A Pion Generator for Medical Irradiation (PIGMI) possessing many technical innovations is being developed at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. The heart of the PIGMI facility is a linear accelerator designed to provide a 650-MeV beam of protons at a beam current of 100 ..mu..A. The accelerator will be 120 m long and suitable for installation at major hospital sites. Obviously, a shorter machine may be more convenient to the medical profession. One possibility of reducing the total length of the facility is to bend the linac back on itself at the halfway point. However, the 180/sup 0/ bending system used for this purpose must have the very special properties of being both achromatic and isochronous in order to transport the proton beam without destroying the transverse or longitudinal dimensions of the bunch. The design of two such possible systems is dicussed.

The MHF project in the Natural Buttes Unit, Bitter Creek Field, Utah has progressed through five of the eight phases of the scheduled program. The last three phases of the program are in progress. Two of the three remaining phases should be finished by 10-1-78, with the testing of CIGE 21-15-10-22 to continue until approximately 1-1-79. Results from this project indicate that MHF stimulations of low permeability sands such as the Mesa Verde--Wasatch are economically high risk. The technology necessary to perform an MHF is adequate; however, the results anticipated must be carefully evaluated with respect to economics.

The objective of the Detroit Lakes Energy Systems Study is to determine the economic feasibility of alternative renewable energy system configurations in the northern latitudes. A forecast through both 1990 and the year 2000 is made of the demand for electrical energy in the Detroit Lakes area. An assessment of renewable energy resources including biomass, wind, and insolation is provided. A detailed analysis is made of system costs including biomass, wind, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, selected hybrids, and conventional fuel systems. Lessons learned and recommendations for prototype fabrication are highlighted. (MHR)

Methods of producing low-cost silicon sheet for solar cells are under active development. In the crystal-growing processes a refractory crucible is required to hold the molten silicon, while in the ribbon processes an additional refractory shaping die is needed to enable silicon ribbon to be produced. In several ribbon processes the high-temperature materials are a limiting factor in the development of the technique. The objective of this study is to develop and evaluate refractory die and container materials. Mass spectrometric studies of molten silicon in contact with silicon nitride and silicon carbide show that the vapor pressure of silicon is lower over these materials than over the oxides (beryllium oxide, alumina, and silica) studied previously. Measured carbon and nitrogen contents are 6.4 x 10/sup 19/ atoms/cm/sup 3/ and 3.3 x 10/sup 18/ atoms/cm/sup 3/, respectively. The fabrication of O' and ..beta..' Sialons was found to be strongly dependent upon the nature of the silicon nitride powder. A modified hot pressing procedure was adopted to allow volatilization of chlorine-containing species from the SN402 grade powder. ..beta..' Sialon of composition X = 1 appears to offer some promise as a candidate die material, but materials containing a higher alumina composition (X = …

Work done from January 1, 1978 through June 30, 1978, including several types of testing and results and evaluation of the structural design of the Northrup ''ML Series'' Concentrating Solar Collector, Model NSC-01-0732 and the Attitude Control System is reported. Efficiency tests, stagnation--defocusing tests, internal vacuum tests, pressure tests, tracking tests, fluttering tests, accelerated swivel and flexible joint life tests, and certification are described.

Six batch melt-replenishment runs were performed. In the most recent, five crystals were grown with a total through-put of 48 kg. In addition to its stated purpose of developing the growth and recharge process for continuous silicon production, this experimentation has served to prove completely both the concept of charging with granular (viz., niblet) feed and the design of the pellet-feeder/isolation-lock assembly. The design of the prototype Czochralski puller was begun on schedule. Layouts of all major components have been prepared, and detailing is currently in progress; bills of material for long-delivery items were released to Manufacturing in June. Two critical components have already undergone advance trials: the recharging mechanism, which has been in use for four months, and the crystal lift mechanism, which has been bench-tested and is to be mounted on the laboratory Varian 2850 puller. Further, the fabrication of the transducer/control assembly - the automation system - has been accelerated in order to permit testing and preliminary process development on the 2850 furnace prior to the completion of the prototype puller. The SAMICS analysis of ingot growth and wafering has been completely revised and has been extended to 1986.

