water (DHW) tanks through a tube and shell heat exchanger. A circulating pump between the DHW tanks and heat exchanger enables solar heated water to help make up DHW standby losses. All pumps are controlled by differential temperature. This system was turned on June 19, 1979. The solar components were partly funded ($15,823 of $31,823 cost) by the Department of Energy.

Design of a scheme for producing execution timing profiles of FORTRAN programs automatically is proposed with a recommendation to implement it as an option to the compiler. An experimental implementation on the LBL 7600 is also described. 1 figure.

SACRD (Safety Analysis Computerized Reactor Data) is a data base of nondesign-related information used in computer codes for fast reactor safety analyses. This document reports the procedures used in SACRD to help assure a reasonable level of integrity of the material contained in the data base. It also serves to document much of the computer software used with the data base.

An electrical resistivity survey in the Colado geothermal area, Pershing County, Nevada has defined areas of low resistivity on each of five lines surveyed. Some of these areas appear to be fault controlled. Thermal fluids encountered in several drill holes support the assumption that the hot fluids may be associated with areas of low resistivity. The evidence of faulting as interpreted from modeling of the observed resistivity data is therefore particularly significant since these structures may be the conduits for the thermal fluids. Sub-allurial fault zones are interpreted to occur between stations 0 to 5 NW on Line D and on Line A between stations 4 NW and 4 SE. Fault zones are also interpreted on Line C near stations 1 NW, 1 SE, and 3 SE, and on Line E between stations 2 to 4 NW and near 1 SE. No faulting is evident under the alluvial cover on the southwest end of Line B. A deep conductive zone is noted within the mountain range on two resistivity lines. There is no definite indication that thermal fluids are associated with this resistivity feature.

An aging study has been completed which evaluated a number of polymeric materials for potential use as (1) protective coatings for back surfaces of mirrors and (2) solar heliostat edge seals. These investigations were conducted in an artificial weathering chamber that accelerated thermal cycling. The primary mirror failure mode was observed to be silver corrosion resulting from moisture exposure. To increase mirror longevity in current heliostat designs, intimate bonding at all the composite interfaces is essential to minimize moisture pathways to the silvered surface. If any voids or delaminations are present, mirror degradation will eventually occur. Delaminations can also occur as the result of mechanical stresses brought about by mismatches in the various materials coefficients of thermal expansion. If good bonding cannot be achieved or mechanical stresses avoided, then improved moisture barriers must be designed to assure mirror longevity. With good adhesion, a KRATON rubber was found to exhibit superior back surface mirror protection (12 months in environmental chamber with no corrosion). An ultraviolet stabilized butyl rubber appeared to be the best edge seal. All heliostats edge sealed with silicones showed silver corrosion which indicated either poor bonding or moisture permeation.

Two applications of microfabrication technology to thermionic converters have been investigated theoretically. The first is a novel method of maintaining micron or submicron spacings over large areas (>1 cm/sup 2/), using metals of different expansion coefficients to eliminate the shear stresses on the insulating pillars separating the electrodes. The second uses low-voltage field-emission sources to create ions in a large (approx. 1 mm) interelectrode gap for space charge neutralization. The theoretical results for both these approaches are highly encouraging.

Toroidal magnetic field configuration in a gravitational field is calculated both from a simple force-balance and from the calculation using magnetic surfaces. The configuration is found which is positionally stable in a star. The vibrational frequency near the equilibrium point is proportional to the hydrostatic frequency of a star multiplied by the ratio (W/sub B//W/sub M/)/sup 1/2/ where W/sub B/ is the magnetic field energy density, and W/sub M/ is the material pressure at the equilibrium point. It is proposed that this frequency may account for the observed solar spot cycles.

Liquid-junction photoelectrochemical cells can be used either for the direct conversion of solar energy to electricity or to generate stored chemical species available for later electrochemical discharge. The objectives of this program are to identify experimental approaches for electrochemical photovoltaic cells that not only show promise of high power-conversion efficiencies but also have the potential to achieve long life and the capacity for energy storage. The work is organized as follows: (1) selection of high-efficiency semiconductor photoelectrode/electrolyte systems, (2) development of long-life electrochemical photovoltaic cells, (3) all solid-state electrochemical photovoltaic cell with in situ storage, and (4) demonstration of laboratory-size photoelectrochemical cell with redox storage. This program is directed toward identifying a suitable match between the proposed semiconductor and the redox species present in aqueous, nonaqueous, and solid electrolytes for achieving the necessary performance and semiconductor stability requirements. Emphasis is on aqueous electrolyte-based systems where fast kinetics are favored. The proposed systems will be compatible with convenient storage of the electroactive species generated and its later electrochemical discharge in a redox cell. Progress is reported.

Injection of H/sup 0/ into D/sup +/ plasmas with beam power P/sub b/ of up to 1.7 MW has produced rms betas of approx. 4%, volume-averaged betas of approx. 3%, and central betas of approx. 10% in the ISX-B tokamak. Although theoretical calculations indicate that the observed equilibria may be unstable to ballooning modes, no catastrophic loss of confinement has been observed, and beta continues to increase with injection power. In these beam-dominated high-beta discharges the electron and ion energy confinement times are still similar to those obtained with ohmic heating: ion energy confinement is neoclassical within a factor of approx. 2, and electron energy confinement follows the usual Alcator scaling. In high-power injection discharges the character of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) behavior changes, the particle confinement time decreases, and the inward impurity transport appears to be inhibited. These effects, however, may not be linked directly to beta.

