Procedures were developed for fabricating highperformance radiators and heat exchangers for the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) Program. These components, which contain multitudes of tube-to-tube sheet and tube-to-fin joints, are similar in design to those under consideration for a variety of space vehicle applications. In order to ensure reliability of the tube-to-tube sheet joints, techniques producing welds of extremely high quality were used and back brazing of the welds with a suitable alloy was incorporated. High-temperature brazing was also incorporated to attach high-conductivity fins to Inconel tubes in the radiators. The selection of a suitable brazing alloy for these applications was dependent upon several factors, including corrosion and oxidation resistance, flow point, and mechanical properties. A Ni- Si-B alloy was found to be adequate from all these considerations. Special brazing procedures were developed to obtain satisfactory flowability of this brazing alloy on tube-to-fin joints. The suitability of these fabrication procedures for the very stringent service conditions to which the radiators and heat exchangers were subjected was demonstrated by testing full-size components under operating conditions. (auth)

This statement presented to the Subcommittee on Natural Resources of the US House of Representatives gives a definition of acid rain, presents new data on the regional and temporal nature of the problem, and discusses research needs. (ACR)

The objectives of this program were: (1) to investigate the pertinent properties of a variety of possible sealants for solar collectors and identify the most promising candidates, and (2) to study the effect of breathing in flat-plate, thermal solar collector units. The study involved two types of sealants, Class PS which includes preformed seals or gaskets and Class SC which includes sealing compounds or caulks. It was the intent of the study to obtain data regarding initial properties of candidate elastomers from manufacturers and from the technical literature and to use those sources to provide data pertaining to endurance of these materials under environmental service conditions. Where necessary, these data were augmented by experimental measurements. Environmental stresses evaluated by these measurements included elevated temperatures, moisture, ultraviolet light, ozone and oxygen, and fungus. The second major area of the work involved a study of the effects of materials used and design on the durability of solar collectors. Factors such as design, fabrication, materials of construction, seals and sealing techniques and absorber plate coatings were observed on actual field units removed from service. Such phenomena as leakage, corrosion and formation of deposits on glazing and absorber plate were noted. An evaluation of …

A water source heat pump has been designed that is capable of operating over the range from 40 to 110/sup 0/F entering water temperature and has a heating coefficient of performance greater than six in the upper portion of this range. A computerized heat pump balance program was written to allow the performance of either a water-to-water or a water-to-air heat pump to be predicted in either the heating or cooling mode. A detailed program description, flow charts, and sample outputs are appended. The balance program was used to specify components for a high efficiency water-to-water and a high efficiency water-to-air heat pump. Performance predictions for both units in heating and in cooling are included. The water-to-water and water-to-air performance predictions were compared. The water-to-air approach was clearly superior. A detailed design and layout was done for the three solar-assisted water-to-air heat pump. A horizontal configuration was chosen for marketability reasons. The design was made consistent with high quantity production equipment available in our factories and should result in the lowest possible manufacturing cost. A key question to be answered in this project is whether a reciprocating compressor can operate without damage at the high suction pressures characteristic to the …

The computer program described here analyzes the performance of Fermilab Central Helium Liquefier (CHL) and predicts the values of the plant thermodynamic variables at all process points in the plant. To simulate CHL, this program is modified from the prototype program which was developed by Hitachi Ltd. a couple of years ago. This program takes care of only the steady state simulation and takes account of the change of the turbine efficiency, the pressure drops and the UA values of the heat exchangers. How to use the program is shown.

This report discusses the history and political background of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia since their breakaway from the former Soviet Union at the end of 1991. It looks at key issues for the 112th Congress including economies, energy, regional politics, local crime, and terrorism.

This report describes the gang problem in Central America, discusses country approaches to deal with the gangs, and analyzes U.S. policy with respect to gangs in Central America.

This report explains Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT), with an analysis of the five major factors affecting the calculation of a payment to a given county. It also describes the effects of certain legislative changes to PILT in 2009 and 2012.

This report contains a series of charts and tables that depict the position of manufacturing in the United States relative to other countries according to various metrics.

This report discusses veterans' employment trends and programs. The first section presents data on veterans' employment outcomes, identifying recent trends, and discussing issues to consider when interpreting veterans' employment data. The following sections present brief discussions of existing programs that provide employment-related services to veterans. These services are divided into (1) general programs that are broadly available to veterans, (2) programs that target veterans with service-connected disabilities, and (3) competitive grant programs that provide additional employment-related services to veterans but may be limited in scope or availability.

