The assumptions made, analysis methods used, and preliminary results of research to determine the design specifications for a hybrid electric-powered and internal combustion engine-powered vehicle that would optimize the fuel economy of passenger automobiles are described. Information is included on body and component design, selection of spark-ignition engine and Ni-Zn batteries, life-cycle costs and life-cycle fuel consumption. (LCL)

The objective of this research program is to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of producing solar-cell-quality sheet silicon by coating one surface of carbonized ceramic substrates with a thin layer of large-grain polycrystalline silicon from the melt. The effort is divided into several areas of investigation in order to most efficiently meet the goals of the program. These areas include: (1) dip-coating; (2) continuous coating; (3) material characterization; (4) cell fabrication; and (5) theoretical analysis. Progress in all areas of the program is reported in detail. (WHK)

Program SIGMA1 Doppler-broadens evaluated cross sections in the ENDF/B format. The program requires that input cross sections be tabulated as linearly interpolable functions of energy in ENDF/B File 3; broadened cross sections, in this same form, replace the original values in the output tape. This report describes the methods used in the code and serves as a user's guide. A listing of the source deck is available on request.

The objective of this research program is to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of producing solar-cell-quality sheet silicon. We plan to do this by coating one surface of carbonized ceramic substrates with a thin layer of large-grain polycrystalline silicon from the melt. During the quarter, significant progress was demonstrated in several areas: (1) a 10-cm/sup 2/ cell having 9.9 percent conversion efficiency (AM1, AR) was fabricated; (2) the Honeywall-sponsored SCIM coating development succeeded in producing a 225-cm/sup 2/ layer of sheet silicon (18 inches x 2 inches); and (3) 100 ..mu..m-thick coatings at pull speed of 0.15 cm/sec wer$obta9ned, although apoproximately 50 percent of the layer exhibited dendritic growth. Other results and accomplishments during the quarter are reported in detail. (WHK)

The Gulf Management Sciences Group (GMSG) in Pittsburgh was asked to provide assistance in performing a confidence analysis for the SRC-II demonstration plant as required by the Department of Energy. Specifically, the contract says to discuss confidence levels for plant operating and capital costs; plant operability and technical risk. It was decided that the best way to obtain estimates for these variables would be through interviews of people with substantial experience in the field. Each subject was first asked what modifications he envisioned being made to the current plant design. Discussion was limited to major systems that might require partial redesign and comments concerning the plant in general. The interviewees were next asked to estimate the probability of success for the project, given that the modifications they envisioned were in fact made. The modes of the combined distributions of the interview results indicate that the respondents in general felt that the base case estimates represented the most probable outcomes with the possible exception of the capital cost estimate. On the other hand, the respondents consistently judged that there is a chance that the demonstration plant will perform significantly worse than the base case for each of the variables that were …

Results of a reconnaissance geochemical survey of the Beeville Quadrangle, Texas are reported. Field and laboratory data are presented for 373 groundwater and 364 stream sediment samples. Statistical and areal distributions of uranium and possible uranium-related variables are displayed. A generalized geologic map of the survey area is provided, and pertinent geologic factors which may be of significance in evaluating the potential for uranium mineralization are briefly discussed. The groundwater data indicate that the northwestern corner of the quadrangle is the most favorable for potential uranium mineralization. Favorability is indicated by high uranium concentrations; high arsenic, molybdenum, and vanadium concentrations; and proximity and similar geologic setting to the mines of the Karnes County mining district. Other areas that appear favorable are an area in Bee and Refugio Counties and the northeastern part of the quadrangle. Both areas have water chemistry similar to the Karnes County area, but the northeastern area does not have high concentrations of pathfinder elements. The stream sediment data indicate that the northeastern corner of the quadrangle is the most favorable for potential mineralization, but agricultural practices and mineralogy of the outcropping Beaumont Formation may indicate a false anomaly. The northwestern corner of the quadrangle is considered …

The work conducted under this research project has developed information which supports in all respects the U.S. position evolved under the NASAP/INFCE programs with respect to the near and intermediate term potential for ore conservation in LWRs on the once-through fuel cycle. Moreover, in the even longer term, it has been confirmed that contention by Edlund and others that tight-pitch Pu/UO/sub 2/ PWR cores can achieve conversion ratios which may allow these reactors to provide a competitive energy source far into the ore-scarce post-2000 era.

Program RECENT reconstructs energy-dependent neutron total, elastic, capture, and fission cross sections from a combination of resonance parameters and tabulated background cross sections in the ENDF/B format. Entire evaluations, not just cross sections, are written to the result file, which is in ENDF/B format. The output includes the original resonance parameters in a form that can be used in Doppler broadening and self-shielding calculations. A listing of the source deck is available on request. 5 figures, 5 tables.

