The Department of Energy contracted with Gibbs and Cox, M. Rosenblatt and Son and Lockheed Missile and Space Corporation to prepare conceptual designs, cost estimates and analyses for a 400 MWe OTEC Commercial Size platform. Each contractor was directed to investigate two predetermined hull configurations and to relate them to one operating site, selected by DOE. A total of 6 designs, covering sphere, spar, ship and semisubmersibles were studied by the three contractors. The results of their investigations were presented by DOE in Washington on May 8, 1978. The presentations showed that whereas a considerable data base has been built, no clear conclusions had emerged with respect to the direction that future design of the commercial platform should take. JJMA has been directed by Value Engineering on behalf of DOE to review the conceptual designs and the accompanying data base prepared by the three contractors. The intent of this review is to propose to DOE the answers to the following questions, based on the results of studies by the three contractors: (1) If DOE were to build a 400 MW OTEC plant, starting now, what should they build. (2) What are the reasons for the decisions. (3) What would it …

Advanced fuel cell research activities at Argonne National laboratory during the period of October--December 1978 are described. These efforts have been directed toward understanding and improving the components of molten--carbonate--electrolyte fuel cells operated at temperatures near 925/sup 0/K. The primary focus of this work has been the development of electrolyte structures that have good electrolyte retention and mechanical properties as well as long-term stability, and on developing methods of synthesis amendable to mass production. The characterization of these structures and their stability is an integral part of this effort. Current electrolyte structures are comprised of LiAlO/sub 2/ particles and an eutectic of Li/sub 2/CO/sub 3/ and K/sub 2/CO/sub 3/. The development of procedures for synthesizing LiAlO/sub 2/ from low cost materials is being pursued. The thermal stability of cold-pressed pellets of LiAlO/sub 2/ and carbonate eutectic has been tested at 925/sup 0/K for 22 to 2400 h in air, CO/sub 2/, and H/sub 2/--CO/sub 2/--H/sub 2/O. In general, under these test conditions the allotropic form of the LiAlO/sub 2/ particles remained stable, but their surface area decreased with time of heat treatment. Thermomechanical tests indicated that the strength of LiAlO/sub 2/ pellets increases with increased particle surface area. Several small …

Two large-scale aerosol behavior tests, using sodium pool fires as the aerosol source, were performed in the Containment Systems Test Facility (CSTF). The tests were conducted to characterize the properties and behavior of sodium aerosol particles formed and aged in a large containment vessel. The 20-m high, 850-m/sup 3/ CSTF containment building in regard to parameters that affect agglomeration and gravitational settling. In both tests, sodium burned for one hour in a 4.38-m/sup 2/ pool, and the only difference between them was that steam was injected during the second test, simulating the release of water vapor from heated concrete.

The effects of alloying elements and heat treatments on the microstructural changes and strength-toughness properties were investigated in optimization of vacuum melted Fe/Cr/C base steels. The structure of the steels in the as-quenched conditions consisted of highly dislocated autotempered lath martensite (strong phase) and thin continuous interlath films of retained austenite (tough phase). It has been emphasized again that the mechanical properties of the steels are sensitive to the amount and the stability of retained austenite. To increase the stability of retained austenite in the as-quenched condition 2 w/o Mn or 2 w/o Ni was added to the base steel, viz., Fe/3Cr/0.3C. Partial replacement of Cr by about 0.5 w/o Mo did not alter the beneficial microstructure.

A program to develop nonmetallic materials for use in geothermal processes is described. To date, several high temperature polymer and polymer concrete systems were formulated, laboratory and field tests were performed in brine, flashing brine, and steam at temperatures up to 260/sup 0/C (500/sup 0/F), and economic studies were started. Laboratory data for exposure times > 2 years are available. Results are also available from field exposures of up to 24 months in five geothermal environments. Good durability is indicated. Testing at two of these sites is continuing and plan to initiate tests at other sites are being implemented. Construction of full-scale pipe sections by a commercial firm has started. Work has also been started to develop materials for use in high temperature seals for well drilling, logging and energy extraction processes.

Significant economic and technical data on the current front junction formation processes of Spectrolab's gaseous diffusion, and of involving the Varian-Extrion 200 to 1000 implanter were tabulated, and were used to judge the feasibility of diffusion proposals by Motorola and RCA and ion implantation proposals by Lockheed, Motorola, RCA, and Spire to meet future LSA-JPL guidelines. Cost calculations, consistent with the SAMICS methodology, were performed for the junction formation processes studied.