This report discusses issues regarding U.S.-Japan economic relations, since the economic condition of each nation can affect the world economy and a U.S.-Japan bilateral economic relationship could influence economic conditions in other countries. U.S. and Japanese leaders have several options on how to manage their relationship, including stronger reliance on the World Trade Organization; special bilateral negotiating frameworks and agreements; or a free trade agreement.

This report discusses elements of the greenhouse gas (GHG) controversy, providing background on stationary sources of GHG pollution and identifying options Congress has at its disposal to address GHG issues, including: (1) resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act; (2) freestanding legislation; (3) the use of appropriations bills as a vehicle to influence EPA activity; and (4) amendments to the Clean Air Act, including legislation to establish a new GHG control regime.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress created the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to reduce the number of uninsured children in low-income families that do not qualify for Medicaid. States have flexibility in structuring their SCHIP programs, and their income eligibility limits vary. Concerns have been raised that individuals might substitute SCHIP for private health insurance--known as crowd-out. GAO was asked to examine the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) and states' efforts to minimize crowd-out and determine whether it should be a concern. GAO examined (1) CMS's guidance to states for minimizing crowd-out and assessment of whether it should be a concern and (2) states' policies to minimize crowd-out and how they assess whether it should be a concern. To do the work, GAO reviewed federal laws and guidance, examined state annual reports, and interviewed CMS officials. GAO also interviewed SCHIP officials from nine states."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2007, the President directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) to help strengthen U.S. security cooperation with African nations and bring peace and stability to the continent. For this review, GAO assessed DOD's (1) efforts to establish the command and communicate its mission, (2) progress in integrating personnel from other U.S. government agencies into AFRICOM, and (3) plans and costs for establishing a permanent headquarters and supporting offices in Africa. In assessing DOD's efforts to establish AFRICOM, GAO analyzed relevant documentation and obtained perspectives from the combatant commands, military services, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of State (State), U. S. Agency for International Development, and nongovernmental organizations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) relies heavily on petroleum-based fuel to sustain its forward-deployed locations--particularly those that are not connected to local power grids. While weapon platforms require large amounts of fuel, DOD reports that the single largest battlefield fuel consumer is generators, which provide power for base support activities such as cooling, heating, and lighting. Transporting fuel to forward-deployed locations presents an enormous logistics burden and risk, including exposing fuel truck convoys to attack. GAO was asked to address DOD's (1) efforts to reduce fuel demand at forward-deployed locations and (2) approach to managing fuel demand at these locations. This review focused on locations within Central Command's area of responsibility. GAO visited DOD locations in Kuwait and Djibouti to learn about fuel reduction efforts and challenges facing these locations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the United States, most nonprescription drugs are available over-the-counter (OTC) in pharmacies and other stores. Experts have suggested that drug availability could be increased by establishing an additional class of nonprescription drugs that would be held behind the counter (BTC) but would require the intervention of a pharmacist before being dispensed; a similar class of drugs exists in many other countries. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not developed a detailed proposal for a BTC drug class, it held a public meeting in 2007 to explore the public health implications of BTC drug availability. GAO was asked to update its 1995 report, Nonprescription Drugs: Value of a Pharmacist-Controlled Class Has Yet to Be Demonstrated (GAO/PEMD-95-12). Specifically, GAO is reporting on (1) arguments supporting and opposing a U.S. BTC drug class, (2) changes in drug availability in five countries since 1995 and the impact of restricted nonprescription classes on availability, and (3) issues important to the establishment of a BTC drug class. GAO reviewed documents and consulted with pharmaceutical experts. To examine drug availability across countries, GAO studied five countries it had reported on …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the state agriculture and health departments spent about $1.3 billion in fiscal year 1999. FSIS and FDA spent about $1 billion, and the states reported spending about $300 million. The amounts and proportions of food safety expenditures for fiscal year 1998 were similar. Regarding the $1 billion in federal funds spent in fiscal year 1999, FSIS spent about 70 percent, overseeing about 20 percent of federally regulated foods; FDA spent about 30 percent, overseeing about 80 percent of federally regulated foods. These outlays reflect the regulatory approaches or inspection frequencies contained in the laws under which each agency operates."

Report issued by the APDA regarting studies conducted on the state of uranium at different temperature and pressure. Calculations are presented for the differing pressures of uranium; it includes tables.

Report issued by the APDA over studies conducted on thermal bowing of core sub-assemblies at the Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant. As stated in the introduction and summary, "the present report deals with this problem in the design of the Enrico Fermi Reactor and with the method which has been adopted to avoid a positive temperature coefficient of reactivity" (p. 1). This report includes illustrations, and photographs.