A comprehensive study of four representative commercially available heat transfer fluids being used in solar systems was undertaken to establish the most cost effective fluid over the life of the system. Criteria for making the assessment were the relative results of fluid toxicity tests, fire hazards tests, collector stagnation tests, and physical property comparison data of various fluids. The specific fluids evaluated were Dow Corning SylthermTM 444 silicone, Uniroyal PAO-LV polyalphaolefin hydrocarbon, Union Carbide Prestone II ethylene glycol/water solution and Dow Chemical Ambitrol NTC propylene glycol/water solution. Although there is no essential difference in the installed cost when comparing solar systems based on each of these fluids, there is a very large cost difference between the systems when life cycle costing is performed on the systems. The system representing propylene glycol/water is by far the most costly system followed by the system representing ethylene glycol/water due to possible failures and maintenance schedules. The Uniroyal PAO-LV polyalphaolefin system is the third most expensive system. The SylthermTM 444 silicone system is the least expensive, offering little or no potential for catastrophic failure and does not require any fluid maintenance.

Research has continued in the development of selected ternary and quaternary III-V materials that are potential candidates for cascade solar cell applications. In addition, various simple and multi-junction cascade solar cell components have been fabricated and evaluated in a continuing study of several different solar cell designs (materials combinations). During the present reporting period, work has concentrated on the following major areas: GaAlAs/GaAs cell development; AlGaAsSb/GaAsSb materials development; GaInP materials development via VPE; inverted structure development; and MO/CVD growth system work at NCSU. Progress in each of these areas is summarized.

The development and applcation of the OASIS Code (Operational Analysis of ELMO Bumpy Torus Support and Ignition Systems) for the study of EBT device and plasma performance are presented. The code performs a time-independent, zero-dimensional self-consistent calculation of plasma and plasmasupport systems parameters for the physics and engineering of EBT devices. The features of OASIS modeling for the EBT plasma include: (1) particle balance of the bulk toroidal and electron ring plasma components for experimental (H-H, D-D, He-He etc.) as well as reactor (D-T) devices; (2) energy balance in the bulk and ring plasmas for externally heated or ignition devices; (3) alpha particle effects for reactor devices; (4) auxiliary heating effects, including microwave (ECRH), RF heating (e.g., ICRH), and neutral beam methods; and (5) ignition conditions, including fusion power, alpha power and neutron wall loading. The performance studies using OASIS focussed on variation in plasma and device size and on microwave input power and frequency. An additional study was performed to determine the characteristics of an EBT reactor proof-of-principle device operated with a deuterium-tritium plasma. Sensitivity studies were performed for variation in the input microwave power sharing fractions and the dependence of the bulk n tau scaling law on bulk …

The development of special conducting plastics to meet the special needs of radiation dosimetry is reported. The most critical application of the special plastics is in the construction of ionization chambers which provide the best means of accurately measuring absorbed dose and exposure, low-noise signal cables, and electrometers for the ionization chambers are described. (FS)

This is the final report to the US Department of Energy and its predecessors on Contract EY-76-S-02-1156 with Colorado State University. During the first five years of the program, investigations were focused on the accumulation of fallout radionuclides in a well-studied mule deer population in north-central Colorado. In 1967, the scope of the program was enlarged to include studies on radionuclide behavior in mountain lake ecosystems, radiation effects on a shortgrass plains ecosystem, and the combined effects of radiation and intraspecific competition on the pika (Ochotona princeps). In 1971, studies on the geochemistry of lead in an alpine lake and the foraging impact of grasshoppers were added to the diverse program. The summer of 1972 marked the beginning of the research program which was to dominate the effort for the duration of the contract, namely the behavior of plutonium in the terrestrial environs of the Rocky Flats plutonium facility near Denver, Colorado. This report is a general, qualitative summary of activities and major findings over the entire tenure of the program.

Results are presented of an investigation of biomass-derived fuels from grasses and grains. A region-by-region analysis of biomass production, with both the present (near-term) and the future (mid-term) being considered is presented. The overall approach for analysis of the near-term involved least cost analysis of production, transportation, and energy conversion. The mid-term analyses were structured around the assumed implementation of modified crop production systems in which land was more extensively used in a given region, improved crop management practices were used, and the crop mixes were significantly altered from the present. The production systems in the several regions were combined with conversion plants ranging in size from 500 oven-dry (OD) tons/day to 3000 OD tons/day, or an energy imput of 75 x 10/sup 8/ Btus to 45 x 10/sup 9/ Btus using 7500 Btus/lb. The conversion processes consisted of anaerobic digestion, fermentation, direct combustion, and thermochemical conversion. The latter process was also considered in the context of production of ammonia and methanol.

