In this paper, I offer some thoughts about least cost planning, not from the perspective of the regulator or utility, but from the perspective of a residential customer. The problem that I address is, as a homeowner in northern Virginia, I am about to make a long term fuel choice for my household, where the options include, natural gas, electricity and fuel oil. An additional choice is the energy efficiency capital investment in my home that could decrease my monthly fuel costs. My decision process, hopefully as a rational consumer, offers implications about the efficiency of various services provided by all three fuel suppliers, including the local natural gas distribution companies (LDC).

This note considers some of the properties of the Stokes pulse that grows from a specified seed pulse in the presence of a strong pump pulse as it propagates through a dispersive atomic vapor. We first present an generic dimensionless form for the coupled equations that govern the propagation of pump and Stokes fields or collinear plane-wave pulses. By treating the two fields we permit pump depletion. We include transient atomic response (as embodied in the Raman coherence), but neglect changes in atomic populations. (Thus our equations pertain to the regime in which atoms are more numerous than photons). The equations employ a gain length, a dispersion time {tau}{sub dis}, and a Raman coherence time (or memory time) {tau}{sub R} as basic parameters: these two times, together with a single-photon stationary-atom detuning {Delta}, subsume the details of a particular atomic Raman transition and particular operating conditions. (The effects of Doppler shifts enters the equations through the coherence time). We discuss some general properties of these generic Raman propagation equations, and present illustrations of their solutions in the absence of dispersion. We comment on departures from exponential growth. We than show examples of behavior when dispersion is present and the pump …

Los Alamos National Laboratory and Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo have embarked on a joint study of options for improving air quality in Mexico City. The intent is to develop a modeling system which can address the behavior of pollutants in the region so that option for improving Mexico City air quality can be properly evaluated. In February of 1991, the project conducted a field program which yielded a variety of data which is being used to evaluate and improve the models. Normally the worst air quality for both primary and photochemical pollutants occurs in the winter Mexico City. During the field program, measurements included: (1) lidar measurements of aerosol transport and dispersion, (2) aircraft measurements of winds, turbulence, and chemical species aloft, (3) aircraft measurements of earth surface skin temperatures, and (4) tethersonde measurements of wind, temperature and ozone vertical profiles. A three-dimensional, prognostic, higher order turbulence meteorological model (HOTMAC) was modified to include an urban canopy and urban heat sources. HOTMAC is used to drive an Monte-Carlo kernel dispersion code (RAPTAD). HOTMAC also provides winds and mixing heights for the CIT photochemical model which was developed by investigators at the California Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University.

This report provides background information and instructions to assist applicants in writing Energy-Related Inventions Program (ERIP) applications. Initial feedback fro usage for the new instructions shows that the best instructions would not be read and followed by all applicants. Applications from more than thirty applicants who have received the new instructions indicated that few had read the instructions. Based on this feedback, the instructions have been further revised to include a title page and table of contents. A warning was also added to advise applicants of the potential penalty of delayed review if these instructions are not followed. This revision was intended to address the possibility that some applicants did not see or bother to follow the instructions which followed the background information about ERIP. Included are two examples of ERIP applications which have been prepared for handout at workshops or mailing to applicants. Writing of example applications was time consuming and more difficult than expected for several reasons: (1) Full disclosures can be lengthy, very detailed, and technical. This contrasts with the desire to prepare examples which are comparatively short and easy for the non-technical person to read. (2) Disclosures contain confidential information which should not be published. (3) …

Volumetric measurements have been completed for CH{sub 4}, CO{sub 2}, and H{sub 2}S at temperatures from 25{degrees}C to 380{degrees}C and 2 or 3 pressures at each temperature. The H{sub 2}S and CO{sub 2} solutions are stored in aluminized mylar bags in PVC pipes with water surrounding the bags at a pressure of several atmospheres. The methane is stored in a one liter autoclave with a sliding teflon piston engaging the sides of the autoclave which separates the standard methane solution from the pressurizing fluid. The solutions are prepared at 100 to 200 atmospheres and do not need to be re-standardized after each experiment. We also have some measurements on aqueous ammonia, boric acid, and acetic acid. Preliminary calculations of the free energy of methane in water at room temperature as a function of the model parameters for the methane have been finished. In preparation for these calculations, the theory and practice of the free energy perturbation calculations was reviewed. In molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo calculations a system does not immediately equilibrate to a change in the Hamiltonian, so that there is a time lag or a configuration number lag in the response of the system. These lags cause errors …

