The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) and the Federal Power Act (FPA) were enacted to eliminate unfair practices and other abuses by electricity and gas holding companies by requiring federal control and regulation of interstate public utility holding companies. Comprehensive energy legislation has passed the House and Senate. The House passed H.R. 6 on April 11, 2003. On July 31, 2003, the Senate suspended debate on S. 14, inserted the text of H.R. 4 (107th Congress) as a substitute, and passed H.R. 6. A conference agreement was reached November 17, 2003, and passed by the House the next day. H.R. 6 includes an electricity title that would, in part, repeal PUHCA, would prospectively repeal the mandatory purchase requirement under PURPA, and would create an electric reliability organization. On June 15, 2004, H.R. 4503, a comprehensive energy policy bill, passed the House.

We have developed a methodology for analysis of PCCI engines that applies to conditions in which there is some stratification in the air-fuel distribution inside the cylinder at the time of combustion. Our analysis methodology consists of two stages: first, a fluid mechanics code is used to determine temperature and equivalence ratio distributions as a function of crank angle, assuming motored conditions. The distribution information is then used for grouping the mass in the cylinder into a two-dimensional (temperature-equivalence ratio) array of zones. The zone information is then handed on to a detailed chemical kinetics model that calculates combustion, emissions and engine efficiency information. The methodology applies to situations where chemistry and fluid mechanics are weakly linked. The results of the multi-zone model have been compared to the results obtained from a fully integrated code, in which a chemical kinetics code is directly linked into a fluid mechanics code to calculate chemistry in every cell of the grid. The results show that the multi-zone model predicts burn duration and peak cylinder pressure with good accuracy. However, ignition timing predicted by the multi-zone model is sensitive to the transition angle between the fluid mechanics code and the chemical kinetics code. The …

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

We are developing cryogenic high-resolution x-ray, {gamma}-ray and neutron spectrometers based on superconducting Mo/Cu transition edge sensors. Here we discuss the sensor design for different applications, present the photolithographic fabrication techniques, and outline future detector development to increase spectrometer sensitivity.

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Power generators are concerned with the maintenance costs associated with the advanced turbines that they are purchasing. Since these machines do not have fully established operation and maintenance (O&M) track records, power generators face financial risk due to uncertain future maintenance costs. This risk is of particular concern, as the electricity industry transitions to a competitive business environment in which unexpected O&M costs cannot be passed through to consumers. These concerns have accelerated the need for intelligent software-based diagnostic systems that can monitor the health of a combustion turbine in real time and provide valuable information on the machine's performance to its owner/operators. EPRI, Impact Technologies, Boyce Engineering, and Progress Energy have teamed to develop a suite of intelligent software tools integrated with a diagnostic monitoring platform that will, in real time, interpret data to assess the ''total health'' of combustion turbines. The Combustion Turbine Health Management System (CTHM) will consist of a series of dynamic link library (DLL) programs residing on a diagnostic monitoring platform that accepts turbine health data from existing monitoring instrumentation. The CTHM system will be a significant improvement over currently available techniques for turbine monitoring and diagnostics. CTHM will interpret sensor and instrument outputs, correlate …

This article was stimulated by the recent SIAM ''100 DigitChallenge'' of Nick Trefethen, beautifully described in a recent book. Indeed, these ten numeric challenge problems are also listed in a recent book by two of present authors, where they are followed by the ten symbolic/numeric challenge problems that are discussed in this article. Our intent was to present ten problems that are characteristic of the sorts of problems that commonly arise in ''experimental mathematics''. The challenge in each case is to obtain a high precision numeric evaluation of the quantity, and then, if possible, to obtain a symbolic answer, ideally one with proof. Our goal in this article is to provide solutions to these ten problems, and in the process present a concise account of how one combines symbolic and numeric computation, which may be termed ''hybrid computation'', in the process of mathematical discovery.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as passed in 1978, provided a statutory framework for the use of electronic surveillance in the context of foreign intelligence gathering. In doing so, Congress sought to strike a balance between national security interests and personal privacy rights. Subsequent legislation expanded federal laws dealing with foreign intelligence gathering to address physical searches, pen registers and trap and trace devices, and access to certain business records.

Letter from Philip A. Berkebile to Wesley R. Turner on September 30, 2004 with the subject Board Nominations. The letter begins with the news that President Donnis Baggett has appointed Turner to serve as chairman on the 2005 board of directors nomination committee and have enclosed information relation to the nomination process to select candidates for the TDNA board of directors for the year 2005.

This report discusses proposed legislation placing the National Intelligence Council under the National Intelligence Director's authority and the potential issues that this would cause.

The idea of replacing our current income tax system with a "flat-rate tax" is receiving renewed congressional interest. This report contains information on recent developments regarding flat-rate taxes, the relationship between income and consumption, international comparisons, other fundamental tax reforms, and descriptions of selected proposals.

Proposals to replace all or part of the income tax, proposals for national health care, and a proposal to finance America’s war effort have sparked congressional interest in the possibility of a broad-based consumption tax as a new source of revenue. A value-added tax (VAT) or a national sales tax (NST) have been frequently discussed as possible new tax sources. Both the VAT and the NST are taxes on the consumption of goods and services and are conceptually similar. Yet, these taxes also have significant differences. This issue brief discusses some of the potential policy implications associated with these differences.

