This report is part of the Web-at-Risk project. This report includes the following three sections: (a) the methodology used to conduct the focus groups and analyze the data, (b) the detailed results of the analysis organized into phases of the collection development process, and (c) a discussion of the key findings.

In a fusion reactor based on the Magnetized Target Fusion approach, the permanent power supply has to deliver currents up to a few mega-amperes to the target dropped into the reaction chamber. All the structures situated around the target will be destroyed after every pulse and have to be replaced at a frequency of 1 to 10 Hz. In this paper, an approach based on the use of spherical blanket surrounding the target, and pulsed plasma electrodes connecting the target to the power supply, is discussed. A brief physic analysis of the processes associated with creation of plasma electrodes is discussed.

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Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Daily student newspaper from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas that includes local, state and campus news along with advertising.

This report discusses major decisions on clean air issues facing the courts and the executive branch in 2006. One focus will be EPA's recent proposal to strengthen air quality standards for fine particles. Other issues of continuing interest are EPA's 2005 decisions limiting interstate transport of air pollution and establishing cap-and-trade systems for emissions from coal fired power plants, and the agency's proposed changes to New Source Review.

This report discusses the Global Environment Facility (GEF), established in 1991, which has served since then as a primary source of funding for several major international environmental concerns.

There is renewed interest in the United States (U.S.) to construct new Generation III and III+ reactors within the next decade and Generation IV reactors in the future. Licensing by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is a significant consideration and these new plants may pose new challenges. One such challenge is the advances in human factors engineering (HFE) methods that are used. These methods are used to design and evaluate the HFE aspects of a plant, such as the human-system interface (HSI). These methods are important because NRC HFE reviews are design process oriented, thus, the criteria are mostly technology neutral with regard to reactor design.[1] However, the HFE review criteria are not neutral with respect to the HFE methods that are used as part of the design process This will be important for new reactor reviews because the diversity of reactor types, HSIs, and operational concepts will increase, especially for Generation III+ and IV plants. Thus the NRC is conducting research to identify advances in HFE methods and to develop additional guidance to address their review.

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The unsaturated fractured volcanic deposits at Yucca Mountain have been intensively investigated as a possible repository site for storing high-level radioactive waste. Field studies at the site have revealed that there exist large variabilities in hydrological parameters over the spatial domain of the mountain. This paper reports on a systematic analysis of hydrological parameters using the site-scale 3-D unsaturated zone (UZ) flow model. The objectives of the sensitivity analyses are to evaluate the effects of uncertainties in hydrologic parameters on modeled UZ flow and contaminant transport results. Sensitivity analyses are carried out relative to fracture and matrix permeability and capillary strength (van Genuchten a), through variation of these parameter values by one standard deviation from the base-case values. The parameter variation results in eight parameter sets. Modeling results for the eight UZ flow sensitivity cases have been compared with field observed data and simulation results from the base-case model. The effects of parameter uncertainties on the flow fields are discussed and evaluated through comparison of results for flow and transport. In general, this study shows that uncertainties in matrix parameters cause larger uncertainty in simulated moisture flux than corresponding uncertainties in fracture properties for unsaturated flow through heterogeneous fractured rock.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Funeral program for Mr. Walker Prince, Jr., born July 5, 1952 and died March 13, 2006. The funeral was held Tuesday, March 21, 2006 at D. W. Brooks Funeral Home Chapel, officiated by Steven R. Owens. Funeral arrangements were made through D. W. Brooks Funeral Home.

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This report provides background on appearance of BSE(bovine spongiform encephalopathy or "mad cow disease") in North America.

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Project Final Report for "100kW Energy Transfer Multiplexer Power Converter Prototype Development Project" prepared under DOE grant number DE-FG36-03GO13138. This project relates to the further development and prototype construction/evaluation for the Energy Transfer Multiplexer (ETM) power converter topology concept. The ETM uses a series resonant link to transfer energy from any phase of a multiphase input to any phase of a multiphase output, converting any input voltage and frequency to any output voltage and frequency. The basic form of the ETM converter consists of an eight (8)-switch matrix (six phase power switches and two ground power switches) and a series L-C resonant circuit. Electronic control of the switches allows energy to be transferred in the proper amount from any phase to any other phase. Depending upon the final circuit application, the switches may be either SCRs or IGBTs. The inherent characteristics of the ETM converter include the following: Power processing in either direction (bidirectional); Large voltage gain without the need of low frequency magnetics; High efficiency independent of output load and frequency; Wide bandwidth with fast transient response and; Operation as a current source. The ETM is able to synthesize true sinusoidal waveforms with low harmonic distortions. For a low …

Experience gained during recent operation of high power 11.424 GHz rf sources for accelerators led to new, more strict requirements on system components. One of the basic components of such a system is a mode converter that transforms the rectangular waveguide mode into the TE{sub 01} mode in circular waveguide. With such a converter, it is possible to minimize the use of WR90 rectangular waveguide which was shown to be a weak part of the previous system at power levels higher than 100 MW and pulse lengths on the order of a microsecond. We used several methods to design a mode converter with extremely low parasitic mode conversion and compact size. These methods employ HFSS[4] and include multi-parameter searches, concurrent optimization with a mode-matching code Cascade[2], cascading of resulting S-matrices, and tolerance analysis using perturbation techniques. This report describes the design methods and presents results.

The material profile of a thin film can be analyzed by placing the film on a substrate and by sending a neutron beam onto it at various angles of incidence. Technically, the scattering length density of the film needs to be determined as a function of depth. A reflectometer is used to measure the amount of reflection (reflectivity) as a function of the angle of incidence. Mathematically, this is equivalent to sending the neutron beam onto the film at every energy but at a fixed angle of incidence. The film profile needs to be recovered from the measured reflectivity data. Unfortunately, the unique recovery is impossible, and many distinct unrelated profiles may correspond to the same reflectivity data. In our DOE/EPSCoR sponsored research, we have developed an analytical method to uniquely recover the profile of a thin film from the measured reflectivity data. We have shown that by taking reflectivity measurements with two different substrates, one can uniquely determine the film profile. Previously, it was known that one could uniquely recover the profile by taking reflectivity measurements with three different substrates, and our findings indicate that the same goal can be accomplished by using fewer measurements. At Mississippi State University …

The objective of this report is to document technical information that has been provided to Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) and Closure Business Unit (CBU) personnel as part of the frit development support for Sludge Batch 4 (SB4). The information presented in this report includes projected operating windows (expressed in terms of waste loading) for various sludge blending and/or washing options coupled with candidate frits of interest. Although the Nominal Stage assessment serves as the primary tool for these evaluations, select systems were also evaluated using a Variation Stage assessment in which compositional variations were introduced. In addition, assessments of the impacts of nepheline formation potential and the SO{sub 4}{sup -} solubility limit on the projected operating windows are also provided. Although this information was used as part of the technical basis leading to CBU's development of the preferred SB4 preparation plan, none of the options presented in this report was selected as the preferred plan. Therefore, the information is presented without significant interpretation of the resulting operating windows, but the projected windows are provided so additional insight can be explored if desired. Detailed assessments of the projected operating windows (using both Nominal and Variation Stage assessments) of the preferred …

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Semiweekly newspaper from Sealy, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Emory, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.