The purpose of this sponsored research is to assess the feasibility and the potential value of the hydraulic container pipeline (HCP) as a new mode of freight transport. The tasks of the study involve (1) assessment of the energy conservation value of HCP as compared to other modes of freight transport such as truck, rail and slurry pipeline, (2) assessment of the market of HCP for coal transportation, (3) development of design concepts on HCP system for transporting coal, and (4) design and construction of a small HCP system for the demonstration of the concept of HCP transportation. To date, the first three of the four aforementioned tasks have been completed; task 4 has just begun. This report deals with the first task only. It is shown that HCP possesses high potential for conserving energy used in freight transport and reducing U.S. reliance on oil.

A comprehensive experiment to study drift from mechanical draft cooling towers was conducted. The data from this study are to be used for drift deposition model validation. Results show the effects of tower geometry and orientation with respect to the wind and to single or two tower operation. The effect of relative humidity on droplet evaporation as a function of downwind distance can also be seen.

This handbook reviews the basic requirements of the use of liquid metals with emphasis on sodium which has the greatest current usage. It delineates the concepts necessary to design facilities both radioactive and nonradioactive for use with liquid metals. It further reviews the state-of-the-art in fire extinguishers and leak detection equipment and comments on their application and sensitivity. It also provides details on some engineering features of value to the designer of liquid metal facilities.

The FY 1978 Annual Report of the Rocky Flats Wind Systems Program describes the objectives, approach, and achievements of the program and each of its tasks areas during the period October 1, 1977-September 30, 1978. During this period, additional testing of ten small wind energy conversion systems (SWECS) was conducted and the Test Center was expanded to accommodate up to 30 SWECS. Work on nine design and analysis projects for advanced prototypes in three size ranges progressed through a series of design reviews, with prototype delivery scheduled to begin in mid-1979. Supporting activities included a Systems Engineering project which analyzed the cost of SWECS components and fabrication, a task effort in technical support to standards development, and the dissemination of information.

The feasibility of rehabilitating an existing power house at the Enloe Dam in Washington was evaluated with consideration of expected power production, social and environmental impacts, regulatory aspects, technical requirements, financing, costs, and market potential. This assessment showed that rebuilding the existing powerhouse and appurtenant facilities is technically feasible. Rebuilding the existing turbines and generators proved to be the most desirable of three alternatives considered. The following four factors lead to this conclusion: rebuilding the old equipment is less costly than installing new turbines and generators; no major structural changes to the powerhouse would be required; rebuilding the turbines with increased flow capacity made the rebuilding alternative competitive with new equipment from an energy production standpoint; and rebuilding is compatible with the Enloe site's recent addition to the National Register of Historic Places.

System integration, system engineering, and management support services provided for the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Program of the Ocean Systems Branch, Division of Central Solar Technology are described. The six tasks include (1) survey, analysis, evaluation, and recommendation concerning program performance; (2) program technical monitoring; (3) development and implementation of methodology to identify and evaluate program alternatives; (4) technical assessments; (5) OTEC system integration; and (6) environment and siting considerations. (WHK)

The following topics are covered: thermodynamic instability of brine, injectivity loss during regular production and injection operations, injectivity loss caused by measures other than regular operations, heat mining and associated reservoir problems in reinjection, pressure maintenance through imported make-up water, suggested solutions to injection problems, and suggested solutions to injection problems: remedial and stimulation measures. (MHR)

Production processes for low-cost organic antireflection (AR) coating and etched AR coating on glass for flat plate collector covers are being developed and improved. The etched AR coating process has been scaled-up to etch full-size glass panes but the chemical control of the etching solution remains a problem. Analytical methods including high performance liquid chromatography, flame exited atomic absorption and infrared spectroscopy, have been investigated as possible monitoring and control devices. Liquid chromatography appears to give some useful information. An investigation of another technique, utilizing the differential refractive index of the etching solution, has just begun. The organic coating, FEP-120 Teflon dispersion, has been shown to be somewhat unstable and efforts are underway to improve the stability of the dispersion. A pretreatment of the glass substrate in hydrofluoric acid substantially improves the abrasion resistance of the coated glass. Further development will optimize this effect. Methods of maintaining thickness control during the coating of full size panels will be determined.

The aim of this work was to make realistic assessments of the safety, performance, and installation costs of an electrochemically regenerative H/sub 2//Cl/sub 2/ energy storage system based on detailed engineering designs of plant configurations. Extensive laboratory tests in FY 1976, 1977, and 1978 provided the needed theoretical and experimental data for this study. The effectiveness of this scheme of energy storage required practical confirmation. In this assessment particular care was taken to list and include all the secondary units needed for plant operation. Results are detailed. (WHK)

This wind energy application study was performed by The Aerospace Corporation for the Wind Systems Branch of the Department of Energy. The objective was to identify integration problems for a Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) placed into an existing conventional utility system. The integration problems included environmental, institutional and technical aspects as well as economic matters, but the emphasis was on the economics of wind energy. The Hawaiian Electric Company utility system on the island of Oahu was selected for the study because of the very real potential for wind energy on that island, and because of the simplicity afforded in analyzing that isolated utility.