This report contains a detailed description of a Monte Carlo analysis of a hypothetical nuclear waste repository performed for the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory as part of their mock siting exercise. Field measurements had been used to construct a hydrology model of the geologic medium surrounding a nuclear waste repository, complete with specified uncertainties. The Monte Carlo analysis has been used to ascertaln the uncertainty in the radioactive release from the repository given the uncertainty in the geohydrologic parameters, and correlation analysis has identified some input parameters that have a potentially large influence on the output (radioactivity release) uncertainty.

A computer code was written to compute amplitude and phase transfer functions for various mechanical and electromagnetic seismic systems by use of analytical functions found in the literature. It can be used to compute transfer functions for the World-Wide Standard Seismic Network (WWSSN) system, the Seismic Research Observatory (SRO) system, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) system, the Wiechert system, the Wood-Anderson system, and other user-specified systems. 15 figures, 3 tables.

This report is a summation of 3 months' drilling and testing activities in the four primary WGSP study areas: Greater Green River Basin, Northern Great Plains Province, Piceance Basin, and Uinta Basin. The monitoring of basin activities is part of resource assessment. (DLC)

Progress is reported on a project to use the 130/sup 0/F geothermal resource in central Texas. Potential uses include geothermal space heating, aquaculture, agricultural heating, and crop drying.

An assessment of the resource availability of biomass and the potential of utilization of renewable energy systems in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota is presented. The feasibility of retrofitting the existing power plant to house a biomass energy system is discussed. Survey and evaluation of current off-the-shelf farm implement equipment which can be adapted to the handling of selected biomass materials is presented. Density studies on sunflower stalks, grain straw, and forest residues are included. (DC)

Advanced recuperative system technology for high and ultra-high temperature flue gases was investigated. Several high temperature recuperator system and component concepts were evolved and studied for the purpose of finding the schemes and designs that attain maximum fuel savings. The most promising concepts for industrial application were pre-engineered further to devise designs for adaptation to existing steel mills. The principal effort was aimed at steel soaking pit applications. The concept which provides the highest air preheat temperatures and the largest fuel savings for soaking pit application utilizing basic state-of-the-art technology is a low air pressure ceramic recuperator operated in conjunction with a higher air pressure metallic recuperator. This concept has the additional advantage that higher air pressures can be attained at the burner than can be attained with an all ceramic recuperator. These higher air pressures are required for high momentum, high efficiency burner performance, resulting in improved productivity and additional fuel savings. The technical feasibility of applying this high temperature recuperation system to existing soaking pits was established.

The Climax stock at NTS was the site of weapons effects tests and is to be used for radwaste disposal studies. The layout of Climax and proposed experiments is illustrated. Geology of Climax is described briefly. Thermal tests showed the thermal conductivity to be essentially isotropic, only slightly temperature-dependent, and 3.0 W/m-/sup 0/K. Permeability is less than 1 nanodarcy. Plans for a spent fuel storage test and for rock mechanics tests are described. (DLC)

The research topics covered include a study of the nonlinear behavior of the drift cyclotron loss-cone instability in mirror machines and a study of the longer time behavior of the nonlinear O'Neil trapped particle saturation. The saturation amplitude for a single dominant mode near the stability onset boundary was determined for the drift cyclotron loss-cone instability for a variety of mirror-like distributions. The results are in good agreement with computer simulation studies of Cohen and Maron.

This report is a summation of three months drilling and testing activities in the four primary study areas of the WGSP: Greater Green River Basin, Northern Great Plains Province, Piceance Basin, and Uinta Basin. The core and the drilling programs are part of the resource assessment. (DLC)

An attractive route for producing ethylene and propylene from coal is to gasify the coal to produce synthesis gas, convert the synthesis gas to methanol, and then convert methanol to the olefins. During this report period the reactions of methanol over chabazite ion exchanged with rare earth chlorides have been studied at reciprocal liquid hourly space velocities of 1.5 to 15, at temperatures of 259, 271, 304, 352, and 427/sup 0/C, and at pressure 2.7 atm. At 259 and 271/sup 0/C the principle product was dimethyl ether. As the temperature was increased the conversion of methanol to olefins and alkanes increased to 54% and 32%, respectively. A mixture of dimethyl ether, water, and methanol was fed to the Berty reactor. This mixture was near the equilibrium concentrations for converting pure methanol to dimethyl ether and water at 275/sup 0/C. The Berty reactor temperature was 427/sup 0/C. Initially the yields were similar to those obtained when feeding pure methanol. However, the catalyst activity decreased at a faster rate. Rate models are being developed to correlate the catalyst activity and rate as a function of time on stream and partial pressures. A promising model is presented.