This report summarizes a preliminary design study to explore the plausibility of using pulse tube refrigeration to cool instruments in a hot down-hole environment. The original motivation was to maintain Dave Reagor`s high-temperature superconducting electronics at 75 K, but the study has evolved to include three target design criteria: cooling at 30 C in a 300 C environment, cooling at 75 K in a 50 C environment, cooling at both 75 K and 30 C in a 250 C environment. These specific temperatures were chosen arbitrarily, as representative of what is possible. The primary goals are low cost, reliability, and small package diameter. Pulse-tube refrigeration is a rapidly growing sub-field of cryogenic refrigeration. The pulse tube refrigerator has recently become the simplest, cheapest, most rugged and reliable low-power cryocooler. The authors expect this technology will be applicable downhole because of the ratio of hot to cold temperatures (in absolute units, such as Kelvin) of interest in deep drilling is comparable to the ratios routinely achieved with cryogenic pulse-tube refrigerators.

In 1996, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) proposed an oxidant delivery technique involving injection and recirculation of the oxidant solution into a contaminated aquifer through multiple horizontal and vertical wells. This technique would be applicable to saturated, hydraulically conductive formations. In the spring of 1997, the Department of Energy (DOE) at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) agreed to collaborate with the DOE`s Subsurface Contaminants Focus Area to conduct a field-scale treatability study using in situ chemical oxidation through recirculation (ISCOR). PORTS agreed to support the demonstration at the X-701B site where the technology can potentially be used to remediate TCE-contaminated groundwater and sediments. The ISCOR field demonstration took advantage of existing infrastructure and extensive site characterization data generated from previous field demonstrations at X-701B. The field test was implemented using a pair of previously installed horizontal wells that transect an area of DNAPL contamination. Groundwater was extracted from one horizontal well, pumped to an existing pump and treat facility, dosed with KMnO{sub 4}, and re-injected into a parallel horizontal well approximately 90 ft away. The field demonstration lasted approximately one month. Treatment effectiveness was determined by comparing contaminant levels in pre-treatment, during, and post-treatment groundwater samples and …

This report covers research progress in the Solid State Division from April 1, 1995, through March 31, 1997. During this period, the division conducted a broad, interdisciplinary materials research program in support of Department of Energy science and technology missions. The report includes brief summaries of research activities in condensed matter theory, neutron scattering, synthesis and characterization of materials, ion beam and laser processing, and the structure of solids and surfaces. An addendum includes listings of division publications and professional activities.

This report contains (1) FY 1995 AGS schedule as run; (2) FY 1996 AGS schedule as run; (3) FY 1997 AGS schedule as run; (4) FY 1998--1999 AGS schedule (proposed); (5) AGS beams 1997; (6) AGS experimental area FY 1995 physics program; (7) AGS experimental area FY 1996 physics program; (8) AGS experimental area FY 1997 physics program; (9) AGS experimental area FY 1998--1999 physics program (proposed); (10) a listing of experiments by number; (11) two-page summaries of each experiment, in order by number; and (12) listing of publications of AGS experiments.

During November/96 to April/97 Sandia National Laboratories provided consulation, data collection, analysis and project documentation to the U.S. Army for a series of four geothermal exploratory slimholes drilled on the McGregor Range approximately 25 miles north of El Paso, Texas. This drilling was directed toward evaluating a potential reservoir for geothermal power generation in this area, with a secondary objective of assessing the potential for direct use applications such as space heating or water de-salinization. This report includes: representative temperature logs from the wells; daily drilling reports; a narrative account of the drilling and testing; a description of equipment used; a summary and preliminary interpretation of the data; and recommendations for future work.

The development of two new probabilistic accident consequence codes, MACCS and COSYMA, was completed in 1990. These codes estimate the consequence from the accidental releases of radiological material from hypothesized accidents at nuclear installations. In 1991, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Commission of the European Communities began cosponsoring a joint uncertainty analysis of the two codes. The ultimate objective of this joint effort was to systematically develop credible and traceable uncertainty distributions for the respective code input variables. A formal expert judgment elicitation and evaluation process was identified as the best technology available for developing a library of uncertainty distributions for these consequence parameters. This report focuses on the results of the study to develop distribution for variables related to the MACCS and COSYMA deposited material and external dose models. This volume contains appendices that include (1) a summary of the MACCS and COSYMA consequence codes, (2) the elicitation questionnaires and case structures, (3) the rationales and results for the panel on deposited material and external doses, (4) short biographies of the experts, and (5) the aggregated results of their responses.

