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The test plan detailed in this topical report supports Task 1 of the project titled ''Development of Technologies and Capabilities for Coal Energy Resources - Advanced Gasification Systems Development (AGSD)''. The purpose of these tests is to verify that materials planned for use in an advanced gasifier pilot plant will withstand the environments in a commercial gasifier. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) has developed and designed the cooled liner test assembly article that will be tested at CANMET Energy Technology Centre (CETC-O) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (CETC-O). The Test Plan TP-00364 is duplicated in its entirety, with formatting changes to comply with the format required for this Topical Report. The table of contents has been modified to include the additional material required by this topical report. Test Request example and drawings of non-proprietary nature are also included as appendices.

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Semi-weekly newspaper from Livingston, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

A design methodology will be developed with which casting mold surface topographies can be tuned to produce required surface features and micro-structural properties of Aluminum ingots. Both static and continuous casting processes will be examined with instrumented molds. Mold surface topographies, which consist of unidirectional and bi-directional groove textures, will be generated using contact and non-contact techniques to elicit a radiator-like effect at the mold-casting interface. The rate of heat extraction, the evolution of near-surface cast microstructure, and shell macro-morphology can be controlled once the proper balance between mold surface area extension and the degree of imperfect wetting at the instant solidification starts is determined. Once this control is achieved, it will be possible to minimize or even eliminate costly post-casting surface milling or scalping which is currently a major barrier to the development of new Aluminum casting processes.

In this project, fundamental studies were conducted to understand the mechanism of the interactions between polymer/surfactant and minerals with the aim of minimizing chemical loss by adsorption. The effects of chemical molecular structure on critical solid/liquid interfacial properties such as adsorption, wettability and surface tension in mineral/surfactant systems were investigated. The final aim is to build a guideline to design optimal polymer/surfactant formula based on the understanding of adsorption and orientation of surfactants and their aggregates at solid/liquid interface. During this period, the adsorption of mixed system of n-dodecyl-{beta}-D-maltoside (DM) and dodecyl sulfonate (C{sub 12}SO{sub 3}Na) was studied. Along with these adsorption studies, changes in mineral wettability due to the adsorption were determined under relevant conditions. pH was found to play a critical role in controlling total adsorption and mineral wettability. Previous studies have suggested significant surfactant loss by adsorption at neutral pH. But at certain pH, bilayer was found at lower adsorption density, which is beneficial for enhanced oil recovery. Analytical ultracentrifuge technique was successfully employed to study the micellization of DM/C{sub 12}SO{sub 3}Na mixtures. Compositional changes of the aggregates in solution were observed when two species were mixed. Surfactant mixture micellization affects the conformation and orientation of adsorption …

In order to improve the hot corrosion resistance of conventional YSZ TBC system, a dense and continues overlay of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coating of about 0.1-25 {micro}m thick was deposited on the surface of TBC by EB-PVD, high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spray and composite-sol-gel (CSG) techniques. Hot corrosion tests were carried out on the TBC with and without Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coating in molten salts mixtures (Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4} + 5%V{sub 2}O{sub 5}) at 950 C for 10h. The microstructures of TBC and overlay before and after exposure were examined by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). In order to investigate the effect of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} overlay on degradation and spalling of the TBC, indentation test has been employed to study spallation behaviors of YSZ coating with and without Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} overlay. It has been found that TBC will react with V{sub 2}O5 to form YVO{sub 4} in hot corrosion tests. A substantial amount of M-phase of ZrO{sub 2} was formed due to the leaching of Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} from YSZ. During hot corrosion test, there were no significant interactions between overlay Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} …

This study is the first comprehensive NRC study that suggests a high-level intellectual structure for Federal agencies for supporting work at the biology/computing interface. The report seeks to establish the intellectual legitimacy of a fundamentally cross-disciplinary collaboration between biologists and computer scientists. That is, while some universities are increasingly favorable to research at the intersection, life science researchers at other universities are strongly impeded in their efforts to collaborate. This report addresses these impediments and describes proven strategies for overcoming them. An important feature of the report is the use of well-documented examples that describe clearly to individuals not trained in computer science the value and usage of computing across the biological sciences, from genes and proteins to networks and pathways, from organelles to cells, and from individual organisms to populations and ecosystems. It is hoped that these examples will be useful to students in the life sciences to motivate (continued) study in computer science that will enable them to be more facile users of computing in their future biological studies.

The Department of Defense has many Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) that are slated for transfer for public use. Some sites have unexploded ordnance (UXO) that must be cleared prior to any land transfers. Sites are characterized using geophysical sensing devices and locations are identified where possible UXO may be located. In practice, based on the analysis of the geophysical surveys, a dig list of N suspect locations is created for a site that is possibly contaminated with UXO. The suspect locations on the dig list are often assigned into K bins ranging from ``most likely to contain UXO" to ``least likely to be UXO" based on signal discrimination techniques and expert judgment. Usually all dig list locations are sampled to determine if UXO is present before the site is determined to be free of UXO. While this method is 100% certain to insure no UXO remains in the locations identified by the signal discrimination and expert judgment, it is very costly. This paper proposes a statistical Bayesian methodology that may result in digging less than 100% of the suspect locations to reach a pre-defined tolerable risk, where risk is defined in terms of a low probability that any UXO …

Active remedial activities have been ongoing since 1996 to address low levels of solvent contamination at the Miscellaneous Chemical Basin at SRS. Contaminant levels in the subsurface may be approaching levels where mass transfer limitations are impacting the efficiency of the remedial action. Rate limited mass transfer effects have been observed at other sites in the vadose zone at the SRS, however, detailed measurements and evaluation has not been undertaken. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the mass transfer rates are very slow from the fine grain sediments. This conclusion is based on the observation that measured soil gas concentrations tend to be low in permeable zones relative to the higher concentrations found in fine grain zones. Decreasing soil gas concentration with depth below the ''upland unit'' at several areas at SRS is also evidence of slow diffusion rates. In addition, due to the length of time since disposal ceased at the MCB, we hypothesize that mobile solvents have migrated downward, and the solvent remaining in the upper fine grain zone (''upland unit'') are trapped in fine grain material and are primarily released by gas diffusion (Riha and Rossabi 2004). Natural weathering and other chemical solutions disposed with the solvents can further …

We have demonstrated that a microelectrical mechanical systems (MEMS) deformable mirror can be flattened to < 1 nm RMS within controllable spatial frequencies over a 9.2-mm aperture making it a viable option for high-contrast adaptive optics systems (also known as Extreme Adaptive Optics). The Extreme Adaptive Optics Testbed at UC Santa Cruz is being used to investigate and develop technologies for high-contrast imaging, especially wavefront control. A phase shifting diffraction interferometer (PSDI) measures wavefront errors with sub-nm precision and accuracy for metrology and wavefront control. Consistent flattening, required testing and characterization of the individual actuator response, including the effects of dead and low-response actuators. Stability and repeatability of the MEMS devices was also tested. An error budget for MEMS closed loop performance will summarize MEMS characterization.

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Photograph of the Leon County Courthouse. It was constructed in 1886 by architect William Johnson. Two men sit on a bench in front of the courthouse, and a trash can has been left on the sidewalk leading up to the front entrance.

Sam Houston statue, Huntsville. Stands 67 foot tall (plus 10 foot tall base) and is named "A Tribute to Courage".

Photograph of the Leon County Heritage Society, which is housed in the old county jail. It is a two-story red brick building with towers at each corner.

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This report talks about Application Of The SCDHEC Multiple Habitat Sampling Protocol (MHSP) For Macroinvertebrates In SRS Streams