Quarterly report discussing fuel cell research and development work at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). This report describes efforts directed toward (1) developing alternative concepts for components of molten carbonate fuel cells and (2) improving understanding of component behavior.

The Physics Division's program in nuclear physics covers a broad span of activities within that discipline. The object of this research is to understand the properties of atomic nuclei, their structure, the mechanisms of nuclear reactions, and manifestations of fundamental symmetries in nuclei. Work is carried out under a variety of subprograms: theory, heavy-ion physics, medium-energy physics and nuclear research. These categories do not represent a sharp separation between people--individual scientists often work in several different areas. This flexibility allows scientific problems to be addressed with a variety of techniques, and it avoids limiting individual scientists' activities to a particular subdiscipline.

The formulation needed for the conductance of heat by means of explicit integration is presented. The implementation of these expressions into a transient structural code, which is also based on explicit temporal integration, is described. Comparisons of theoretical results with code predictions are given both for one-dimensional and two-dimensional problems. The coupled thermal and structural solution of a concrete crucible, when subjected to a sudden temperature increase, shows the history of cracking. The extent of cracking is compared with experimental data.

This report constitutes a formulation of a new concept for improving thermal-system performance by utilizing the combined mechanisms of enhanced heat transfer, transport, and thermal energy storage associated with a phase-change slurry as the working fluid. In addition, pertinent literature is surveyed and a quantitative scoping assessment of enhancement potential confirms concept merit. It has been determined that additional research and development is required in order to adequately understand the enhancement mechanisms to the degree that enhanced performance thermal systems using slurries can be designed. The concepts presented are identified as being new, rewarding research activities.

This report summarizes research during 1981 in the Division of Biological and Medical Research, Argonne National Laboratory. Studies in Low Level Radiation include comparison of lifetime effects in mice of low level neutron and gamma irradiation, delineation of the responses of dogs to continuous low level gamma irradiation, elucidation of mechanisms of radiation damage and repair in mammalian cells, and study of the genetic effects of high LET radiations.