A method was developed that allows the mode-locking process to go to its steady state condition before the laser is Q-switched. This is done by pumping the laser quasi-cw for about 5 ms. During this time, the loss in the Q-switch is such that the laser will just slightly go above threshold. The active modulator is on during this time, and the laser oscillates quasi-cw for a period long enough to obtain stable transform-limited short pulses. At the end of this prelase period, the laser is Q-switched, and a train of stable, short pulses is obtained.

Third quarter results under a program to develop ion implantation and specialized, associated processes necessary to achieve automated production of silicon solar cells are described. An ion implantation facility development for solar cell production is described, and a design for an automated production implanter is presented. Also, solar cell development efforts using combined ion implantation and pulsed energy techniques are discussed. Cell performance comparisons have also been made in which junctions and back surface fields were prepared by diffusion and ion implantation. A model is presented to explain the mechanism of ion implantation damage annealing using pulsed energy sources. Functional requirements have been determined for a pulsed electron beam processor for annealing ion implantation damage at a rate compatible with a 100 milliampere ion implanter. These rates result in a throughput of 100 megawatts of solar cell product per year.

In order to measure the risk associated with radioactive waste it is necessary to ascertain public opinion concerning the relative significance of the different possible health effects of radiation, and public attitudes towards uncertainty. LLL has directed Decisions and Designs, Incorporated (DDI), to elicit such views from various members of the public. Purpose of this note is to give a brief account of some of the views so far obtained, provide some interpretation of these results, and briefly demonstrate how these results can be used to guide the drafting of regulations.

Rubidium fluoride and niobium metal-containing foam samples (rods and sheets) were prepared using two foam sytems: (1) hydrophilic polyurethanes prepared from W.R. Grace Co.'s Hypol prepolymers and (2) polyimides prepared from Monsanto Company's Skybond polyimide resin. The first system was used only for preparation of rubidium fluoride-containing foams while the second was used for both rubidium fluoride and niobium-containing foams. The niobium metal could readily be incorporated into the polyimide foam during molding, to produce foam sheets of the required dimensions and density. The rubidium fluoride-containing polyimide foams were preferably prepared by first rendering the molded polyimide foam hydrophilic with a postcuring treatment, then absorbing the rubidium fluoride from water solution. Similarly, rubidium fluoride was absorbed into the hydrophilic polyurethanes from water solution. Since the high reactive rubidium metal could not be employed, rubidium fluoride, which is very hygroscopic, was used instead, primarily because of its high rubidium content (approximately 82 weight percent). This was important in view of the low total densities and the high weight percentage rubidium required in the foam samples. In addition, at the later request of LLL, a block of rigid Hypol hydrophilic polyurethane foam (with a density of approximately 0.04 g/cm/sup 3/ and cell …

A series of runs was performed in which waste processing facility influent was spiked with americium-241, neptunium-237, and uranium-233 and run through the ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (RO) units. The results of these experiments show that the ultrafiltration membranes are ionic dependent, whereas the RO unit is not. Membrane irradiation studies have been started. Continuous run parameters are being verified through a series of experiments. The small laboratory column tests were continued this quarter on several adsorbents. Decontamination factors were calculated for these adsorbents in removing neptunium-237 and americium-241 from waste solutions. Tests were continued with the 2-in. Engineering Columns using ultrafiltration product spiked with uranium-233. A 6-in. diameter column was installed in the combined raffinate line from the three Engineering Columns. This ''mixed bed'' column will polish the waste solution that is returned to the waste processing facility tanks. A quality control program was started this quarter.

