This report describes the work performed by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory and its subcontractor Battelle Columbus Laboratories on the Wire Rope Improvement Program during FY-1979 and the first half of FY80. The program, begun in 1975 by the US Bureau of Mines, was transferred to the US Department of Energy (DOE) on October 1, 1978. Since that time, the DOE's Division of Solid Fuels Mining and Preparation has sponsored the program. To address identified problems and provide information from which behavior of large-diameter wire rope could be better understood, efforts in the following areas were undertaken: large-diameter rope testing, small-diameter rope testing, data analysis and evaluation, wear and failure analysis, load sensor development, and technology transfer. Wire ropes 3/4 in., 1-1/2 in., and 3 in. in diameter were tested in bend-over sheave fatigue. Attempts were made to correlate fatigue life of these ropes. Limited field rope data were available to compare with test results. The modes of failure and wear in laboratory ropes were compared with those seen previously in field ropes. A load sensor was designed and ordered in FY79. It will be connected to the drag rope and jewelry of working draglines during the summer of FY80. Technology …

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) focuses energy Research and Development efforts on new and promising ways to provide for our future energy needs. This document focuses on DOE's programs and projects related to the nation's Fossil Energy resources: coal, oil, natural gas and oil shale. Fossil Energy programs have grown rapidly from about $58 million in FY 1973 to the $802 million requested for FY 1979. As those programs have matured, there have been significant shifts in emphasis. For example, by FY 1979, gasification technologies will have matured sufficiently to enter the demonstration phase. Then we will have to make critical decisions as to which candidate processes to pursue and to encourage industry's active participation as early as possible. We will present the rationale for those changes and others at the beginning of each section describing a particular grouping of similar projects, e.g., coal liquefaction. We will then discuss each project and present its current status along with past and future milestones. Emphasis is on projects with early payoff potential, particularly the direct utilization of coal. However, this near-term emphasis will not overshadow the need for a stong technological base for development of longer-term promising technologies and the need …

Meeting our energy needs and protecting the quality of our environment are complementary parts of our national energy planning. The search for energy supplies and the development of new energy sources must go hand-in-hand with clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment. The Office of Environment (EV) has a major responsibility in the Department of Energy (DOE) for assuring that environmental concern are translated into environmental programs and commitments. EV studies the environmental, health and safety effects of all DOE energy programs, overviews the environmental aspects of these programs, and ensures their consistency with environmental and safety laws, regulations, and policies. EV programs support the Department's efforts to achieve the best balance between energy availability and environmental acceptability. This document briefly describes EV activities, summarizes programs for FY 1979, and identifies responsible divisions and offices. Included are funding levels and budgetary trends for EV programs and the energy technologies they support, as well as institutions responsible for performing the EV activities.

The purpose of this report is to help those interested in research supported by the Department of Energy's Division of Chemical Sciences, which is one of six Divisions of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences in the Office of Energy Research. Chemists, physicists, chemical engineers and others who are considering the possibility of proposing research for support by this Division wll find the booklet useful for gauging the scope of the program in basic research, and the relationship of their interests to the overall program. These smmaries are intended to provide a rapid means for becoming acquainted with the Chemical Sciences program for members of the scientific and technological public, and interested persons in the Legislative and Executive Branches of the Government, in order to indicate the areas of research supported by the Division and energy technologies which may be advanced by use of basic knowledge discovered in this program. Scientific excellence is a major criterion applied in the selection of research supported by Chemical Sciences. Another important consideration is the identifying of chemical, physical and chemical engineering subdisciplines which are advancing in ways which produce new information related to energy, needed data, or new ideas.