The objective of the Fossil Energy Advanced Research and Technology Development (AR and TD) Materials Program is to conduct research and development on materials for longer-term fossil energy applications as well as for generic needs of various fossil fuel technologies. The research program of the Materials Response Group at Virginia Tech addresses the need for reliable and durable structural ceramic composites to perform in high temperature environments. The research effort provides an experimental and analytical basis for the transition from properties of materials to performance of actual component structures. Phases 1 and 2 of the present program focused on the development of test capabilities, initial studies of component mechanical response under various conditions and the development of a life prediction methodology. These efforts have been described in previous reports. This report summarizes the major tasks completed under Phases 3 and 4 of the project. Overall, the authors have made significant progress in a broad spectrum of tasks in this program. Their efforts have encompassed component evaluation, assessment of new SiC-based composites with improved high-temperature potential, development of oxide coating materials for SiC, and the extension and development of new models for predicting the durability of composite components under specific operating …

On January 20-22, 1998, ''AA Fest. A Symposium on General Circulation Model Development: Past, Present, and Future'' was held at the North West Campus Auditorium of University of California, Los Angeles, in honor of Professor Ako Arawaka. The symposium consisted of two-and-a-half-day technical presentations, along with a banquet in the opening evening and a reception during the poster session of the second evening.

OAK-B135 AA Fest. General Circulation Model Development: Past, Present and Future. A Symposium in Honor of Professor Akio Arakawa

We have developed a hand-held in vivo scanning device for use in the oral cavity. We produced, using this scanning device, in vivo OCT images of dental tissues in human volunteers. All the OCT images were analyzed for the presence of clinically relevant anatomical structures. The gingival margin, periodontal sulcus, and dento-enamel junction were visible in all the images. The cemento-enamel junction was discernible in 64% of the images and the alveolar bone presumptively identified for 71% of the images. These images represent, to our knowledge, the first in vivo OCT images of human dental tissue.

Porter, Emma G., T.A. Waldrop, Susan D. McElreath, and Frank H. Tainter. 1998. Effect of site on bacterial populations in the sapwood of coarse woody debris. Pp. 480-484. In: Proc. 9th Bienn. South. Silv. Res. Conf. T.A. Waldrop (ed). USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-20. Abstract: Coarse woody debris (CWD) is an important structural component of southeastern forest ecosystems, yet little is known about its dynamics in these systems. This project identified bacterial populations associated with CWD and their dynamics across landscape ecosystem classification (LEC) units. Bolts of red oak and loblolly pine were placed on plots at each of three hydric, mesic, and xeric sites at the Savannah River Station. After the controls were processed, samples were taken at four intervals over a 16-week period. Samples were ground within an anaerobe chamber using nonselective media. Aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria were identified using the Biolog system and the anaerobes were identified using the API 20A system. Major genera isolated were: Bacillus, Buttiauxella, Cedecea, Enterobacter, Erwinia, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Pantoea, Pseudomonas, Serratia, and Xanthomonas. The mean total isolates were determined by LEC units and sample intervals. Differences occurred between the sample intervals with total isolates of 6.67, …

The US Department of Energy/Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV) has identified the need to design a low-level waste (LLW) closure cap for the arid conditions at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). As a result of concerns for subsidence impacting the cover, DOE/NV redesigned the LLW cover from one containing a `hard` infiltration barrier that would likely fail, to a `soft` (ET) cover that is sufficiently deep to accommodate the hydrologic problems of subsidence. An ET cover is one that does not contain hydrologic barrier layers but relies on soil-water retention and sufficient thickness to store water until evapotranspiration (ET) can remove the moisture. Subtle layering within an ET cap using the native soil could be environmentally beneficial and cost effective.

This System Description introduces the NIF Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS). The architecture is sufficiently abstract to allow the construction of many similar applications from a common framework. As discussed below, over twenty software applications derived from the framework comprise the NIF control system. This document lays the essential foundation for understanding the ICCS architecture. The NIF design effort is motivated by the magnitude of the task. Figure 1 shows a cut-away rendition of the coliseum-sized facility. The NIF requires integration of about 40,000 atypical control points, must be highly automated and robust, and will operate continuously around the clock. The control system coordinates several experimental cycles concurrently, each at different stages of completion. Furthermore, facilities such as the NIF represent major capital investments that will be operated, maintained, and upgraded for decades. The computers, control subsystems, and functionality must be relatively easy to extend or replace periodically with newer technology.