The geothermal resources underlying the City of Desert Hot Springs were described in terms of anticipated geophysical, geochemical, and hydrological characteristics, based upon existing well log data, geologic surveys, and limited wellflow tests. The needs of the City were determined on the basis of its general plan, the City's 1976 census, load survey and a public acceptance survey. Then a broad range of potential nonelectric applications was surveyed in individual as well as energy cascading systems to identify the matchup of the resource and needs of the city. Applications investigated included space conditioning, space/water heating, car wash, agriculture/horticulture, and aquaculture operations. The list of applications so derived was assessed in light of technological, socio-economic, environmental, institutional, and market considerations to determine target opportunities for DHS as well as on a broad regional basis. Those systems which survived the initial screening were subjected to detailed parametric studies focused on determining tradeoffs among performance, cost, size, compatibility with off-the-shelf hardware, etc. A detailed analysis of the engineering and economic aspects of the most promising systems was then performed. Factors considered included technological problems and risks, status of supporting technologies, net energy ratios, costs, market, displacement of fossil fuels, and economic benefit to …

The following appendixes are included: Desert Hot Springs (DHS) Geothermal Project Advisory Board, Geothermal Citizens Advisory Committee, community needs assessment, geothermal resource characterization, a detailed discussion of the geothermal applications considered for DHS, space/water heating, agricultural operations, detailed analysis of a geothermal aquaculture facility, detailed discussion of proposed energy cascading systems for DHS, regulatory requirements, environmental impact assessment, resource management plan, and geothermal resources property rights and powers of cities to regulate indigenous geothermal resources and to finance construction of facilities for utilization of such resources. (MHR)

A Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) was used to establish that the substructure of press formed (PF) 21-6-9 stainless steel toroids was characterized by a dislocation cell size finer, about 0.16 ..mu..m, than that of about 0.29 ..mu..m, of high-energy-rate-formed (HERF) processed toroids. In addition, HERF processed material showed areas of a coarser, well-developed subgrain structure characteristic of hot work deformation. The formation of the substructures, as-well-as the grain size and carbide distributions of the toroids produced by the two processing techniques, are discussed in terms of the various operations, temperatures, and strain rates associated with the two different processing schedules. The Press-Formed toroid had a higher yield strength than the HERF processed toroid which was attributed to the finer cell size of the PF processed toroid.

A model of a multiple ion plasma is considered in which the system may contain many atomic species, each with an arbitrary number of charge states, but in which the atomic species are disparate in mass. Using this approximation is calculated in analytic form, the multispecies Spitzer function, from which there follow tractable expressions for the Ware fluxes and bootstrap current in a tokamak. In the collisional regime of a tokamak plasma, we obtain simple analytic results are obtained for the radial transport coefficients. These results give rise to an efficient method of solving the ensuing diffusion equations.

From 27 March to 20 June 1978, 7 cruises aboard U.S. Coast Guard cutters DECISIVE, VIGILANT, and VIGOROUS and the National Marine Fisheries Service research vessel ALBATROSS IV were made on outer continental shelf waters in regions from the mid-Atlantic to the Gulf of Maine and Scotian Shelf. A total of 13916 marine birds of at least 27 species were counted in 711.16 km/sup 2/ sampled from 730 fixed-area transects (300m wide by 10 minutes cruising time). An equal number of 10-minute total bird counts (no fixed area) were conducted at the same time. All of MBO cruises conducted in 1978 have been transcribed onto computer data sheets and were proofed and verified. Seven of 24 MBO cruises made in 1977 have been transcribed. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird and Habitat Research Laboratory will keypunch the data. From a review of over 100 scientific papers and books, food habits of fulmars, shearwaters, storm-petrels, gannets, gulls, and alcids were referenced by bird species and author.

A retrofit solar water-heating system has been installed in a three-story apartment building at Drexel University. The system employs two conventional collector banks (10 PPG collectors) mounted at the latitude angle for Philadelphia of 40 deg from the horizontal and two double-exposure collectors (DEC's) mounted vertically in mirrored enclosures. Although the DEC units are being used for year-round domestic water heating for the building, they are designed to provide maximum output in the winter and are therefore well-suited to solar space heat applications. Instrumentation for testing the DEC units has been developed and installed in the apartment building. The temperature sensors have been calibrated and regular data collection has begun. Some of the performance data acquired in June and July is presented and analyzed. The performance of the DEC units has been excellent during these summer months. A computer program has been developed for performance calculations for a variety of mirror configurations and latitude locations. Some preliminary results are presentd for latitudes 35, 40 and 45 deg.