An above-grade surface barrier consisting of a vegetated soil-cover, surrounded by gravel and rock side slopes, is being tested for the US Department of Energy (DOE). It is part of a treatability study at the 200-BP-1 Operable Unit in the 200 East Area of the Hanford Site, near Richland, Washington. The surface barrier, constructed in 1994, covers 2.5 ha (6.9 acre) of land surface and is situated over an inactive liquid-waste disposal crib. A set of under drains, built into the barrier using curbed asphalt, allows precise measurement of drainage from the soil cover and the side slopes. The treatability test includes measurements of water balance, wind and water erosion, subsidence, plant growth, and plant and animal intrusion. The test compares the performance of the barrier under ambient and simulated climate change (elevated precipitation) conditions. This report documents findings from the third year of testing.

The Loma Prieta earthquake of 17 October 1989 was the first of three large earthquakes that occurred in California in less than 5 years. The main shock of the Loma Prieta earthquake was deep-seated, the rupture zones of the main shock did not reach the surface, and the earthquake produced enigmatic surface ruptures along the frontal faults of the Coast Range and in the epicentral area that were explained in several quite different ways. The Landers earthquake of 28 June 1992 was near surface and produced more than 80 km of spectacular surface rupture of many different kinematic expressions. Detailed study of fractures at Landers has provided a basis for re-evaluating earlier work on fractures produced by the Loma Prieta earthquake. This paper is a description of some of the fractures produced by the Loma Prieta earthquake and a discussion of their causes. Detailed mapping (scale of 1:250) in an area on either side of Summit Road and between Morrell Cutoff Road in the northwest and the intersection of Summit Road and San Jose-Soquel Road in the southeast has provided documentation of fracture orientations and differential displacements required to decipher the ground deformation in that area during the Loma Prieta …

The June 28, 1992, M{sub s} 7.5 earthquake at Landers, California, which occurred about 10 km north of the community of Yucca Valley, California, produced spectacular ground rupturing more than 80 km in length (Hough and others, 1993). The ground rupturing, which was dominated by right-lateral shearing, extended along at least four distinct faults arranged broadly en echelon. The faults were connected through wide transfer zones by stepovers, consisting of right-lateral fault zones and tension cracks. The Landers earthquakes occurred in the desert of southeastern California, where details of ruptures were well preserved, and patterns of rupturing were generally unaffected by urbanization. The structures were varied and well-displayed and, because the differential displacements were so large, spectacular. The scarcity of vegetation, the aridity of the area, the compactness of the alluvium and bedrock, and the relative isotropy and brittleness of surficial materials collaborated to provide a marvelous visual record of the character of the deformation zones. The authors present a series of analecta -- that is, verbal clips or snippets -- dealing with a variety of structures, including belts of shear zones, segmentation of ruptures, rotating fault block, en echelon fault zones, releasing duplex structures, spines, and ramps. All of …

This document describes the contents of a digital data base that may be used to identify coastlines along the US West Coast that are at risk to sea-level rise. This data base integrates point, line, and polygon data for the US West Coast into 0.25{degree} latitude by 0.25{degree} longitude grid cells and into 1:2,000,000 digitized line segments that can be used by raster or vector geographic information systems (GIS) as well as by non-GIS data bases. Each coastal grid cell and line segment contains data variables from the following seven data sets: elevation, geology, geomorphology, sea-level trends, shoreline displacement (erosion/accretion), tidal ranges, and wave heights. One variable from each data set was classified according to its susceptibility to sea-level rise and/or erosion to form 7 relative risk variables. These risk variables range in value from 1 to 5 and may be used to calculate a Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI). Algorithms used to calculate several CVIs are listed within this text.