In 1988, we proposed a program to develop new diagnostics for dense gas-solid suspensions, with particular interest toward the dense pneumatic transport of cohesive solid plugs. This program included three main objectives, as follows: to develop probes for local measurements of (1) local particle volume fraction and (2) individual particle velocities in dense gas-solid flows; and (3) to construct a bench-scale setup for transporting dense cohesive solid plugs and to analyze data from the resulting tests.

The International Petroleum Statistics Report is a monthly publication that provides current international oil data. This report is published for the use of members of Congress, federal agencies, state agencies, industry, and the general public. Publication of this report is in keeping with responsibilities given the Energy Information Administration in Public Law 95-91 (Section 205(a)(2)). The International Petroleum Statistics Report presents data on international oil production, consumption, imports, exports, and stocks. The report has three sections. Section 1 contains time series on world oil production, and on oil consumption and stocks in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (DECD). This section contains annual data beginning in 1973, and monthly data for the most recent two years. Section 2 presents an oil supply/consumption balance for the market economies (i.e. non-communist countries). This balance is presented in quarterly intervals for the most recent two years. Section 3 presents data on oil imports by DECD countries. This section contains annual data beginning in 1982, and quarterly data for the most recent two years. 41 tabs.

This report is a letter about a review of the Quality Assurance Project Plan for the INEL Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Waste Characterization Project.'' The author of the letter recommended the approval of the quality assurance program. However in his review, several observations were made and were requested to be added to the program. Examples of these observations were safety of personnel involved in the program, safe characterization of hazardous materials studied, quality of calibrations required for measurement objectives, and reporting of hazardous sampling. (MB)

The objective of this project was the synthesis of one pound of a new naphthalene-hydroxynaphthalene polymer model compound for use in coal combustion studies. Since this compound was an unreported compound, this effort also required the development of a synthetic route to this compound (including routes to the unique and unreported intermediates leading to its synthesis).

The equivalence of the paraxial wave equation to a time-dependent Schroedinger equation is exploited to construct optical analogs of model atoms in monochromatic fields. The approximation of geometrical optics provides the analog of the corresponding classical mechanics. Optical analogs of Rabi oscillations, photoionization, stabilization, and the Kramers-Henneberger transformation are discussed. One possibility for experimental realization of such optical analogs is proposed. These analogs may be useful for studies of quantum chaos'' when the ray trajectories are chaotic. 9 refs.

The Standard Model of particle physics, together with the Big Bang model of the early universe, constitute a framework which encompasses our current understanding of fundamental laws and beginning of our universe. Despite recent speculative trends, quantum field theory remains the theoretical tool of choice for investigating new physics either at high energy colliders, or in the early universe. In this dissertation, several field theoretic phenomena relevant to cosmology or particle physics are explored. A common theme in these explorations is the structure of the vacuum state in quantum field theory. First, we discuss first-order phase transitions in the early universe, in which the effective vacuum state of the universe shifts discontinuously as the temperature drops below some critical point. We find that the dynamics of a certain type of first-order phase transition can lead to production of primordial black holes, which could constitute the dark matter of our universe. Alternatively, supercooled first-order phase transitions may be the cause of an extended inflationary epoch in the early universe, which is generally regarded as necessary to solve several cosmological puzzles. We derive limits on such scenarios based on nearly model-independent percolation properties of the transition. We also study some nonperturbative aspects …

