The principal objective of the Central Vacuum Unit (CVU) CO{sub 2} Huff-n-Puff (H-n-P) project is to determine the feasibility and practicality of the technology in a waterflooded shallow shelf carbonate environment. The results of parametric simulation of the CO{sub 2} H-n-P process, coupled with the CVU reservoir characterization components will determine if this process is technically and economically feasible for field implementation. The technology transfer objective of the project is to disseminate the knowledge gained through an innovative plan in support of the Department of Energy`s (DOE) objective of increasing domestic oil production and deferring the abandonment of shallow shelf carbonate (SSC) reservoirs. Tasks associated with this objective are carried out in what is considered a timely effort for near-term goals. Technical progress is summarized for; geostatistical realizations; site-specific simulation;waterflood review; and reservoir characterization.

The requirements for laser uniformity are discussed in terms of the {ell}-mode spectrum. It is shown that the choice of smoothing methods can significantly alter this spectrum and that this choice should be made in the context of the target physics. Although two dimensional smoothing by spectral dispersion yields a high quality near field beam profile, it results in poor smoothing for low spatial frequency. The partially coherent light method (fiber smoothing) leads to superior smoothing at low spatial frequencies, but has very poor near field beam quality. As a result, it may be desirable to use partially coherent light during the driver pulse foot (at low intensity and when minimizing the laser imprint is critical) and smoothing by spectral dispersion during the main pulse.

In the last few years, our understanding of nuclei at extremes of stability has undergone substantial development and change. It is now thought that there is every likelihood for truly new manifestations of structure at extreme N/Z ratios, unlike anything observed to date. Changes in shell structure, residual interactions, symmetries, collective modes, and the evolution of structure are envisioned. These developing ideas expand the opportunities for nuclear structure studies with radioactive beams and focus attention on the need to develop efficient experimental techniques and improved signatures of structure. These developments are discussed along with an overview of current and future radioactive beam projects in North America.

Chirped pulse amplification is increasingly used to produce intense ultrashort laser pulses. When high-efficiency gratings are the dispersive element, as in the LLNL Petawatt laser, their susceptibility to laser induced damage constitutes a limitation on the peak intensities that can be reached. To obtain robust gratings, it is necessary to understand the causes of short-pulse damage, and to recognize the range of design options for high efficiency gratings. Metal gratings owe their high efficiency to their high conductivity. To avoid the inevitable light absorption that accompanies conductivity, we have developed designs for high efficiency rejection gratings that use only transparent dielectric materials. These combine the reflectivity of a multi-layer dielectric stack with a diffraction grating. We report here our present understanding of short-pulse laser induced damage, as it applies to dielectric gratings.

This contribution addresses requirements for ATM signaling channel authentication. Signaling channel authentication is an ATM security service that binds an ATM signaling message to its source. By creating this binding, the message recipient, and even a third party, can confidently verify that the message originated from its claimed source. This provides a useful mechanism to mitigate a number of threats. For example, a denial of service attack which attempts to tear-down an active connection by surreptitiously injecting RELEASE or DROP PARTY messages could be easily thwarted when authenticity assurances are in place for the signaling channel. Signaling channel authentication could also be used to provide the required auditing information for accurate billing which is impervious to repudiation. Finally, depending on the signaling channel authentication mechanism, end-to-end integrity of the message (or at least part of it) can be provided. None of these capabilities exist in the current specifications.

Computer software user documentation for the cartridge filter restart project.

Chemical warfare agents may be completely destroyed (converted to H{sub 2}O, CO{sub 2}, salts) by oxidation at 90--100 C using acidified ammonium peroxydisulfate, with recycle of NH{sub 4}SO{sub 4} byproduct. The process requires no toxic or expended catalysts and produces no secondary wastes other than the precipitated inorganic content of the agents. To determine oxidative capability of peroxydisulfate at low reductant contents, we measured rate data for oxidation of 20 diverse compounds with diverse functional groups; 4 of these have bonds similar to those found in VX, HD, and GB. On an equivalence basis, integral first-order rate constants for 100 C oxidation are 0.012{plus_minus}0.005 min{sup {minus}1} for di-isopropyl-methyl-phosphonate, methyl phosphonic acid, triethylamine, and 2,2{prime}-thiodiethanol at low initial concentrations of 50 ppM(as carbon) and pH 1.5. To provide scale-up equations for a bulk chemical agent destruction process, we measured time-dependent oxidation of bulk model chemicals at high concentrations (0.5 N) and developed and tested a quantitative model. A practical process for bulk VX destruction would begin with chemical detoxification by existing techniques (eg, hydrolysis or mild oxidation using oxone), followed by mineralization of the largely detoxified products by peroxydisulfate. Secondary wastes would be avoided by use of commercial electrolysis equipment to …

