The skeletal structure of aerogel is determined before, during, and after the gel is formed. Supercritical drying of aerogel largely preserves the pore structure that is determined near the time of gelation. To better understand these gel formation mechanisms we carried out measurements of the time evolution of light scattering in a series of gels prepared without conventional acid or base catalysis. Instead, ultraviolet light was used to catalyze the formation of silica gels made from the hydrolysis of tetraethylorthosilicate and partly prehydrolyzed tetraethylorthosilicate in ethanol. Time evolution of light scattering provides information regarding the rate and geometrical nature of the assembly of the primary silica particles formed in the sol. UV-catalyzed gels show volumetric growth typical of acid-catalyzed gels, except when UV exposure is discontinued at the gel point, where gels then show linear chain formation typical of base-catalyzed gels. Long term UV exposure leads to coarsening of the pore network, a decrease in the clarity of the aerogel, and an increase in the surface area of the aerogel. Additionally, UV exposure up to the gel point leads to increased crystallinity in the final aerogel.

Semiweekly newspaper from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas that includes local, national, and campus news along with advertising.

Video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.

Weekly newspaper from Mannford, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

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The high desert near Barstow, California, has witnessed the development of this country`s first two solar power towers. Solar One operated successfully from 1982 to 1988 and proved that power towers work efficiently to produce utility-scale power from sunlight. Solar Two was connected to the utility grid in 1996 and is operating today. Like its predecessor, Solar Two is rated at 10 megawatts. An upgrade of the Solar One plant, Solar Two demonstrates how solar energy can be stored in the form of heat in molten salt for power generation on demand. The experience gained with these two pilot power towers has established a foundation on which industry can develop its first commercial plants. These systems produce electricity on a large scale. They are unique among solar technologies because they can store energy efficiently and cost effectively. They can operate whenever the customer needs power, even after dark or during cloudy weather.

This country`s efforts to successfully develop and commercialize concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies depend on specialized research and testing capabilities. To Support this effort, the US Department of Energy`s Concentrating Solar Power Program maintains two major test facilities: the National Solar Thermal Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the High Flux Solar Furnace at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. These test facilities combine to be instrumental in the development of parabolic dishes, troughs, and solar power towers.

The report describes the markets for concentrating solar power. As concentrating solar power technologies advance into the early stages of commercialization, their economic potential becomes more sharply defined and increasingly tangible.

Lockheed Martin Hanford Corporation is developing and implementing an integrated technical baseline for cleaning up environmental contamination at the Hanford Site in Washington State. The Hanford Site is located in Washington State and has been referred to as one of the largest Environmental Cleanup challenges in the US. It became contaminated with radioactive and dangerous wastes during the 40+ years it was being used to produce weapons grade plutonium in support of the US nuclear weapons program (See Figure 1). The US Department of Energy (US DOE) is responsible for cleanup of the Hanford Site with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) both providing regulatory oversight. The US DOE, EPA and Ecology entered into an agreement in 1989 (Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, commonly referred to as the Tri-Party Agreement) that provides the framework for cleanup of the Hanford Site. However, since the inception of the Tri-Party Agreement, there have been numerous changes due to technical issues, funding issues, and priority changes within the cleanup mission. As a result, progress on the definition and execution of the cleanup work has been slower than anticipated and has resulted in some false starts, …

Buildings account for more than one third of the energy used in the United States each year, consuming vast amounts of electricity, natural gas, and fuel oil. Given this level of consumption, the buildings sector is rife with opportunity for alternative energy technologies. The US Department of Energy`s Solar Buildings Program was established to take advantage of this opportunity. The Solar Buildings Program is engaged in research, development, and deployment on solar thermal technologies, which use solar energy to produce heat. The Program focuses on technologies that have the potential to produce economically competitive energy for the buildings sector.

Solar dish/engine systems convert the energy from the sun into electricity at a very high efficiency. Using a mirror array formed into the shape of a dish, the solar dish focuses the sun`s rays onto a receiver. The receiver transmits the energy to an engine that generates electric power. Because of the high concentration ratios achievable with parabolic dishes and the small size of the receiver, solar dishes are efficient at collecting solar energy at very high temperatures. Tests of prototype systems and components at locations throughout the US have demonstrated net solar to electric conversion efficiencies as high as 30%. This is significantly higher than any other solar technology.

Solar Two is a concentrating solar power plant that can supply electric power on demand to the local utility, Southern California Edison Company. It can do so because it operates not only during sunny parts of the day, but it can store enough thermal energy from the sun to operate during cloudy periods and after dark, for up to three hours, at its rated output of 10 megawatts (MW). For the first time ever, a utility scale solar power plant can supply electricity when the utility needs it most, to satisfy the energy requirements of its customers.

Weekly student newspaper from the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas that includes campus news and commentaries along with advertising.

Student newspaper from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas that includes local, state, national, and campus news along with advertising. Formerly The Campus Chat.

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

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

We study the large N limit of the interacting superconformal field theories associated with N M5 branes or M2 branes using the recently proposed relation between these theories and M theory on AdS spaces. We first analyze the spectrum of chiral operators of the 6d (0, 2) theory associated with M5 branes in flat space, and find full agreement with earlier results obtained using its DLCQ description as quantum mechanics on a moduli space of instantons. We then perform a similar analysis for the D{sub N} type 6d (0, 2) theories associated with M5 branes at an R{sup 5}/Z{sub 2} singularity, and for the 3d N = 8 superconformal field theories associated with M2 branes in flat space and at an R{sup 8}/Z{sub 2} singularity respectively. Little is known about these three theories, and our study yields for the first time their spectrum of chiral operators (in the large N limit).

