The United States and its allies are helping Afghanistan emerging from more than 22 years of warfare, although substantial risk to Afghan stability remains. Before the U.S. military campaign against the orthodox Islamist Taliban movement began on October 7, 2001, Afghanistan had been mired in conflict since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The defeat of the Taliban has enabled the United States and its coalition partners to send forces throughout Afghanistan to search for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters and leaders that remain at large, including Osama bin Laden. As the war against remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban elements winds down, the United States is shifting its military focus toward stabilizing the interim government, including training a new Afghan national army, and supporting the international security force (ISAF) that is helping the new government provide security.

The United States recognized the independence of all the former Soviet republics by the end of 1991, including the South Caucasus states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The United States has fostered these states' ties with the West in part to end the dependence of these states on Russia for trade, security, and other relations. The FREEDOM Support Act of 1992 provides authorization for assistance to the Eurasian states for humanitarian needs, democratization, and other purposes. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the Administration appealed for a national security waiver of the prohibition on aid to Azerbaijan, in consideration of Azerbaijan's assistance to the international coalition to combat terrorism. Azerbaijani and Georgian troops participate in stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Armenian personnel serve in Iraq.

This report provides background information, references, and equations for twenty-four piping components (thirteen component SIFs and eleven component stress indices) that justify the values or expressions for the SIFs and indices.

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The HVAC systems in cleanrooms may use 50 percent or more of the total cleanroom energy use. Fan energy use accounts for a significant portion (e.g., over 50%) of the HVAC energy use in cleanrooms such as ISO Classes 3, 4, or 5. Three types of air-handling systems for recirculating airflows are commonly used in cleanrooms: (1) fan-tower systems with pressurized plenum, (2) ducted HEPA systems with distributed-fans, and (3) systems with fan-filter units. Because energy efficiency of the recirculation systems could vary significantly from system type to system type, optimizing aerodynamic performance in air recirculation systems appears to be a useful approach to improve energy efficiency in cleanrooms. Providing optimal airflows through careful planning, design and operation, including air change rate, airflow uniformity, and airflow speed, is important for controlling particle contamination in cleanrooms. In practice, the use of fan-filter units (FFUs) in the air-handling system is becoming more and more popular because of this type of system may offer a number of advantages. Often modular and portable than traditional recirculation airflow systems, FFUs are easier to install, and can be easily controlled and monitored to maintain filtration performance. Energy efficiency of air handling systems using fan-filter units can, …

Cleanroom air-recirculation systems typically account for a significant portion of the HVAC energy use in cleanrooms. High electric power density is normally required for fans to deliver large volume of airflows that were designed, supplied, recirculated, and exhausted within a given time. With the increasing demand for specific contamination control, it is important to optimize design of clean spaces. Best practice in cleanroom air system design includes right-sizing the systems in cleanrooms and adopting minienvironments. Implementing and integrating minienvironments in cleanrooms can improve contamination control and save significant energy. A minienvironment is a localized environment created by an enclosure to isolate a product or process from the surrounding environment. The advantages in using minienvironments include the following: (1) Minienvironments may create better contamination control and process integration. (2) Minienvironments may maintain better contamination control by better control of pressure difference or through use of unidirectional airflows, e.g., cleanliness-class upgrade required for certain process. (3) Minienvironments may potentially reduce energy costs. The use of fan-filter units (FFU) in minienvironments is common. The energy efficiency of such air-delivery systems can vary significantly because of the difference in energy performance, airflow paths, and operating conditions. Simply adding minienvironments with fan-filter units in an …

Cleanroom energy benchmarking data shows that chiller plant designs and operating efficiencies varied significantly from cleanroom to cleanroom. While system optimization is critical to the overall energy efficiency of chiller plants, the operating efficiency of chilled water and condenser pumps, along with chiller efficiency and cooling tower efficiency, is a major factor in the overall system efficiency. The design and operating efficiency of water pumps directly affects energy use for such facilities. Figure 1 shows benchmarked HVAC energy end use in a semiconductor cleanroom facility. In this case, the water pumps collectively accounted for 17% of the total energy use. Figure 2 shows the electric power demand of the components in a chiller plant system. Pumps accounted for 18% of the total power demand for the whole chiller plant. It is important to design, select, operate, and control water-pumping systems to achieve high efficiency and to lower life-cycle costs for cleanrooms and their adjacent spaces.

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This document presents work conducted in support of technical needs expressed, in part, by the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Contractor for the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). The Department of Energy (DOE) requested that Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) analyze and characterize supernate waste from seven selected High Level Waste (HLW) tanks to allow: classification of feed to be sent to the SWPF; verification that SWPF processes will be able to meet Saltstone Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC); and updating of the Waste Characterization System (WCS) database. This document provides characterization data of samples obtained from Tanks 13H, 30H, 37H, 39H, 45F, 46F, and 49H and discusses results. Characterization of the waste tank samples involved several treatments and analysis at various stages of sample processing. These analytical stages included as-received liquid, post-dilution to 6.44 M sodium (target), post-acid digestion, post-filtration (at 3 filtration pore sizes), and after cesium removal using ammonium molybdophosphate (AMP). All tanks will require cesium removal as well as treatment with Monosodium Titanate (MST) for {sup 90}Sr (Strontium) decontamination. A small filtration effect for 90Sr was observed for six of the seven tank wastes. No filtration effects were observed for Pu (Plutonium), Np (Neptunium), U (Uranium), or Tc …