Neutron Tube Target Loading (NTTL) is an operation that involves the transferring (i.e. loading) of radioactive tritium gas onto metal target disks under an inert nitrogen atmosphere using a glovebox operation. The relocation of NTTL operations from the Pinellas Plant to the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New Mexico, was addressed in the Non-nuclear Consolidation Environmental Assessment (EA) of June 1993. This EA analyzes a Proposed Action to relocate the NTTL operations at LANL from Building 209 at TA-21 to Building 450 at TA-16. The Proposed Action would require the remodeling of Building 450 and some modifications to Buildings 205 and 205A, collectively referred to as the Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility (WETF) in TA-16. The construction of a change room addition would also be required to connect Building 450 and the WETF to take advantage of existing tritium control and confinement systems. Other construction activities and site modifications would include a new electrical substation, a new mechanical and electrical room, minor demolition work, two additional transportable buildings and a new parking area. An alternative to the Proposed Action includes keeping the NTTL operations at TA-21 (No Action). Alternatives considered but dismissed include the construction of a new …

This brief report summarizes work done which addressed the issue of sizing the USTX Ohmic heating solenoid by imposing some physical constraints on the TF and OH coil designs. A computer code is used for this study. The TF coil sets the solenoid inner radius at 0.10 meters. Allowing a 2.5 cm gap between the inner plasma radius and outer radius of the solenoid fixes the latter at 0.185 meters. The OH solenoid radial thickness is then 0.085 meters. The plasma current obtainable is I{sub p} = 1.05 megamp.

Progress in electronic power conversion technology is making possible a new class of induction linacs that can operate at extremely high repetition rates. Advances in insulator technology, pulse forming line design and switching may also lead to a new type of high current accelerator with accelerating gradients at least an order of magnitude greater than those attainable today. The evolution of the induction accelerator pulsed power system will be discussed along with some details of these emerging technologies which are at the frontiers of accelerator technology.

In the aftermath of the Cold War, the US and Russia agreed to large reductions in nuclear weapons. To aid in the selection of long-term management options, DOE has undertaken a multifaceted study to select options for storage and disposition of plutonium in keeping with US policy that plutonium must be subjected to the highest standards of safety, security, and accountability. One alternative being considered is immobilization. To arrive at a suitable immobilization form, we first reviewed published information on high-level waste immobilization technologies and identified 72 possible plutonium immobilization forms to be prescreened. Surviving forms were further screened using multi-attribute utility analysis to determine the most promising technology families. Promising immobilization families were further evaluated to identify chemical, engineering, environmental, safety, and health problems that remain to be solved prior to making technical decisions as to the viability of using the form for long- term disposition of plutonium. From this evaluation, a detailed research and development plan has been developed to provide answers to these remaining questions.

This project is divided into four tasks. We developed our Management Plan in Task 1. Task 2, Evaluation of Mechanisms in FGD Sorbent and Ash Interactions, focused on characteristics of binary mixtures of these distinct powders. Task 3, Evaluation of Mechanisms in Conditioning Agents and Ash, was designed to examine effects of various conditioning agents on fine ash particles to determine mechanisms by which these agents alter physical properties of ash. We began Tasks 2 and 3 with an extensive literature search and assembly of existing theories. We completed this phase of the project with publication of two special Topical Reports. In our literature reviews reported in Topical Reports 1 and 2, we emphasized the roles adsorbed water can have in controlling bulk properties of powders. During the next phase of the project we analyzed a variety of fly ashes and fine powders in the laboratory. The experiments we performed were primarily designed to define the extent to which water affects key properties of ashes, powders, and mixtures of sorbents and ashes. We have recently completed a series of pilot-scale tests designed to determine the effects that adsorbed water has on fabric filtration and electrostatic precipitation of entrained fly ash …

Research focus, for the development of a radial flow catalytic membrane reactor for studying methane coupling concentrated on understanding the effects of pore size on improving the hydrocarbon selectivity for the reaction. The effect of pressure on the reaction was also investigated. Experimental results from the catalytic studies of oxidative coupling of methane in the radial flow membrane reactors presented in this report augment earlier work on membranes of pore diameters of 2.0{mu}m, 0.2{mu}m, and 0.02{mu}m, indicating better performance with the larger pore diameter membranes. Higher operating pressures seem to enhance gas phase non-selective reactions during methane coupling. The chemistry of oxygen conducting materials that could be used as dense membranes in the membrane reactors was investigated by studying the catalytic activity of several oxygen conducting perovskites for methane coupling. Heavy metal oxides of lanthanum, strontium and iron, which form good oxygen conductors, showed very poor methane coupling activity. Perovskites of the Strontium-Cerium-Yttribium series showed moderate activity for methane coupling. These could serve as candidates for dense membrane synthesis, since they also have moderate oxygen conduction properties.

The Beamlet laser is a large aperture, flashlamp pumped Nd: glass laser that is a scientific prototype of an advanced Inertial Fusion laser. Beamlet has achieved third harmonic, conversion efficiency of near 80% with its nominal 35cm {times} 35cm square beam at mean 3{omega} fluences in excess of 8 J/cm{sup 2}(3-ns). Beamlet uses an adaptive optics system to correct for aberrations and achieve less than 2 {times} diffraction limited far field spot size.

Newsletter of Lee College discussing news, events, and other updates.