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Numerical simulation of firing systems requires both the appropriate circuit analysis framework and the special element models required by the application. We have modified the SPICE circuit analysis code (version 2G.6), developed originally at the Electronic Research Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley, to allow it to be used on MSDOS-based, personal computers and to give it two additional circuit elements needed by firing systems--fuses and saturating inductances. An interactive editor and a batch driver have been written to ease the use of the SPICE program by system designers, and the interactive graphical post processor, NUTMEG, supplied by U. C. Berkeley with SPICE version 3B1, has been interfaced to the output from the modified SPICE. Documentation and installation aids have been provided to make the total software system accessible to PC users. Sample problems show that the resulting code is in agreement with the FIRESET code on which the fuse model was based (with some modifications to the dynamics of scaling fuse parameters). In order to allow for more complex simulations of firing systems, studies have been made of additional special circuit elements--switches and ferrite cored inductances. A simple switch model has been investigated which promises to give at …

The objectives of this research are to: extend the range of pressure drop data for ice-water slurry flows, and design and build a prototypical ice slurry distribution system which demonstrates ice slurry handling at an end user's heat exchanger, without sending ice slurry directly through the heat exchanger. The results of Phase 1 work demonstrated a 40% reduction in pump power required to move an ice-water slurry versus the same mass flow of water only. In addition to lower pressure drop, pumping ice slurries is advantageous because of the large latent and sensible heat cooling capacity stored in the ice compared to only sensible heat in chilled water. For example, an ice-water slurry with a 20% ice fraction (by mass) has a mass flow rate that is 70% less than the mass flow rate required for a chilled water system cooling and equivalent load. The greatly reduced mass flow combined with the friction reducing effects of ice-water slurries results in a total savings of 83% in pumping power. Therefore, a substantial savings potential exists for capital costs and system operating costs in ice-water slurry district cooling systems. One potential disadvantage of an ice-slurry district cooling system is the introduction of …

In analyzing the composition of high {Tc} superconducting materials using heavy-ion RBS we discovered that the electronic excitation of the target caused mixing to occur. To study this effect we made superlattice structures of alternating thin layers of Ba{sub 2}YCu{sub 3}O{sub 6+x} and BaF{sub 2}. At this point in the process some mixing has occurred, but the individual layers are still visible. However, as the bombardment continued the layers were mixed together. It may well be that one can use this phenomenon to produce high {Tc} materials with a wide range of compositions. In this report, we discuss modifications to the high {Tc} superconductors and the subsequent analysis. 10 figs.

LLNL received a contract during March 1990 to perform three tasks for ONT. This letter report covers Task I which concerned a supercomputing effort in a program termed the High Gain Initiative, which is an anti-submarine (ASW) project that requires substantial computational and signal processing expertise. The core of the computational aspects at the present time is a code called WRAP (Wide Area Rapid Acoustic Prediction). LLNL's objective was to study the WRAP model and determine the feasibility and limits of its optimization. At the present time, the WRAP code runs on a single processor VAX computer.

Various aspects safety procedures concerning the handling of fissile materials at Savannah river plant are presented in these (12-16-91) meeting minutes. Criticality control procedures, inconsistencies in mass limit forms, and nuclear incident monitors, etc. are briefly discussed. (GHH)

Atomic hydrogen inside solid H{sub 2} increases the energy density by 200 MegaJoules/m{sup 3}, for each percent mole fraction stored. How many atoms can be stored in solid hydrogen To answer this, we need to know: (1) how to produce and trap hydrogen atoms in solid hydrogen, (2) how to keep the atoms from recombining into the ground molecular state, and (3) how to measure the atom density in solid hydrogen. Each of these topics will be addressed in this paper. Hydrogen atoms can be trapped in solid hydrogen by co-condensing atoms and molecules, external irradiation of solid H{sub 2}, or introducing a radioactive impurity inside the hydrogen lattice. Tritium, a heavy isotope of hydrogen, is easily condensed as a radioactive isotopic impurity in solid H{sub 2}. Although tritium will probably not be used in future rockets, it provides a way of applying a large, homogenious dose to solid hydrogen. In all of the data presented here, the atoms are produced by the decay of tritium and thus knowing how many atoms are produced from the tritium decay in the solid phase is important. 6 refs., 6 figs.