This project provides coal samples and accompanying analytical data for research by DOE contractors and others. All 56 samples have been purged with argon before storage, and the 33 samples in the DECS series are heat-sealed in foil laminate bags and stored under refrigeration. Eleven DECS samples have been collected under the current contract. Basic characterization, standardized liquefaction analyses and organic geochemical analyses have been completed. Distribution of samples and data is continuing, with processing of samples being performed as needed. Requests during this quarter were heavily skewed toward database activity; 139 data printouts and individual data items from 2549 additional samples were distributed.

Continuous fiber ceramic matrix composites are currently being developed for a variety of high-temperature applications. Because of the high costs of making these components, minor damage incurred during manufacturing or operation must be rewired in order to extend the life of the components. In this study, five ceramic-grade Nicalon{trademark} fiber/SiNC-matrix composite panels were intentionally damaged with a pendulum-type impactor during an impact test. The damaged panels were then repaired at Dow Corning Corporation. Three nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods were used to study the characteristics of the panels after the damage and again after the panels were repaired. The NDE methods were X-ray radiography, infrared thermal imaging, and air-coupled ultrasound. The results showed that the impact test induced various types of damage in the panels. The NDE data that were obtained by the three NDE methods were correlated with each other.

SYLRAMIC{trademark} continuous fiber ceramic-matrix composites (Nicalon{trademark} fiber/SiNC matrix) were fabricated by Dow Corning Corporation with the polymer-impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP) process. The composite microstructure and its uniformity, and the completeness of infiltration during processing were studied as a function of number of PIP cycles. Two nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, i.e., infrared thermal imaging and air-coupled ultrasound (UT), were used to investigate flat composite panels of two thicknesses and various sizes. The thermal imaging method provided two-dimensional (2D) images of through-thickness thermal diffusivity distributions, and the air-coupled UT method provided 2D images of through-thickness ultrasonic transmission of the panel components. Results from both types of NDEs were compared at various PIP cycles during fabrication of the composites. A delaminated region was clearly detected and its progressive repair was monitored during processing. The NDE data were also correlated to results obtained from destructive characterization.

This is the Technical Progress Report for the eleventh quarter of activities under DOE Contract No. DE-AC22-94PC93054. It covers the period January 1 through March 31, 1997. Described in this report are the following activities: (1) CONSOL characterized process stream samples from HTI Run ALC-2, in which Black Thunder Mine coal was liquefied using four combinations of dispersed catalyst precursors. These results are described in the Results and Discussion section of this report. (2) Oil assays were completed on the HT I Run PB-05 product blend. Background information is presented in the Results and Discussion section of this report. The results are presented in Appendix 1. (3) Fractional distillation of the net product oil of HTI Run POC-1 was completed. Background information is presented in the Results and Discussion section of this report. The results are presented in Appendix 2. (4) CONSOL completed an evaluation of the potential for producing alkylphenyl ethers from coal liquefaction phenols. Those results are described briefly in the Results and Discussion section of this report. The full report is presented in Appendix 3. (5) At the request of DOE, various coal liquid samples and relevant characterization data were supplied to the University of West Virginia …

Vast quantities of natural gas are entrapped within various tight formations in the Rocky Mountain area. This report seeks to quantify what proportion of that resource can be considered recoverable under today's technological and economic conditions and discusses factors controlling recovery. The ultimate goal of this project is to encourage development of tight gas reserves by industry through reducing the technical and economic risks of locating, drilling and completing commercial tight gas wells. This report is the fourth in a series and focuses on the Wind River Basin located in west central Wyoming. The first three reports presented analyses of the tight gas reserves and resources in the Greater Green River Basin (Scotia, 1993), Piceance Basin (Scotia, 1995) and the Uinta Basin (Scotia, 1995). Since each report is a stand-alone document, duplication of language will exist where common aspects are discussed. This study, and the previous three, describe basin-centered gas deposits (Masters, 1979) which contain vast quantities of natural gas entrapped in low permeability (tight), overpressured sandstones occupying a central basin location. Such deposits are generally continuous and are not conventionally trapped by a structural or stratigraphic seal. Rather, the tight character of the reservoirs prevents rapid migration of the …

The Engineered Materials Characterization Report (EMCR) serves as a source of information on the properties of materials proposed as elements in the engineered barrier system (EBS) for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Volume 3 covered the corrosion data and modeling efforts. The present report is a revision to Volume 3 and updates information on the corrosion (and other degradation modes) behavior of candidate materials for the various components of the EBS. It also includes work on the performance modeling of these materials. Work is reported on metallic barriers, basket materials, packing/backfill/invert materials, and non-metallic materials.

The objective of the Advanced Emissions Control Development Program (AECDP) is to develop practical, cost-effective strategies for reducing the emissions of air toxics from coal-fired boilers. Ideally, the project aim is to effectively control air toxic emissions through the use of conventional flue gas cleanup equipment such as electrostatic precipitators (ESPS), fabric filters (baghouse), and wet flue gas desulfurization. Development work to date has concentrated on the capture of mercury, other trace metals, fine particulate and hydrogen chloride. Following the construction and evaluation of a representative air toxics test facility in Phase I, Phase II focused on the evaluation of mercury and several other air toxics emissions. The AECDP is jointly funded by the United States Department of Energy's Federal Energy Technology Center (DOE), the Ohio Coal Development Office within the Ohio Department of Development (oCDO), and Babcock& Wilcox-a McDermott company (B&W).