The Fusion Energy Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in cooperation with the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) designed, constructed, and tested four high power neutral beam injectors for application on the Princeton Large Torus (PLT). This system employs a modified duoPIGatron ion source which has produced ion beams with parameters up to 70 A, 45 keV, and 500 msec. Nominal extraction parameters were 60-A, 40-keV, and 300-msec pulses, simultaneously. Neutral power up to 750 kW for 100 msec was calorimetrically measured on a simulated PLT target behind a PLT-sized aperture of 20 x 25 cm located at 4.10 m. Initial performance of these beam lines on PLT was near these parameters. Calorimetric measurements of beam power delivered to the PLT torus with a 3.65-m beam line length and with 100-msec full power pulses indicate a 10 to 15% reionization loss when the beam line pulse is synchronized to the pulsed torus magnetic fields. Data taken at ORNL are presented to show that this power loss is approximately equal to that calculated on drift tube pressure measurements taken without drift tube magnetic fields.

Miniature components for precision electromechanical mechanisms such as switches, timers, and actuators typically require a number of small holes. Because of the precision required, the workpiece materials, and the geometry of the parts, most of these holes must be produced by conventional drilling techniques. The use of such techniques is tedious and often requires considerable trial and error to prevent drill breakage, minimize hole mislocation and variations in hole diameter. This study of eight commercial drill designs revealed that printed circuit board drills produced better locational and size repeatability than did other drills when centerdrilling was not used. Boring holes 1 mm in dia, or less, as a general rule did not improve hole location in brass or stainless steel. Hole locations of patterns of 0.66-mm holes can be maintained within 25.4-..mu..m diametral positional tolerance if setup misalignments can be eliminated. Size tolerances of +- 3.8 ..mu..m can be maintained under some conditions when drilling flat plates. While these levels of precision are possible with existing off-the-shelf drills, they may not be practical in many cases.

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Ion source performance characteristics consisting of total ion current, ion energy distribution, mass distribution, and ion current density distribution were measured for several models of a duopigatron. Variations on the duopigatron design involved plasma expansion cup material and dimensions, secondary cathode material, and interelectrode spacings. Of the designs tested, the one with a copper and molybdenum secondary cathode and a mild steel plasma expansion cup proved to give the best results. The ion current density distribution was peaked at the center of the plasma expansion cup and fell off to 80 percent of the peak value at the cup wall for a cup 15.2 mm deep. A total ion current of 180 mA consisting of 60 to 70 percent atomic ions was produced with an arc current of 20 A and source pressure of 9.3 Pa. More shallow cups produced a larger beam current and a more sharply peaked ion current density distribution. Typical ion energy distributions were bell-shaped curves with a peak 10 to 20 V below anode potential and with ion energies extending 30 to 40 V on either side of the peak.

Objective is to determine the extent to which shocks and vibrations experienced during normal transport conditions are affected by various structural parameters of the transport system. Progress on seven tasks is reported; no experimental data have been gathered yet. (DLC)

An investigation into factors influencing levels of highway gasoline use per household and per vehicle at the state level shows use per vehicle ranged from 588.7 gal in Pennsylvania to 900.0 gal in Arkansas in 1975. Household use in the same year was lowest in New York (864.5 gal) and highest in Wyoming (2222.0 gal). Determinants of the demand for highway gasoline were identified based on economic theory of the demand for travel. Exploratory theoretical analyses led to the conclusion that important state-specific influences were not being adequately accounted for by the available time series (1966 to 1975) of cross-sectional (state) variables. These state effects appeared to be strongly correlated with income. Two time-series cross-sectional (TSCS) regression techniques were employed, producing reasonable and consistent models. Elasticity estimates were slightly higher than estimates using earlier data. In order to analyze the determinants of differences in state gasoline use rates, a two-phase modeling approach was used which first estimates a demand equation utilizing key socio-economic variables. The TSCS technique used to estimate the equation produces quantitative estimates of state-specific deviations from predicted consumption levels. In the second stage these state-specific effects are regressed against a set of explanatory variables describing such state …