Fuel and blanket assemblies in an LMFBR are subjected to a wide range of power and power gradients during their life in the reactor. To accommodate these changes the assemblies operate in a wide range of flow regimes extending from forced convection, turbulent flow, to mixed convection, laminar flow. At low flow conditions the transverse temperature gradient in an assembly is considerably flattened because of energy redistribution by not only wire-wrap mixing and thermal conduction but also by flow redistribution because of buoyancy-induced crossflow. This has significance in LMFBR design. For the mixed convection regime of bundle operation, the transverse velocity profiles within a bundle change axially because of buoyancy-induced crossflow. It was therefore decided to use the ENERGY II and ENERGY III computer programs for the analysis of the rod bundle mixed convection data.

The environmental technology for control of air pollution, water pollution, and for the disposal, stabilization, and vegetation of the waste tar sand were thoroughly investigated. Although some difficulties may be encountered in any of these undertakings, it seems clear that the air and water pollution problems can be solved to meet any applicable standard. Currently there are two large-scale plants producing liquid fuels from tar sands in Alberta, Canada which use similar technology involving surface mining, hot water extraction, and surface disposal of waste sand. These projects all meet the Canadian environmental control regulations in force at the time they began. The largest US deposits of tar sands are much smaller than the Canadian; 95 percent are located in the state of Utah. Their economics do not appear as attractive as the Canadian deposits. The environmental control costs are not large enough to make an otherwise economic project uneconomic. The most serious environmental conflict likely to occur over the recovery of liquid fuels from the US deposits of tar sands is that caused by the proximity of the deposits to national parks, national monuments, and a national recreation area in Utah. These areas have very stringent air pollution requirements; and …

An analysis of the potential for US underground thin seam (< 28'') coal mining is undertaken to provide basic information for use in making a decision on further thin seam mining equipment development. The characteristics of the present low seam mines and their mining methods are determined, in order to establish baseline data against which changes in mine characteristics can be monitored as a function of time. A detailed data base of thin seam coal resources is developed through a quantitative and qualitative analysis at the bed, county and state level. By establishing present and future coal demand and relating demand to production and resources, the market for thin seam coal has been identified. No thin seam coal demand of significance is forecast before the year 2000. Current uncertainty as to coal's future does not permit market forecasts beyond the year 2000 with a sufficient level of reliability.

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An in-situ study of the as-quenched omega phase transformation in Zr--15% Nb was conducted between the temperatures of 77 and 300/sup 0/K using analytical electron microscopy. The domain size of the omega regions observed in this investigation was on the order of 30 A, consistent with previous observations in this system. No alignment of omega domains along <222> directions of the bcc lattice was observed and in-situ thermal cycling experiments failed to produce a long period structure of alternating ..beta.. and ..omega.. phase regions as predicted by one theory of this transformation. Several techniques of microstructural analysis were developed, refined, and standardized. Grouped under the general classification of Analytical Electron Microscopy (AEM) they provide the experimentalist with a unique tool for the microcharacterization of solids, allowing semiquantitative to quantitative analysis of the morphology, crystallography, elemental composition, and electronic structure of regions as small as 20 A in diameter. These techniques have complications, and it was necessary to study the AEM system used in this work so that instrumental artifacts which invalidate the information produced in the microscope environment might be eliminated. Once these factors had been corrected, it was possible to obtain a wealth of information about the microvolume of …

A two-day workshop on advanced neutron detectors and associated electronics was held in Los Alamos on April 5--6, 1979, as a part of the Argonne National Laboratory--Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Coordination on neutron scattering instrumentation. This report contains an account of the information presented and conclusions drawn at the workshop.

During the development of nuclear energy, a number of apparent anomalies have become evident in nuclear criticality. Some of these have appeared in the open literature and some have not. Yet, a naive extrapolation or application of existing data, without knowledge of the anomalies, could lead to potentially serious consequences. This report discusses several of these anomalies.