Aging of the containment pressure boundary in light water reactor plants is being addressed to understand the significant factors relating occurrence of corrosion efficacy of inspection and structural capacity reduction of steel containments and liners of concrete containments. and to make recommendations on use of risk models in regulatory decisions. Current regulatory in-service inspection requirements are reviewed and a summary of containment related degradation experience is presented. Current and emerging nondestructive examination techniques and a degradation assessment methodology for characterizing and quantifying the amount of damage present are described. Quantitative tools for condition assessment of aging structures using time dependent structural reliability analysis methods are summarized. Such methods provide a framework for addressing the uncertainties attendant to aging in the decision process. Results of this research provide a means for establishing current and estimating future structural capacity margins of containments, and to address the significance of incidences of reported containment degradation.

This report documents the analysis of the biomass fuel cycle, in which biomass is combusted to produce electricity. The major objectives of this study were: (1) to implement the methodological concepts which were developed in the Background Document (ORNL/RFF 1992) as a means of estimating the external costs and benefits of fuel cycles, and by so doing, to demonstrate their application to the biomass fuel cycle; (2) to develop, given the time and resources, a range of estimates of marginal (i.e., the additional or incremental) damages and benefits associated with selected impact-pathways from a new wood-fired power plant, using a representative benchmark technology, at two reference sites in the US; and (3) to assess the state of the information available to support energy decision making and the estimation of externalities, and by so doing, to assist in identifying gaps in knowledge and in setting future research agendas. The demonstration of methods, modeling procedures, and use of scientific information was the most important objective of this study. It provides an illustrative example for those who will, in the future, undertake studies of actual energy options and sites. As in most studies, a more comprehensive analysis could have been completed had budget …

This report describes methods for estimating the external costs (and possibly benefits) to human health and the environment that result from natural gas fuel cycles. Although the concept of externalities is far from simple or precise, it generally refers to effects on individuals' well being, that result from a production or market activity in which the individuals do not participate, or are not fully compensated. In the past two years, the methodological approach that this report describes has quickly become a worldwide standard for estimating externalities of fuel cycles. The approach is generally applicable to any fuel cycle in which a resource, such as coal, hydro, or biomass, is used to generate electric power. This particular report focuses on the production activities, pollution, and impacts when natural gas is used to generate electric power. In the 1990s, natural gas technologies have become, in many countries, the least expensive to build and operate. The scope of this report is on how to estimate the value of externalities--where value is defined as individuals' willingness to pay for beneficial effects, or to avoid undesirable ones. This report is about the methodologies to estimate these externalities, not about how to internalize them through regulations …

The Natural Gas Monthly highlights activities, events, and analyses of interest to public and private sector organizations associated with the natural gas industry. Volume and price data are presented each month for natural gas production, distribution, consumption, and interstate pipeline activities. Producer-related activities and underground storage data are also reported. From time to time, the Natural Gas Monthly features articles designed to assist readers in using and interpreting natural gas information.

This document and supporting documentation provide a consistent, defensible, and auditable record of acceptable knowledge for waste generated at the Rocky Flats Plant which is currently in the accessible storage inventory at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The inventory consists of transuranic (TRU) waste generated from 1972 through 1989. Regulations authorize waste generators and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities to use acceptable knowledge in appropriate circumstances to make hazardous waste determinations. Acceptable knowledge includes information relating to plant history, process operations, and waste management, in addition to waste-specific data generated prior to the effective date of the RCRA regulations. This document is organized to provide the reader a comprehensive presentation of the TRU waste inventory ranging from descriptions of the historical plant operations that generated and managed the waste to specific information about the composition of each waste group. Section 2 lists the requirements that dictate and direct TRU waste characterization and authorize the use of the acceptable knowledge approach. In addition to defining the TRU waste inventory, Section 3 summarizes the historical operations, waste management, characterization, and certification activities associated with the inventory. Sections 5.0 through 26.0 describe the waste groups in the inventory including waste generation, …