The 28 June 1992 Landers, California, earthquake of M 7.6 created an impressive record of surface rupture and ground deformation. Fractures extend over a length of more than 80 km including zones of right-lateral shift, steps in the fault zones, fault intersections and vertical changes. Among the vertical changes was the growth of a tectonic ridge described here. In this paper the authors describe the Emerson fault zone and the Tortoise Hill ridge including the relations between the fault zone and the ridge. They present data on the horizontal deformation at several scales associated with activity within the ridge and belt of shear zones and show the differential vertical uplifts. And, they conclude with a discussion of potential models for the observed deformation.

The overall scope of this endeavor was to develop an integrated computer system, running on a network of heterogeneous computers, that would allow the rapid development of tool designs, and then use process models to determine whether the initial tooling would have characteristics which produce the prototype parts. The major thrust of this program for ORNL was the definition of the requirements for the development of the integrated die design system with the functional purpose to link part design, tool design, and component fabrication through a seamless software environment. The principal product would be a system control program that would coordinate the various application programs and implement the data transfer so that any networked workstation would be useable. The overall system control architecture was to be required to easily facilitate any changes, upgrades, or replacements of the model from either the manufacturing end or the design criteria standpoint. The initial design of such a program is described in the section labeled ``Control Program Design``. A critical aspect of this research was the design of the system flow chart showing the exact system components and the data to be transferred. All of the major system components would have been configured to …

The CONTAIN 2.0 computer code is an integrated analysis tool used for predicting the physical conditions, chemical compositions, and distributions of radiological materials inside a containment building following the release of material from the primary system in a light-water reactor accident. It can also predict the source term to the environment. CONTAIN 2.0 is intended to replace the earlier CONTAIN 1.12, which was released in 1991. The purpose of this Code Manual is to provide full documentation of the features and models in CONTAIN 2.0. Besides complete descriptions of the models, this Code Manual provides a complete description of the input and output from the code. CONTAIN 2.0 is a highly flexible and modular code that can run problems that are either quite simple or highly complex. An important aspect of CONTAIN is that the interactions among thermal-hydraulic phenomena, aerosol behavior, and fission product behavior are taken into account. The code includes atmospheric models for steam/air thermodynamics, intercell flows, condensation/evaporation on structures and aerosols, aerosol behavior, and gas combustion. It also includes models for reactor cavity phenomena such as core-concrete interactions and coolant pool boiling. Heat conduction in structures, fission product decay and transport, radioactive decay heating, and the thermal-hydraulic …

The Oxy West Welch project is designed to demonstrate how the use of advanced technology can improve the economics of miscible CO{sub 2} injection projects in a lower quality shallow shelf carbonate reservoir. The research and design phase primarily involves advanced reservoir characterization and accelerating the production response. The demonstration phase will implement the reservoir management plan based on an optimum miscible CO{sub 2} flood as designed in the initial phase. During Budget Period 1, work was completed on the CO{sub 2} stimulation treatments and the hydraulic fracture design. Analysis of the CO{sub 2} stimulation treatment provided a methodology for predicting results. The hydraulic fracture treatment proved up both the fracture design approach a and the use of passive seismic for mapping the fracture wing orientation. Although the 3-D seismic interpretation is still being integrated into the geologic model and interpretation of borehole seismic is still underway, the simulator has been enhanced to the point of giving good waterflood history matches. The simulator-forecasted results for an optimal designed miscible CO{sub 2} flood in the demonstration area gave sufficient economics to justify continuation of the project into Budget Period 2.

We have grown epitaxial (Sr,Ba) (n+1)Ru(n)O(3n+1) films, n = 1, 2, and infinity, by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and controlled their orientation by choosing appropriate substrates. The growth conditions yielding phase pure films have been mapped out. Resistivity versus temperature measurements show that both a and c axis films of Sr2RuO4 are metallic, but not superconducting. The latter is probably due to the presence of low-level impurities that are difficult to avoid given the target preparation process involved in growing these films by PLD.

The Reservoir Class Field Demonstration Program was initiated in FY92 in response to rapidly declining domestic production and the realization that huge volumes of oil are being abandoned in reservoirs because of uneconomic production techniques. This program is just one of the critical elements of the National Oil Program necessary to move Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) technology from the conceptual stage through research, pilot scale field experiments, and full-scale field demonstrations to industry acceptance and commercialization. Both the successful results and failures of the field demonstrations will provide focus to concurrent research programs. Elements of the field demonstrations that are suitable for broad industry application are being communicated to the industry through the oil program`s technology transfer effort. As part of the technology transfer effort, this listing of publications and presentations by the project operators has been compiled by the US Department of energy`s (DOE) National Petroleum Technology Office (NPTO). The bibliography contains 240 citations for publications and a similar number of citations for presentations.