The domain of Solid State Track Recorder (SSTR) applications in United States nuclear reactor energy programs extends from the harsh high temperature environments found in high power reactor cores to very low flux environments arising in out-of-core locations, critical assemblies, or away from reactors (AFR) experiments. The neutron energy region arising in these applications is very broad, covering more than eight decades from thermal up to fusion energies. The range of neutron flux/fluence intensity is even greater, extending over more than thirteen decades. As a consequence, use of a variety of SSTR is entailed in US Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR), Light Water Reactor (LWR), and Magnetic Fusion Energy Reactor (MFER) programs. A summary status is presented of selected SSTR experiments undertaken in these programs at the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory (HEDL).

The derivation of an approximate expression for the contribution of load transfer to the internal stress in hard particles dispersed in a plastic matrix is a part of a theoretical model, for structural phase continuity and its effect on the yield strength of two-phase alloys. This elaboration and expansion of one aspect of the model will first define the pertinent average geometric characterization of the particles and then consider the average stress in a representative particle of average dimensions.

This document gives a wider understanding of the history of the recommended thermal loadings in salt for both high-level waste (HLW) from fresh UO/sub 2/-fueled, light-water reactors (LWR) with no recycle and spent unreprocessed fuel (SURF) from LWRs. Aspects of the current recommendations that need further study are identified. Finally, an interim set of design thermal-loading recommendations are given that have a common rationale of satisfying performance limits within our current state of knowledge. These recommendations are made on a generic rather than a site-specific basis. 11 figures, 5 tables.

The major projects undertaken include: the provision of a State Institutional Handbook, the provision of in-depth geothermal resource data, the comparison of energy sources and uses, economic data compilation for area development plans, the preparation of site-specific development plans, and the outreach program. Progress is reported on each of these projects. (MHR)

Work on the add-on study of Phase 2 of the Array Automated Assembly Task was conducted during this reporting period. Three applications of the spray-on technique were investigated. The most effective spray-on boron back surface fields were produced at the drive-in temperature of 1000/sup 0/C for the range of temperatures investigated. Of the three spray-on aluminum metallization techniques under consideration, two appear to be promising, and the third was shown to be unsuccessful. The smallest spray-on AR coating layer thickness available from our spray-on system at the present time was found to be 1000A. Work in the area of pulsed microwave heating for solar cell fabrication was initiated. A subcontractor was selected to develop an appropriate microwave system.

The study assesses the barriers and incentives for using sodium conductor distribution cable. The assessment considers environmental, safety, energy conservation, electrical performance and economic factors. Along with all of these factors considered in the assessment, the sodium distribution cable system is compared to the present day alternative - an aluminum conductor system. (TFD)

A discussion of the information which is available about the corrosiveness of cellulose and other related properties is presented. A survey of the literature dealing with the corrosiveness of wood products other than cellulose and of the corrosiveness in other media by fire-retardant chemicals generally used with cellulosic insulation is included. The types of corrosion which could be caused by cellulosic insulation are briefly discussed.

An assessment of the market potential of photovoltaic power supplies is presented. Markets analyzed include the water pumping market, marine navigational aids, cathodic protection, remote general power sources, telecommunications, air navigational aids, mobile generator market, instrumentation, and utility connected applications.

Grants were awarded to eight manufacturers of concentrating solar thermal collector systems. These grants were for the purpose of assisting small businesses in exhibiting solar thermal systems at the 1979 International Congress of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES).

Phytoplankton samples are routinely taken at every station on Brookhaven oceanographic cruises. On productivity stations samples are taken from every depth, while on hydrographic stations samples are taken from the surface and some fixed depth (e.g. 20 m). The 125 ml samples are drawn as soon as possible after the cast from Niskin bottles and preserved with 2-3 ml of Lugol's solution. The samples are left in dark boxes in cool areas until counted. For counting, 10 ml subsamples are settled in Uttermohl chambers, usually within three months after the cruise, and counted with an inverted microscope equipped with phase contrast illumination. Between one-half and the entire chamber are counted, depending on the cell density. This data report is a listing of the phyto- plankton counts from selected stations and cruises between 1976 and 1978, inclusive.

The data included in this supplement replace earlier preliminary results presented in the Bicentennial Edition of the Atlas of Photoneutron Cross Sections (UCRL-78482, 1976). The nuclei included are /sup 13/C, /sup 18/O, /sup 55/Mn, /sup 59/Co, /sup 186/ /sup 188/ /sup 189/ /sup 192/Os, /sup 232/Th, and /sup 235/ /sup 236/ /sup 238/U, all from measurements performed at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.