http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/18193 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35247 Individual burner air/fuel ratio control optical adaptive feedback control system Beér, James Miklós Jacques, M. T. Teare, J. Derek Conventional combustion control systems for multiburner installations which rely on monitoring the average C02 and/or 02 content of the gases have a number of inherent limitations on their ability to maintain efficient plant operation. Air infiltration'into the flue or sampling lines has the same effect as an instrumental error in causing the control system to adjust the stoichiometry to an incorrect level. Even' when the overall stoichiometry of the furnace is correctly and accurately controlled it is still extremely difficult to ensure that no individual burners are operating inefficiently due to local maldistributions of air or fuel, or to poor nozzle spray characteristics. The potential for fuel savings and for'improved limitation of pollutant emissions has provided strong incentive for the development of individual burner fuel/air ratio control systems which would eliminate the shortcomings associated with the global control method. The present report first reviews past attempts to identify some unique property of an individual flame which can be reliably interpreted as an indicator of the flame behavior over a wide range of operating conditions.. Information potentially usable in this manner could be contained in the acoustic characteristics of the flame, in the local distribution of key chemical species, or in the electromagnetic radiation or absorption behavior of regions of the flame. For many reasons the previous studies have tended to concentrate on the optical portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, with particular emphasis on emission from flames over much of the ultraviolet (u.v.), visible and infrared (i.r.) wavelength regions. A brief review is given of the pioneering work of Penzias and his associates, and of the later work carried out at Sheffield University by Smith which led to the development of the LandTM control system. All of these studies dealt with the infrared emission from flames, wilth particular emphasis on the CO2 barnd at 4.3 pm, and on the H0/CO2 binds near 2.8 m. The report then addresses the experimental work carried out at M.I.T under the sponsorship of five utility companies supporting the M.I.T. Energy Laboratory Electric Power Program. This focused initially on attempts to use a Land control system in the Combustion Research Facility (CRF), with limited success in terms of achieving stability and adequacy of control when operating conditions were varied over a moderate range. The experiments in the CRF also yielded very useful data on the intensities and sources of u.v. emission from No. 6 fuel oil flames over a wide range of fuel equivalence ratio. One other set of experiments carried out in the CRF made use of equipment and personnel supplied by the Foxboro Company, and results of this work are discussed. Also included in the report is a summary of measurements carried out on a small methane-fueled burner which add appreciably to the available information on the dependence of the infrared emission on viewing location relative to the flame front and on fuel equivalence ratio. The overall results obtained under this program do not leave the prospect of individual fuel/air ratio controllers within immediate grasp, but they substantially advance the state of knowledge required for attainment of such control. They give a strong indication that satisfactory control could be obtained over a wide range of furnace operating conditions if both i.r. and u.v. signals were monitored and used in the control system. On cover : Combustion Research Facility. Tue, 29 Dec 1981 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35236 Assessment of light water reactor power plant cost and ultra-acceleration depreciation financing El-Magboub, Sadek Abdulhafid. Lanning, David D. Although in many regions of the U.S. the least expensive electricity is generated from light-water reactor (LWR) plants, the fixed (capital plus operation and maintenance) cost has increased to the level where the cost plus the associated uncertainties exceed the limits deemed acceptable by most utilities. The operation and maintenance cost has increased about 25% annually during the early 1970s. The main causes are increased requirements due to safety, environmental, and security considerations. The largest improvement is co-location of units, which gives up to 37% savings in O&M cost. The rising trend of LWR capital cost is investigated. Increased plant requirements of equipment, labor, material, and time due to safety, environmental, availability, and financial considerations and due to lower productivity and public intervention are the major causes of this rising cost trend. An attempt is made to explore the elements of a comprehensive strategy for capital cost improvement. The scope of the strategy is divided into three areas. The first includes improving the current design, project management, and licensing practices. The second area, standardization, is found to reduce cost by 6 to 22% through Duplication and Reference System options. Due to lack of commercial experience, the status of Flotation is not clear. Replication presents no significant improvement. The third area is improved utility structure and finance. Electric utilities with improved organizational structure can save up to 30% of their regional average capital cost. A proposed option of Ultra-accelerated Depreciation (UAD) financing is investigated. In addition to increasing the availability of capital, this UAD financing, unlike other financial schemes, is expected to decelerate future rise of electricity prices. A computer code, ULTRA, is developed to assess this option. Originally presented as the first author's thesis, (SC.D.) in the M.I.T. Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 1979. Tue, 29 Aug 1978 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35234 Hydrocarbon formation and oxidation in spark-ignition engines Heywood, John Benjamin Keck, James Collyer Rife, Joe Merrill This report summarizes the key results and conceptual findings from a three year research program on hydrocarbon formation and oxidation mechanisms in spark-ignition engines. Research was carried out in four areas: laminar flame quenching experimental and analytical studies; quench layer studies in a spark-ignition engine using a rapid-acting gas sampling valve; flow visualization studies in a transparent engine to determine quench layer and quench crevice gas motion; studies of heat transfer, mixing and HC oxidation in the exhaust port. More detailed descriptions of the individual research activities in these areas can be found in the theses and publications completed to date which form Volumes II to XI of the final report on this program. Sun, 29 Jul 1979 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35233 A simultaneous preference reporting methodology applied to the Nebraska agricultural community Nutt-Powell, Bonnie R. Sorrell, Levi Anthony. One of a series of publications which are part of the institutional analysis research conducted under the Department of Energy's Photovoltaic (PV) Program, this paper describes the Simultaneous Preference Reporting Methodology and reports the results of collecting data in conjunction with an agricultural field test of PV in rlead, Nebraska. The authors find that in the Nebraska Agricultural Community, PV is an undifferentiated innovation. They also conclude that the Simultaneous Preference Reporting Methodology is a promising diagnostic and predictive tool regarding the acceptance of institutional innovation. Prepared for the United States Dept. of Energy under Contract no. EX-76-A-01-2295, Task order 37. Thu, 28 Sep 1978 22:58:59 GMT