The scope of the Fluor Hanford, Inc. Groundwater and Technical Integration Support (Master Project) is to provide technical and integration support to Fluor Hanford, Inc., including operable unit investigations at 300-FF-5 and other groundwater operable units, strategic integration, technical integration and assessments, remediation decision support, and science and technology. This Quality Assurance Management Plan provides the quality assurance requirements and processes that will be followed by the Fluor Hanford, Inc. Groundwater and Technical Integration Support (Master Project).

Miniature spherical retroreflectors, less than 8 millimeters in diameter, are currently being developed to enhance remote optical detection of nuclear proliferation activities. These retroreflecting spheres resemble small, sand-colored marbles that have the unique optical property of providing a strong reflection directly back to the source (i.e., retroreflecting) when illuminated with a laser. The addition of specific coatings, sensitive to specific chemicals or radioactive decay in the environment, can be applied to the surface of these retroreflectors to provide remote detection of nuclear proliferation activities. The presence of radioactive decay (e.g., alpha, gamma, neutron) or specific chemicals in the environment (e.g., TBP, acids) will change the optical properties of the spheres in a predictable fashion, thus indicating the presence or absence of the target materials. One possible scenario might employ an airborne infrared laser system (e.g., quantum-cascade lasers) to illuminate a section of ground littered with these retroreflective spheres. Depending on the coating and the presence of a specific chemical or radioisotope in the environment, the return signal would be modified in some predictable fashion because of fluorescence, frequency shifting, intensity attenuation/enhancement, or change in polarization. Research conducted in FY 2007 focused on developing novel optical fabrication processes and exploiting the …

The Nevada Test Site-Directed Research and Development (SDRD) program completed a very successful year of research and development activities in FY 2007. Twenty-nine new projects were selected for funding this year, and eight projects started in FY 2006 were brought to conclusion. The total funds expended by the SDRD program were $5.67 million, for an average per-project cost of $153 thousand. An external audit conducted in September 2007 verified that appropriate accounting practices were applied to the SDRD program. Highlights for the year included: programmatic adoption of 8 SDRD-developed technologies; the filing of 9 invention disclosures for innovation evolving from SDRD projects; participation in the tri-Lab Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) and SDRD Symposium that was broadly attended by Nevada Test Site (NTS), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), LDRD, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) representatives; peer reviews of all FY 2007 projects; and the successful completion of 37 R&D projects, as presented in this report. In response to a company-wide call, authors throughout the NTS complex submitted 182 proposals for FY 2007 SDRD projects. The SDRD program has seen a dramatic increase in the yearly total of submitted proposals--from 69 in FY …

The objective of this project is to develop novel non-precious metal electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and demonstrate the potential of the catalysts to perform at least as good as conventional Pt catalysts currently in use in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with a cost at least 50 % less than a target of 0.2 g (Pt loading)/peak kW and with durability > 2,000 h operation with less than 10 % power degradation. A novel nitrogen-modified carbon-based catalyst was obtained by modifying carbon black with nitrogen-containing organic precursor in the absence of transition metal precursor. The catalyst shows the onset potential of approximately 0.76 V (NHE) for ORR and the amount of H2O2 of approximately 3% at 0.5 V (NHE). Furthermore, a carbon composite catalyst was achieved through the high-temperature pyrolysis of the precursors of transition metal (Co and Fe) and nitrogen supported on the nitrogen-modified carbon-based catalyst, followed by chemical post-treatment. This catalyst showed an onset potential for ORR as high as 0.87 V (NHE), and generated less than 1 % of H2O2. The PEM fuel cell exhibited a current density of 2.3 A cm-2 at 0.2 V for a catalyst loading of 6.0 mg cm-2. No …

Previously reported stress corrosion cracking (SCC) rates for Alloy 82H gas-tungsten-arc welds tested in 360 C water showed tremendous variability. The excessive data scatter was attributed to the variations in microstructure, mechanical properties and residual stresses that are common in welds. In the current study, however, re-evaluation of the SCC data revealed that the large data scatter was an anomaly due to erroneous crack growth rates inferred from crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) measurements. Apparently, CMOD measurements provided reasonably accurate SCC rates for some specimens, but grossly overestimated rates in others. The overprediction was associated with large unbroken ligaments that often form in welds in the wake of advancing crack fronts. When ligaments were particularly large, they prevented crack mouth deflection, so apparent crack incubation times (i.e. period of time before crack advance commences) based on CMOD measurements were unrealistically long. During the final states of testing, ligaments began to separate allowing the crack mouth to open rather quickly. This behavior was interpreted as a rapid crack advance, but it actually reflects the ligament separation rate, not the SCC rate. Revised crack growth rates obtained in this study exhibit substantially less scatter than that previously reported. The effects of crack …