This Technical Progress Report describes progress made on the twenty nine subprojects awarded in the second year of Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-02NT41607: Crosscutting Technology Development at the Center for Advanced Separation Technologies. This work is summarized in the body of the main report: the individual sub-project Technical Progress Reports are attached as Appendices.

Mine-to-Mill optimization is a total systems approach to the reduction of energy and cost in mining and processing. Developed at the Julius Krutschnitt Mineral Research Center in Queensland, Australia, the Mine-to-Mill approach attempts to minimize energy consumption through optimization of all steps in the size reduction process. The approach involves sampling and modeling of blasting and processing, followed by computer simulation to optimize the operation and develop alternatives. The most promising alternatives are implemented, and sampling is conducted to quantify benefits. In the current project, the primary objective was to adapt Mine-to-Mill technology to the aggregates industry. The first phase of this work was carried out at the Bealeton Quarry near Fredericksburg, Virginia. The second phase was carried out at the Pittsboro Quarry south of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Both quarries are operated by Luck Stone Corporation of Richmond, Virginia. As a result of the work, several conclusions can be drawn from the project which should assist DOE in assessing the applicability of the Mine-to-Mill approach to the aggregates industry. 1. Implementation of MTM guidelines at Pittsboro has resulted in tangible improvements in productivity. It is clear that MTM guidelines represent an energy savings of around 5% (primary and secondary) …

This CRS report discusses policy issues regarding military-to-mliitary contacts with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and provides a record of contacts since 1993. The United States suspended military contacts with China and imposed sanctions on arms sales in response to the Tiananmen Crackdown in 1989. In 1993, the Clinton Administration began to re-engage the PRC leadership up to the highest level and including China's military, the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Renewed military exchanges with the PLA have not regained the closeness reached in the 1980s, when U.S.-PRC strategic cooperation against the Soviet Union included U.S. arms sales to China. Issues for Congress include whether the current Administration under President Bush has complied with legislation overseeing dealings with the PLA and has determined a program of contacts with the PLA that advances a prioritized list of U.S. security interests.

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A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Misclassification of national security information impedes effective information sharing, can provide adversaries with information to harm the United States and its allies, and incurs millions of dollars in avoidable administrative costs. As requested, GAO examined (1) whether the implementation of the Department of Defense's (DOD) information security management program, effectively minimizes the risk of misclassification; (2) the extent to which DOD personnel follow established procedures for classifying information, to include correctly marking classified information; (3) the reliability of DOD's annual estimate of its number of classification decisions; and (4) the likelihood of DOD's meeting automatic declassification deadlines."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, the Congress has become increasingly concerned that federal agencies are misclassifying information. Classified information is material containing national defense or foreign policy information determined by the U.S. government to require protection for reasons of national security. GAO was asked to assess the extent to which (1) DOE's training, guidance, and oversight ensure that information is classified and declassified according to established criteria and (2) DOE has found documents to be misclassified."

Water level measurements were performed and water samples collected from the Central Nevada Test Area model validation wells in September 2006. Hydraulic head measurements were compared to previous observations; the MV wells showed slight recovery from the drilling and testing operation in 2005. No radioisotopes exceeded limits set in the Corrective Action Decision Document/Corrective Action Plan, and no significant trends were observed when compared to previous analyses.

The G-Band Vapor Radiometer (GVR) provides time-series measurements of brightness temperatures from four double sideband channels centered at ± 1, ± 3, ± 7, and ± 14 GHz around the 183.31-GHz water vapor line. Atmospheric emission in this spectral region is primarily due to water vapor, with some influence from liquid water. The 183.31 ± 14-GHz channel is particularly sensitive to the presence of liquid water. The sensitivity to water vapor of the 183.31-GHz line is approximately 30 times higher than at the frequencies of the two-channel microwave radiometer (MWR) for a precipitable water vapor (PWV) amount of less than 2.5 mm. Measurements from this nstrument are therefore especially useful during low-humidity conditions (PWV < 5 mm).

The Central Nevada Test Area (CNTA) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) site undergoing environmental restoration. The CNTA is located about 95 km northeast of Tonopah, Nevada, and 175 km southwest of Ely, Nevada (Figure 1.1). It was the site of the Faultless underground nuclear test conducted by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (DOE's predecessor agency) in January 1968. The purposes of this test were to gauge the seismic effects of a relatively large, high-yield detonation completed in Hot Creek Valley (outside the Nevada Test Site [NTS]) and to determine the suitability of the site for future large detonations. The yield of the Faultless underground nuclear test was between 200 kilotons and 1 megaton (DOE, 2000). A three-dimensional flow and transport model was created for the CNTA site (Pohlmann et al., 1999) and determined acceptable by DOE and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) for predicting contaminant boundaries for the site.

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A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Defense (DOD) officials currently estimate that the department will spend approximately $34 billion through 2011 to develop the core network of the Global Information Grid (GIG), a large and complex undertaking intended to provide on-demand and real-time data and information to the warfighter. DOD views the GIG as the cornerstone of information superiority, a key enabler of network-centric warfare, and a pillar of defense transformation. A high degree of coordination and cooperation is needed to make the GIG a reality. In prior work GAO found that enforcing investment decisions across the military services and assuring management attention and oversight of the GIG effort were key management challenges facing DOD. This report assesses (1) the management approach that DOD is using to develop the GIG and (2) whether DOD's three major decision-making processes support the development of a crosscutting, departmentwide investment, such as the GIG."