The Stripa test site has been excavated in granitic rock between 338 m and 360 m below the ground surface, and is located under the north limb of an ENE-plunging synclinal structure. The granitic rocks, in the areas mapped, are of Archean age and are dominated by a reddish, medium-grained, massive monzogranite that shows varying degrees of deformation. The granitic rocks have been intruded by diabase (dolerite) and pegmatite dikes. Surface and subsurface mapping shows that the Stripa granite is highly fractured and that there are at least four joint sets in the area of the test excavations. In addition to the joints, the rock mass contains fissures, fracture zones, and small-scale shear zones, representing the complete spectrum of the fracture family. Most of the fractures are lined with chlorite, occasionally with calcite. Many of the small-scale shear fractures are filled or coated with epidote. Offsets of pegmatite dikes formed by these fractures are usually limited to one to two meters. Water seepage is observed only as drops from fractures or moist fracture surfaces. It was found that reconstruction of the local three-dimensional fracture system is the heater-experiment sites was difficult, and in some cases subjective. Such reconstruction is a …

This paper examines three alternative methods by which electric utilities might take advantage of distributed thermal energy storage to smooth out their load profiles. These three methods are: time-specific rates, time-invariant rates with subsidized storage, and direct load controls. The optimal form of each of these policies is determined, and formulas indicating the relative desirability of each policy are developed.

The cost effectiveness of nonmetallic materials in three direct-use geothermal applications was assessed. An extensive review of the available literature was conducted in order to ascertain those processes for which sufficient design and cost data had been published to permit this economic assessment to be made. Only three such processes could be found and they are discussed.

This first annual report of DOE Contract No. EY-76-C-08-0685 presents the beginning efforts of a chemical explosive fracturing program to stimulate Devonian shale gas production in eastern Kentucky. A 12-year old below average production gas well was obtained as the first test well in a three well program. Selection was based on geological, off-set well and surface lineament factors. Prior to stimulation, the well was to be cleaned out and flow tested as a data base for post-shot evaluation. Initial clean out was hampered due to water inflow. It became necessary to cement in a new casing liner to seal the wellbore from the subsurface water which had corroded through the old casing. Clean out to total depth was successfully accomplished with a cable too rig. The well is now being flow tested in preparation for chemical explosive stimulation. Gamma ray, temperature and caliper logs, and the procedures for clean out and well testing are appendices to the report.

Results to date are presented for a research project which is in progress at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The goal of the research is to find a cost-effective process to convert the energy in humid air into mechanical work, which will be used to drive an electrical generator. The research is being carried out by computer modeling. Results for a natural draft tower show that it is not a cost-effective way to get energy from humid air. Parametric studies are presented for expansion-compression cycles. With suitable conditions, including large amounts of cooling during compression, this cycle has an attractive net work output. To avoid using all the output power to overcome machine losses, it appears necessary to use a one-machine mechanization. The most promising uses vortex flow to achieve the necessary expansion and subsequent compression with cooling. Power output and costs have been estimated for a vortex plant located in Puerto Rico.

Vermont Marble Company (VMCO) owns and operates four hydroelectric projects in a 50-mile reach of Otter Creek in west central Vermont. This study concerns three of the installations - Center Rutland, Beldens, and Huntington Falls. The fourth site is known as Proctor and will be studied separately. All four plants operate as run-of-river stations, and the limited reservoir storage capacity places severe limitations on any other type of operation. The plants are presently operating at much lower outputs than can be obtained, because they do not use the available discharge and head. The results show that, under the assumptions made in this study, Beldens and Huntington Falls can be economically improved. The rehabilitation of the Center Rutland plant did not look economically attractive. However, the improvement of Center Rutland should not be eliminated from further consideration, because it could become economically attractive if the cost of energy starts escalating at a rate of around 10% per year. The study included a brief appraisal of the existing generating facilities and condition of existing concrete structures, a geological reconnaissance of the sites, analysis of the power potential, flood studies, technical and economic investigations and comparative evaluations of the alternatives for developing the …

The Mountain Home Geothermal Project is an engineering and economic study of a vertically integrated livestock meat and feed production facility utilizing direct geothermal energy from the KGRA (Known Geothermal Resource Area) southeast of Mountain Home, Idaho. A system of feed production, swine raising, slaughter, potato processing and waste management was selected for study based upon market trends, regional practices, available technology, use of commercial hardware, resource characteristics, thermal cascade and mass flow considerations, and input from the Advisory Board. The complex covers 160 acres; utilizes 115 million Btu per hour (34 megawatts-thermal) of geothermal heat between 300/sup 0/F and 70/sup 0/F; has an installed capital of $35.5 million;produces 150,000 hogs per year, 28 million lbs. of processed potatoes per year, and on the order of 1000 continuous horsepower from methane. The total effluent is 200 gallons per minute (gpm) of irrigation water and 7300 tons per year of saleable high grade fertilizer. The entire facility utilizes 1000 gpm of 350/sup 0/F geothermal water. The economic analysis indicates that the complex should have a payout of owner-invested capital of just over three years. Total debt at 11% per year interest would be paid out in 12 (twelve) years.