This report summarizes the progress of the Exploratory Research on Solvent Refined Coal Liquefaction project by The Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Co.'s Merriam Laboratory during 1979. In a series of experiments with varying feed gas composition, low levels (5 to 10 mole %) of carbon monoxide had little effect on the SRC II processing of Pittsburgh Seam coal (Powhatan No. 5 Mine) while higher levels (20 to 40 mole %) resulted in a general degradation of operability and reduced oil yields. Addition of finely divided (approx. 1 ..mu..m) pyrite to the reactive Powhatan coal had little effect on oil yields although the molecular weight of the distillation residue was apparently decreased. When finely divided pyrite and magnetite were added to the less reactive coals from the Loveridge and Blacksville No. 1 Mines (also Pittsburgh Seam), however, substantial increases in oil yields and product quality were obtained. In a comparison of upflow and downflow dissolver configurations with Powhatan coal in the SRC II mode, there was no difference in yields or product quality. A study characterizing specific reactors revealed a significantly higher conversion in the SRC I mode with a reactor approximating plug flow conditions compared to a completely backmixed …

Thomson scattering of ruby laser light was used to measure electron temperatures and densities in the ELMO Bumpy Torus-Scale (EBT-S) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The measurements were made primarily during May 1980, although some were taken during January 1980. The scattering system, which was designed for very low electron density measurements, features a 14-J ruby laser, a high-throughput spectrometer, and 15% quantum efficiency photomultipliers. The measured electron densities lie in the range 5 X 10/sup 11/ cm/sup -3/ to 2.2 X 10/sup 12/ cm/sup -3/ with electron temperatures from 50 to 500 eV. The radial profiles of T/sub e/ and n/sub e/ are reasonably flat over an 8-cm region from the plasma center outward. The dependence of T/sub e/ and n/sub e/ on microwave power input and on background pressure is discussed. The electron data are used to derive approximate values of the energy confinement time.

This report is an examination of the equipment preferences and decision-making methodology of the coal industry. The prime purpose is to indicate directions in which equipment research might proceed and also to indicate methods by which investment in new, more productive mining equipment could be encouraged. In addition to this, an investigation of the research and development decisions of major mining equipment manufacturers was conducted. The findings can best be condensed into three categories: needs for equipment in underground mining, needs for equipment in surface mining, and the purchase decision by coal mine operators.

Research is reported concerning: (1) engineering materials, including materials compatibility, mechanical properties, nondestructive testing, pressure vessel technology, and welding and brazing; (2) fuels and processes consisting of ceramic technology, fuel cycle technology, fuels evaluation, fuel fabrication and metals processing; and (3) materials science which includes, ceramic studies, physical metallurgy properties, radiation effects and microstructural analysis, metastable and superconducting materials, structure and properties of surfaces, theroretical research and x-ray research and applications. Highlights of the work of the metallographic group and the current state of the High-Temperature Materials Laboratory (HTML) and the Materials and Structures Technology Management Center (MSTMC) are presented. (FS)

The photoneutron cross sections for /sup 3/H and /sup 3/He have been measured from threshold to approx. 25 MeV with monoenergetic photons from the annihilation in flight of fast positrons at the LLL Electron-Positron Linear Accelerator facility. These reactions include the two-body breakup of /sup 3/H and the three-body breakup of both /sup 3/H and /sup 3/He; these measurements for /sup 3/H are the first to span the energy region across the peaks of the cross sections. An efficient BF/sub 3/-tube-and-paraffin neutron detector and high-pressure gaseous samples of several moles each (the activity of the /sup 3/H sample was approx. 200,000 Ci) were employed in these measurements. Measurements on /sup 16/O and /sup 2/H also were performed to verify the absolute cross-section scale. The results, when compared with each other and with results for the two-body breakup cross section for /sup 3/He from the literature, show that the two-body breakup cross sections for /sup 3/H and /sup 3/He have nearly the same shape, but the one for /sup 3/He lies lower in magnitude; the three-body breakup cross section for /sup 3/He lies higher in magnitude and is broader in the peak region and also rises less sharply from threshold than …

Construction of a large tandem mirror (MFTF-B) will soon begin at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Designed to reach break-even plasma conditions, the facility will significantly advance the physics and technology of magnetic-mirror-based fusion reactors. This paper describes the objectives and the design of the facility.

The Tupelo quadrangle covers a region immediately east of the Mississippi River flood plain in the northernmost Gulf Coastal Physiographic Province. Sediments of Teritary and Paleozoic basins shoal eastward. Tertiary exposures dominate the western half of the quadrangle. Cretaceous strata are exposed over most of the eastern half. A search of available literature revealed no known uranium deposits. A total of eighty-six uranium anomalies were detected and are discussed briefly. Few were considered significant, and most appear to relate to some cultural feature. Magnetic data appears, for the most part, to be in agreement with existing structural interpretations of the region.

The performance of existing or nearly completed detectors for particle identification by using the relativistic rise of energy loss will be discussed. Detailed analysis of systematic errors leads finally to large detector systems approaching the ultimate resolution as measured in small test devices. New methods for extracting the information from the counter with the potential of better particles separation than standard dE/dx will be presented. It includes very fine sampling, delta-ray clipping, and cluster counting.