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Support of Test operations for Sandia National Laboratories Solar Thermal Test Department

Mechanical technician personnel have tasks associated with planning, fabricating, installing, collecting data, and conducting tests for the Solar Concentrator Test program. Responsibilities include fabricating and installing mechanical test equipment. The work involves welding, fitting, testing with high solar fluxes, and elevated work areas. EG&G personnel have experience in assembly, maintenance, and disassembly of large steel structures including the use of large material handling equipment; layout, fabrication, installation, and operation of cooling water loops, high pressure gas systems, high-vacuum systems, and their associated controls; installation and operation of physical measurement transducers such as flowmeters, pressure transducers, thermocouples, and heat trace systems; gas, arc, and TIG welding, flame cutting, brazing, and soldering; handling and installation of high temperature insulating materials; piping, tubing, and valves construction, assembly, and installation techniques; and working with high pressure and high temperature systems.

Electro/Mechanical technician personnel have tasks associated with planning, fabricating, conducting, and reporting tests for the Solar Thermal program. Responsibilities include designing, installing, and maintaining heat trace, control, and instrumentation systems. The work involves high temperature equipment, testing with high solar fluxes, and elevated work areas. EG&G personnel have experience in fabrication, installation, troubleshooting, and maintenance techniques for industrial process control and data acquisition systems; planning and conducting high temperature experiments and maintaining detailed test records; installation, documentation, and maintenance of instrumentation; and layout, installation, documentation, and maintenance of pipe and heat tank trace systems.

Electronic technician personnel have tasks associated with maintaining and operating the heliostat field and operating the process controller for the Central Receiver Test Facility. Responsibilities include planning and conducting maintenance of all heliostats on site. Operation of the heliostat field requires knowledge of computer-based control systems including the operating system and knowledge of the effects of high thermal fluxes on materials. EG&G personnel have experience in operating computer control systems; operation of process control systems; printed circuit board design; troubleshooting and maintenance of communication and control electronics; fabrication, installation, troubleshooting, and maintenance techniques for industrial process control and data acquisition systems; and system-level troubleshooting and repair of optical encoders, and communication and control equipment.