In this note we consider the possibility that by using a pulsed rf system, perhaps a system which operates at a somewhat higher frequency, a substantial reduction can be made in the rf power requirement for the next generation of large storage rings. A large effort over a period of many years has been expended in the attempt to increase the shunt impedance of rf structures for cw systems. Without turning to superconductivity only modest gains in the shunt impedance remain to be made by further detailed adjustments in cell shape. On the other hand, very little effort has as yet gone into the optimization of structures for pulsed systems. The structure parameters to be quoted in this report do not therefore necessarily represent values close to those for an optimum design. It is expected that the system designs set out here can be improved upon with further experimental and theoretical work. 11 refs., 3 figs.

An important objective of the light water reactor pressure vessel (LWRPV) surveillance dosimetry program is to validate and calibrate dosimetry and damage analysis techniques as well as to guide required neutron field calculations that are used to correlate changes in material properties with characteristics of the neutron irradiation field. As part of this activity, the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory (HEDL) performed neutron flux calculations in a model of the light water test reactor of the Nuclear Science and Technology Facility of the State University of New York at Buffalo. The purpose of these calculations was to provide a consistent analysis base for projecting radiation damage produced by one reactor facility to that which would be incurred in another reactor facility.

An analysis of how political, social, and economic forces shaped the development of nuclear power in the US, USSR, Great Britain, France, Canada, and West Germany is presented.

The rising cost, uncertain future supply, and environmental problems associated with energy sources have resulted in serious investigation of energy sources that have not previously been considered economically and technically feasible. One such source involves low-head hydroelectric generation. The Department of Energy has funded several feasibility studies for the installation of hydroelectric generators at existing low-head dams. Such a feasibility study for the Archusa Creek Dam near Quitman, Mississippi, is described. The study indicates that there are no apparent technical dificulties to prevent such a project and that a suitable turbine-generator could be obtained. The study further indicates that the project should be economically feasible for the Pat Harrison Waterway District (owners of the dam and lake) to construct if arrangements could be completed for interconnecting with the local utility and selling the energy to the utility. The utility (Mississippi Power Company) has expressed interest in such an arrangement.

Based on experimental results and analytical studies, preliminary environmental and economic assessments of a conceptual, industrial scale FHP-Refinery Complex have been made. Three cases were considered, one for the production of pipeline gas, the second for the production of liquid hydrocarbons such as motor gasoline and LPG, and the third for the production of both liquid and gaseous products. Solid, liquid and gaseous effluents for each case have been evaluated, and required effluent treatment facilities and potential problem areas identified. Thermal efficiencies and investment costs have also been estimated. Net thermal efficiency ranges from 50% to 72%, depending upon the mode of operation of the Complex, and investment costs from 834 to 936 million dollars. The installed cost of environmental equipment is estimated at about 5% of total plant investment for all three cases.

Efficient solution of boundary-value problems for time-dependent inelastic deformation in metallic structures are generally solved by finite element methods and separate descriptions for time-independent plasticity and time-dependent creep are normally used. The boundary-integral equation method was recently applied for the first time to such problems. A very efficient numerical implementation of the method with a linear description of the relevant variables over each boundary element and a newly developed Euler type time-integration scheme with automatic time-step control for time integration is presented. Numerical results for plates in plane stress with and without cutouts, under different loading histories, are presented. A combined creep-plasticity constitutive theory with state variables is used to model material behavior. The results are more accurate and are obtained with much less computational effort compared to a previous attempt with an uniform description of variables over each boundary element and a predictor--corrector scheme for time-integration. The computer program developed is quite general and can handle plane stress problems for plates of arbitrary shapes subjected to arbitrary time-histories of loadings. The numerical results presented in the paper are for certain illustrative problems.

A serious problem in the development of geothermal energy is the availability of durable and economical materials of construction for handling hot brine and steam. Hot brine and other aerated geothermal fluids are highly corrosive and they attack most conventional materials of construction. Brookhaven National Laboratory has been investigating the use of concrete polymer materials as alternate materials of construction for geothermal processes. To date, successful field tests have been demonstrated at the Geysers, US Bureau of Mines Corrosion Facility, and at the East Mesa Geothermal Facility. This is a survey of field and laboratory evaluations of concrete polymer materials which have been shown to be durable and economical as alternate materials of construction.