This report summarizes progress from the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program during fiscal year 1997. In addition to a programmatic and financial overview, the report includes progress reports from 218 individual R&D projects in eleven categories. Theses reports are grouped into the following areas: materials science and technology; computer sciences; electronics and photonics; phenomenological modeling and engineering simulation; manufacturing science and technology; life-cycle systems engineering; information systems; precision sensing and analysis; environmental sciences; risk and reliability; national grand challenges; focused technologies; and reserve.

This report describes the laboratory efforts to characterize particulate and gaseous exhaust emissions from a passenger vehicle operating on alternative fuels. Tests were conducted at room temperature (nominally 72 F) and 20 F utilizing the chassis dynamometer portion of the FTP for light-duty vehicles. Fuels evaluated include Federal RFG, LPG meeting HD-5 specifications, a national average blend of CNG, E85, and M85. Exhaust particulate generated at room temperature was further characterized to determine polynuclear aromatic content, trace element content, and trace organic constituents. For all fuels except M85, the room temperature particulate emission rate from this vehicle was about 2 to 3 mg/mile. On M85, the particulate emission rate was more than 6 mg/mile. In addition, elemental analysis of particulate revealed an order of magnitude more sulfur and calcium from M85 than any other fuel. The sulfur and calcium indicate that these higher emissions might be due to engine lubricating oil in the exhaust. For RFG, particulate emissions at 20 F were more than six times higher than at room temperature. For alcohol fuels, particulate emissions at 20 F were two to three times higher than at room temperature. For CNG and LPG, particulate emissions were virtually the same at …

Progress is described on the following tasks: Fixed-bed devolatilization processes; Fixed-bed combustion and gasification processes; Physical processes in transport reactors; Chemical processes in transport reactors; Advanced fixed-bed model development and evaluation; Advanced two-dimensional transport reactor model development and evaluation; Modeling of gas phase combustion; Modeling of fluidized bed systems; Advanced fixed-bed code application and implementation; Advanced two-dimensional transport gasification code applications and implementation; Modeling of fluidized-bed system applications and implementation; and Applications of ACERC combustion and gasification codes and AFR diagnostic capabilities to systems of interest to METC.

Economically viable natural gas production from the low permeability Mesaverde Formation in the Piceance Basin, Colorado requires the presence of an intense set of open natural fractures. Establishing the regional presence and specific location of such natural fractures is the highest priority exploration goal in the Piceance and other western US tight, gas-centered basins. Recently, Advanced Resources International, Inc. (ARI) completed a field program at Rulison Field, Piceance Basin, to test and demonstrate the use of advanced seismic methods to locate and characterize natural fractures. This project began with a comprehensive review of the tectonic history, state of stress and fracture genesis of the basin. A high resolution aeromagnetic survey, interpreted satellite and SLAR imagery, and 400 line miles of 2-D seismic provided the foundation for the structural interpretation. The central feature of the program was the 4.5 square mile multi-azimuth 3-D seismic P-wave survey to locate natural fracture anomalies. The interpreted seismic attributes are being tested against a control data set of 27 wells. Additional wells are currently being drilled at Rulison, on close 40 acre spacings, to establish the productivity from the seismically observed fracture anomalies. A similar regional prospecting and seismic program is being considered for another …

The Inventory of Power Plants in the United States provides annual statistics on generating units operated by electric utilities in the United States (the 50 States and the District of Columbia). Statistics presented in this report reflect the status of generating units as of January 1, 1997. The publication also provides a 10-yr outlook for generating unit additions. This report is prepared annually by the Coal and Electric Data and Renewables Division; Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels; Energy Information Administration (EIA); U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Data summarized in this report are useful to a wide audience including Congress; Federal and State agencies; the electric utility industry; and the general public. Data presented in this report were assembled and published by the EIA to fulfill its data collection and dissemination responsibilities as specified in the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-275) as amended.