New understanding, theories, and techniques for moisture flow and distribution were developed in this research on wood and wood fiber. Improved understanding of the mechanisms of flake drying has been provided. Observations of flake drying and drying rate curves revealed that rate of moisture loss consisted of two falling rate periods and no constant rate drying period was observed. Convective heat transfer controls the first period, and bound water diffusion controls the second period. Influence of lower drying temperatures on bending properties of wood flakes was investigated. Drying temperature was found to have a significant influence on bending stiffness and strength. A worksheet for calculation of the energy required to dry a single strandboard flake was developed but has not been tested in an industrial setting yet. A more complete understanding of anisotropic transverse shrinkage of wood is proposed based on test results and statistical analysis. A simplified mod el of a wood cell's cross-section was drawn for calculating differential transverse shrinkage. The model utilizes cell wall thickness and microfibrillar packing density and orientation. In spite of some phenomena of cell wall structure not yet understood completely, the results might explain anisotropic transverse shrinkage to a major extent. Boundary layer …

The use of ITS-generated data as a data resource is a multifaceted challenge. The most effective way of confronting this challenge is to focus early efforts on localized areas with well-defined parameters. With the idea of starting with a well-defined problem, this research demonstrates the feasibility of using ITS-generated data to meet traffic information needs. Specifically, this study focused on two crucial traffic parameters: (1) total traffic volume, and (2) total VMT--basically, the information collected from the Traffic Monitoring Program. Traffic data collected from Florida and New York ITS deployments were used to test the communications and estimation procedures.

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Carlsbad Field Office and Westinghouse TRU Solutions, LLC (WTS) are dedicated to maintaining high quality management of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) environmental resources. DOE Order 5400.1, General Environmental Protection Program, and DOE Order 231.1, Environmental, Safety, and Health Reporting, require that the environment at and near DOE facilities be monitored to ensure the safety and health of the public and the environment. This Waste Isolation Pilot Plant 2000 Site Environmental Report summarizes environmental data from calendar year (CY) 2000 that characterize environmental management performance and demonstrate compliance with federal and state regulations. This report was prepared in accordance with DOE Order 5400.1, DOE Order 231.1, the Environmental Regulatory Guide for Radiological Effluent Monitoring and Environmental Surveillance (DOE/EH-0173T), and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Environmental Protect ion Implementation Plan (DOE/WIPP 96-2199). The above orders and guidance documents require that DOE facilities submit an Annual Site Environmental Report to DOE Headquarters, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Health. The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive description of operational environmental monitoring activities, to provide an abstract of environmental activities conducted to characterize site environmental management performance to confirm compliance with …

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to the full-time classified state employee turnover rate for Fiscal Year 2001. This report provides information on employee turnover for use in evaluating and analyzing trends in state employment and in addressing the causes of state employee turnover.

This guide was developed to provide ideas for considering energy efficiency in the early stages of a cleanroom design project. Use of this guide will facilitate selection of design features that will improve energy efficiency in cleanrooms. Cleanroom owners and designers can use the guide to focus on energy intensive items in the design of a cleanroom facility.

Efforts during this grant period focused on three main considerations: (a) developing and testing various climate scenarios with SEAM, a newly created model (b) model reconstruction efforts to speed up computations and (c) optimum realization statistics

The research is a laboratory and bench-scale investigation of a system to concentrate and destroy volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including hazardous air pollutants, formed from the drying of wood and the manufacture of wood board products (e.g., particle board and oriented strandboard). The approach that was investigated involved concentrating the dilute VOCs (<500 ppmv) with a physical/chemical adsorption unit, followed by the treatment of the concentrated voc stream (2,000 to 2,500 ppmv) with a biofiltration unit. The research program lasted three years, and involved three research organizations. Michigan Technological University was the primary recipient of the financial assistance, the USDA Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) and Mississippi State University (MSU) were subcontractors to MTU. The ultimate objective of this research was to develop a pilot-scale demonstration of the technology with sufficient data to provide for the design of an industrial system. No commercialization activities were included in this project.

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The 2000 annual report of the IEA Hydrogen Agreement contains an overview of the agreement, including its guiding principles, latest strategic plan, and a report from the Chairman, Mr. Neil P. Rossmeissl, U.S. Department of Energy. Overviews of the National Hydrogen Programs of nine member countries are given: Canada, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Task updates are provided on the following annexes: Annex 12 - Metal Hydrides and Carbon for Hydrogen Storage, Annex 13 - Design and Optimization of Integrated Systems, Annex 14 - Photoelectrolytic Production of Hydrogen, and, Annex 15 - Photobiological Production of Hydrogen.

This closure report (CR) provides documentation for the closure of the Roller Coaster RADSAFE Area (RCRSA) Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 407 identified in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) (Nevada Division of Environmental Protection [NDEP] et al., 1996). CAU 407 is located at the Tonopah Test Range (TTR), Nevada. The TTR is approximately 225 kilometers (km) (140 miles [mi]) northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada (Figure 1). The RCRSA is located on the northeast comer of the intersection of Main Road and Browne's Lake Road, which is approximately 8 km (5 mi) south of Area 3 (Figure 1). The RCRSA was used during May and June of 1963 to decontaminate vehicles, equipment, and personnel from the Double Tracks and Clean Slate tests. Investigation of the RCRSA was conducted from June through November of 1998. A Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) (U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office [DOEN], 1999) was approved in October of 1999. The purpose of this CR is to: Document the closure activities as proposed in the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) (DOEM, 2000). Obtain a Notice of Completion from the NDEP. Recommend the movement of CAU 407 from Appendix III to Appendix IV of the FFACO. …

This report discusses the different roles of intelligence and law enforcement agencies in countering transnational threats and the difficulties in coordinating their efforts. This report also discusses the desire of some observers to base the intelligence and law enforcement agencies' relationship in statutory law. Updated December 3, 2001.

The objective of this effort is to benchmark the development of process-based quality tools for application in CAD (computer-aided design) model-based applications. The processes of interest are design, manufacturing, and quality process applications. A study was commissioned addressing the impact, current technologies, and known problem areas in application of 3D MCAD (3-dimensional mechanical computer-aided design) models and model integrity on downstream manufacturing and quality processes. The downstream manufacturing and product quality processes are profoundly influenced and dependent on model quality and modeling process integrity. The goal is to illustrate and expedite the modeling and downstream model-based technologies for available or conceptual methods and tools to achieve maximum economic advantage and advance process-based quality concepts.

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