Thermal fatigue failures of solder joints in electronic devices often arise from cyclic shear strains imposed by the mismatched thermal expansion coefficients of the materials that bind the joint as temperature changes are encountered. Increased solder joint reliability demands a fundamental understanding of the metallurigical mechanisms that control the fatigue to design accurate accelerated probative tests and new, more fatigue resistant solder alloys. The high temperatures and slow strain rates that pertain to thermal fatigue imply that creep is an important deformation mode in the thermal fatigue cycle. In this work, the creep behaviour of a solder joint is studied to determine the solder's microstructural response to this type of deformation and to relate this to the more complex problem of thermal fatigue. It is shown that creep failures arise from the inherent inhomogeneity and instability of the solder microstructure and suggest that small compositional changes of the binary near-eutectic Pn-Sn alloy may defeat the observed failure mechanisms. This work presents creep and thermal fatigue data for several near-eutectic Pb-Sn solder compositions and concludes that a 58Sn-40Pb-2In and a 58Sn-40Pb-2Cd alloy show significantly enhanced fatigue resistance over that of the simple binary material. 80 refs., 33 figs., 1 tab.

Potential radiation impacts from launch of the Ulysses solar exploration experiment were evaluated using eight postulated accident scenarios. Lifetime individual dose estimates rarely exceeded 1 mrem. Most of the potential health effects would come from inhalation exposures immediately after an accident, rather than from ingestion of contaminated food or water, or from inhalation of resuspended plutonium from contaminated ground. For local Florida accidents (that is, during the first minute after launch), an average source term accident was estimated to cause a total added cancer risk of up to 0.2 deaths. For accidents at later times after launch, a worldwide cancer risk of up to three cases was calculated (with a four in a million probability). Upper bound estimates were calculated to be about 10 times higher. 83 refs.

In November of 1988 the F/H-area effluent treatment facility (ETF) began releasing treated waste water to Upper Three Runs Creek. Previous to that time, there has been minimal discharge of plant waste water to this tributary of the Savannah River. The ETF is designed to remove the toxic and radioactive waste materials from the effluent stream and to meet the discharge limits of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). The only radioactive nuclide not removed by the process is tritium. Tritium, an isotope of hydrogen, is chemically associated with the water molecules in the waste stream and can not be economically removed at this time. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the concentration of tritium in the stream water and the concentration of tritium in the fish. Fish collections were made at two locations. The most upstream location was 50 meters downstream from the SRS Road C bridge. This is immediately downstream of the effluent discharge pipe from the ETF. The other location was at the bridge of SRS Road A (SC Highway 125). The water is removed from the fish by freeze drying under vacuum. This study suggests that, on …

The primary focus of this Process Development Unit operating program was to prepare for a confident move to the next scale of operation with a simplified and optimized process. The main purpose of these runs was the evaluation of the alternate commercial catalyst (F21/0E75-43) that had been identified in the laboratory under a different subtask of the program. If the catalyst proved superior to the previous catalyst, then the evaluation run would be continued into a 120-day life run. Also, minor changes were made to the Process Development Unit system to improve operations and reliability. The damaged reactor demister from a previous run was replaced, and a new demister was installed in the intermediate V/L separator. The internal heat exchanger was equipped with an expansion loop to relieve thermal stresses so operation at higher catalyst loadings and gas velocities would be possible. These aggressive conditions are important for improving process economics. (VC)

This report consists of Detailed Data Acquisition Sheets for Runs E-6 and E-7 for Task 2.2 of the Modification, Operation, and Support Studies of the Liquid Phase Methanol Laporte Process Development Unit. (Task 2.2: Alternate Catalyst Run E-6 and Catalyst Activity Maintenance Run E-7).

The objectives of this project are to develop feasible synthetic routes to produce (1) 4(4{prime}- hydroxy- 5{prime},6{prime},7{prime},8{prime}- tetrahydro-1{prime}- naphthylmethyl)- 6-methyl dibenzothiophene, and (2) a 1-hydroxy naphthalene- dibenzothiophene polymer. These compounds are thought to be representative of sulfur containing molecules in coal. The program is divided into three tasks, the first of which is a project work plan that we have already submitted. Our experimental work during this quarter concentrated on Task 2: Synthesis of 4(4{prime}- hydroxy- 5{prime},6{prime},7{prime},8{prime}- tetrahydro-1{prime}- naphthylmethyl)- 6-methyldibenzothiophene. 11 refs.