The initial scope of work for this project included: (1) Improving the FEM3A advanced turbulence closure module, (2) Adaptation of FEM3A for more general applications, and (3) Verification of dispersion over rough surfaces, with and without obstacle using the advanced turbulence closure module. These work elements were to be performed by Chemical Hazards Research Center (CHRC), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas as a subcontractor to Gas Technology Institute (GTI). The tasks for GTI included establishment of the scientific support base for standardization of the FEM3A model, project management, technology transfer, and project administration. Later in the course of the project, the scope of work was modified by the National Energy Technology Laboratories (NETL) to remove the emphasis on FEM3A model and instead, develop data in support of NETL's FLUENT modeling. With this change, GTI was also instructed to cease activities relative to FEM3A model. GTI's technical activities through this project included the initial verification of FEM3A model, provision of technical inputs to CHRC researchers regarding the structure of the final product, and participation in technical discussion sessions with CHRC and NETL technical staff. GTI also began the development of a Windows-based front end for the model but the …

The initial scope of work for this project included: 1) Improving the FEM3A advanced turbulence closure module, 2) Adaptation of FEM3A for more general applications, and 3) Verification of dispersion over rough surfaces, with and without obstacle using the advanced turbulence closure module. These work elements were to be performed by Chemical Hazards Research Center (CHRC), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas as a subcontractor to Gas Technology Institute (GTI). The tasks for GTI included establishment of the scientific support base for standardization of the FEM3A model, project management, technology transfer, and project administration. Later in the course of the project, the scope of work was modified by the National Energy Technology Laboratories (NETL) to remove the emphasis on FEM3A model and instead, develop data in support of NETL’s FLUENT modeling. With this change, GTI was also instructed to cease activities relative to FEM3A model. GTI’s technical activities through this project included the initial verification of FEM3A model, provision of technical inputs to CHRC researchers regarding the structure of the final product, and participation in technical discussion sessions with CHRC and NETL technical staff. GTI also began the development of a Windows-based front end for the model but the …

This report records the border security along the barriers of the U.S. International borders.

The capacity of the waste treatment plant (WTP) being built at the Hanford Site is not sufficient to process all of the tank waste accumulated from more than 40 years of nuclear materials production. Bulk vitrification can accelerate tank waste treatment by providing some supplemental low-activity waste (LAW) treatment capacity. Bulk vitrification combines LAW and glass-forming chemicals in a large metal container and melts the contents using electrical resistance heating. A castable refractory block (CRB) is used along with sand to insulate the container from the heat generated while melting the contents into a glass waste form. This report describes engineering-scale (ES) and full-scale (FS) tests that have been conducted. Several ES tests showed that a small fraction of soluble Tc moves in the CRB and results in a groundwater peak different than WTP glass. The total soluble Tc-99 fraction in the FS CRB is expected to be different than that determined in the ES tests, but until FS test results are available, the best-estimate soluble Tc-99 fraction from the ES tests has been used as a conservative estimate. The first FS test results are from cold simulant tests that have been spiked with Re. An estimated scale-up factor extrapolates …

"The report reviews the management and performance of the Culberson County-Allamoore Independent School District's (CCAISD) education, financial, and operational functions."

CNE has conducted a feasibility study on the Chilocco property in north-central Oklahoma since the grant award on July 20, 2003. This study has concluded that there is sufficient wind for a wind farm and that with the Production Tax Credits and Green Tags, there will be sufficient energy to, not only cover the costs of the Nation’s energy needs, but to provide a profit. CNE has developed a wind energy team and is working independently and with industry partners to bring its renewable energy resources to the marketplace. We are continuing with the next phase in conducting avian, cultural and transmission studies, as well as continuing to measure the wind with the SoDAR unit. Cherokee Nation Enterprises, Inc. is a wholly-owned corporation under Cherokee Nation and has managed the Department of Energy grant award since July 20, 2003. In summary, we have determined there is sufficient wind for a wind farm at the Chilocco property where Cherokee Nation owns approximately 4,275 acres. The primary goal would be more of a savings in light of the electricity used by Cherokee Nation and its entities which totals an estimated eight million dollars per year. Cherokee Nation Enterprises (CNE), working independently and …

The primary objective of this project was to assess the feasibility of improving the performance of PWR and BWR cores by using solid hydride fuels instead of the commonly used oxide fuel. The primary measure of performance considered is the bus-bar cost of electricity (COE). Additional performance measures considered are safety, fuel bundle design simplicity – in particular for BWR’s, and plutonium incineration capability. It was found that hydride fuel can safely operate in PWR’s and BWR’s without restricting the linear heat generation rate of these reactors relative to that attainable with oxide fuel. A couple of promising applications of hydride fuel in PWR’s and BWR’s were identified: (1) Eliminating dedicated water moderator volumes in BWR cores thus enabling to significantly increase the cooled fuel rods surface area as well as the coolant flow cross section area in a given volume fuel bundle while significantly reducing the heterogeneity of BWR fuel bundles thus achieving flatter pin-by-pin power distribution. The net result is a possibility to significantly increase the core power density – on the order of 30% and, possibly, more, while greatly simplifying the fuel bundle design. Implementation of the above modifications is, though, not straightforward; it requires a design …