This is the seventeenth Quarterly Technical Report for DOE Cooperative Agreement No: DEFC26-00NT40753. The goal of the project is to develop cost effective analysis tools and techniques for demonstrating and evaluating low NOx control strategies and their possible impact on boiler performance for boilers firing US coals. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is providing co-funding for this program. The SCR slipstream reactor was assembled and installed at Plant Gadsden this quarter. Safety equipment for ammonia had not been installed at the end of the quarter, but will be installed at the beginning of next quarter. The reactor will be started up next quarter. Four ECN corrosion probes were reinstalled at Gavin and collected corrosion data for approximately one month. Two additional probes were installed and removed after about 30 hours for future profilometry analysis. Preliminary analysis of the ECN probes, the KEMA coupons and the CFD modeling results all agree with the ultrasonic tube test measurements gathered by AEP personnel.

Daily newspaper from Sapulpa, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Perry, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

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

Large-scale PRB testing during the current quarter was cut short due to the inability of the coal mill to meet the 85 MMBtu/h design firing rate. The project was therefore redirected toward design, installation and testing of the 85-million Btu/h preheater for bituminous coal. Based on extensive pilot-scale testing completed earlier in the project, 2-D modeling and preliminary design activities were started based on the use of staged, annular protective air films to control temperature and prevent deposition on the preheater walls. A total of 14 2-D modeling cases were completed for the modified preheater for bituminous coal. The preheater concept modeled was based on an expanding preheater chamber where the diameter of the chamber is increased in steps along its length and annular cooling/protective air is introduced at each step. A process flow diagram for the bituminous coal preheating system and a preliminary preheater design drawing were developed based on the modeling results. A project schedule to complete design, installation and testing of the 85 MMBtu/h bituminous coal preheating system before the end of December was also developed.

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

This is quarterly report on the coal combustion products

A Small Column Ion Exchange (SCIX) system has been designed by the Oak Ridge and Savannah River National Laboratories (ORNL and SRNL) as a potential way to reduce Cs-137 concentrations in high-level radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site. SRNL was asked to develop gamma-ray monitors at six locations within the SCIX system. Gamma-ray monitors are required to verify the proper operation of the ion exchange system, detect cesium breakthrough, and confirm presence of cesium before and after used resin is transferred to a grinder module. The only observable gamma ray in the decay of Cs-137 is from its short-lived Ba-137m daughter. Chemical processes, such as the SCIX, may disrupt the secular equilibrium between this parent-daughter pair; meaning that measurement of Ba-137m will not necessarily yield information about Cs-137 content. While this is a complicating factor that can not be ignored, it is controllable by either: allowing sufficient time for equilibrium to be reestablished (about 20 minutes), or by making multiple measurements with sufficient statistical precision to determine the extent of disequilibrium. The present work provides a means of measuring the Cs-137 and Ba-137m by taking multiple measurements in a process isolation loop that contains the process solution of interest.

In 1994 a demonstration project was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of using CCBs for the in situ treatment of acidic mine water. Actual injection of alkaline material was performed in 1997 with initial positive results; however, the amount of alkalinity added to the system was limited and resulted in short duration treatment. In 1999, a CBRC grant was awarded to further investigate the effectiveness of alkaline injection technology (AIT). Funds were released in fall 2001. In December 2001, 2500 tons of fluidized bed combustion (FBC) ash were injected into the wells used in the 1997 injection project. Post injection monitoring continued for 24 months. During this period the mine chemistry had gone through a series of chemical changes that manifested as stages or ''treatment phases.'' The mine system appeared to be in the midst of reestablishing equilibrium with the partial pressure of mine headspace. Alkalinity and pH appeared to be gradually increasing during this transition. As of December 2003, the pH and alkalinity were roughly 7.3 and 65 ppm, respectively. Metal concentrations were significantly lower than pre-injection levels, but iron and manganese concentrations appeared to be gradually increasing (roughly 30 ppm and 1.25 ppm, respectively). Aluminum, nickel, and zinc …

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

An all-solid-state continuous-wave (cw) laser system for ultraviolet absorption measurements of the nitric oxide (NO) molecule has been developed and demonstrated. For the NO sensor, 250 nW of tunable cw ultraviolet radiation is produced by sum-frequency-mixing of 532-nm radiation from a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser and tunable 395-nm radiation from an external cavity diode laser (ECDL). The sum-frequency-mixing process occurs in a beta-barium borate crystal. The nitric oxide absorption measurements are performed by tuning the ECDL and scanning the sum-frequency-mixed radiation over strong nitric oxide absorption lines near 226 nm. In Year 1 of the research, the nitric oxide sensor was used for measurements in the exhaust of a coal-fired laboratory combustion facility. The Texas A&M University boiler burner facility is a 30 kW (100,000 Btu/hr) downward-fired furnace with a steel shell encasing ceramic insulation. Measurements of nitric oxide concentration in the exhaust stream were performed after modification of the facility for laser based NOx diagnostics. The diode-laser-based ultraviolet absorption measurements were successful even when the beam was severely attenuated by particulate in the exhaust stream and window fouling. Single-laser-sweep measurements were demonstrated with an effective time resolution of 100 msec, limited at this time by the scan rate of our …

The integrity of coatings used in hot section components of combustion turbines is crucial to the reliability of the buckets. This project was initiated in recognition of the need for predicting the life of coatings analytically, and non-destructively; correspondingly, four principal tasks were established. Task 1, with the objective of analytically developing stress, strain and temperature distributions in the bucket and thereby predicting thermal fatigue (TMF) damage for various operating conditions; Task 2 with the objective of developing eddy current techniques to measure both TMF damage and general degradation of coatings and, Task 3 with the objective of developing mechanism based algorithms. Task 4 is aimed at verifying analytical predictions from Task 1 and the NDE predictions from Task 3 against field observations.