Organic ligands that exhibit a high degree of metal ion recognition are essential precursors for developing separation processes and sensors for metal ions. Since the beginning of the nuclear era, much research has focused on discovering ligands that target specific radionuclides. Members of the Group 1A and 2A cations (e.g., Cs, Sr, Ra) and the f-block metals (actinides and lanthanides) are of primary concern to DOE. Although there has been some success in identifying ligand architectures that exhibit a degree of metal ion recognition, the ability to control binding affinity and selectivity remains a significant challenge. The traditional approach for discovering such ligands has involved lengthy programs of organic synthesis and testing that, in the absence of reliable methods for screening compounds before synthesis, have resulted in much wasted research effort. This project seeks to enhance and strengthen the traditional approach through computer-aided design of new and improved host molecules. Accurate electronic structure calculations are coupled with experimental data to provide fundamental information about ligand structure and the nature of metal-donor group interactions (design criteria). This fundamental information then is used in a molecular mechanics model (MM) that helps us rapidly screen proposed ligand architectures and select the best members …

Organic ligands that exhibit a high degree of metal ion recognition are essential precursors for developing separation processes and sensors for metal ions. Since the beginning of the nuclear era, much research has focused on discovering ligands that target specific radionuclides. Members of the Group 1A and 2A cations (e.g., Cs, Sr, Ra) and the f-block metals (actinides and lanthanides) are of primary concern to DOE. Although there has been some success in identifying ligand architectures that exhibit a degree of metal ion recognition, the ability to control binding affinity and selectivity remains a significant challenge. The traditional approach for discovering such ligands has involved lengthy programs of organic synthesis and testing that, in the absence of reliable methods for screening compounds before synthesis, have resulted in much wasted research effort.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Army has embarked on a major transformation of its force. Central to this transformation is the Future Combat Systems (FCS), a $108 billion effort to provide warfighters with the vehicles, weapons, and communications needed to identify and respond to threats with speed, precision, and lethality. Establishing reliable, robust communications and networking capabilities is key to FCS's success. Each of the systems integral to the FCS communications network--the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T), and the System of Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE)--rely on significant advances in current technologies and must be fully integrated to realize FCS. Given the complexity and costs of this undertaking, GAO was asked to review each of these key development efforts to identify any risks that may jeopardize the successful fielding of FCS."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns have surfaced in Congress and various media regarding the adequacy of funding for base operations support (BOS) functions of military installations as well as the quality and level of support being provided. As requested, this report addresses (1) the historical funding trends for BOS as contrasted with funding for facilities sustainment, restoration and modernization (S/RM); (2) how effectively the Department of Defense (DOD) and the military services have been able to forecast BOS requirements and funding needs; and (3) how the Army's and Navy's reorganizations for managing installations have affected support services, and whether the Air Force and Marine Corps could benefit from similar reorganizations."

ISTC Partner Project No.2377, ''Development of a General Research and Survey Plan to Create an Underground RW Isolation Facility in Nizhnekansky Massif'', funded a group of key Russian experts in geologic disposal, primarily at Federal State Unitary Enterprise All-Russian Design and Research Institute of Engineering Production (VNIPIPT) and Mining Chemical Combine Krasnoyarsk-26 (MCC K-26) (Reference 1). The activities under the ISTC Partner Project were targeted to the creation of an underground research laboratory which was to justify the acceptability of the geologic conditions for ultimate isolation of high-level waste in Russia. In parallel to this project work was also under way with Minatom's financial support to characterize alternative sections of the Nizhnekansky granitoid rock massif near the MCC K-26 site to justify the possibility of creating an underground facility for long-term or ultimate isolation of radioactive waste (RW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF). (Reference 2) The result was a synergistic, integrated set of activities several years that advanced the geologic repository site characterization and development of a proposed underground research laboratory better than could have been expected with only the limited funds from ISTC Partner Project No.2377 funded by the U.S. DOE-RW. There were four objectives of this ISTC Partner …

The project, 'Development of a New Class of Fe-Cr-W(V) Ferritic Steels for Industrial Process Applications', was a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Nooter Corporation. This project dealt with improving the materials performance and fabrication for the hydrotreating reactor vessels, heat recovery systems, and other components for the petroleum and chemical industries. The petroleum and chemical industries use reactor vessels that can approach the ship weights of approximately 300 tons with vessel wall thicknesses of 3 to 8 in. These vessels are typically fabricated from Fe-Cr-Mo steels with chromium ranging from 1.25 to 12% and molybdenum from 1 to 2%. Steels in this composition have great advantages of high thermal conductivity, low thermal expansion, low cost, and properties obtainable by heat treatment. With all of the advantages of Fe-Cr-Mo steels, several issues are faced in design and fabrication of vessels and related components. These issues include the following: (1) low strength properties of current alloys require thicker sections; (2) increased thickness causes heat-treatment issues related to nonuniformity across the thickness and thus not achieving the optimum properties; (3) fracture toughness (ductile-to-brittle transition ) is a critical safety issue for these vessels, and it …

Various forms of general and localized corrosion represent principal threats to the integrity of DOE liquid waste storage tanks. These tanks, which are of a single wall or double wall design, depending upon their age, are fabricated from welded carbon steel and contain a complex waste-form comprised of NaOH and NaNO3, along with trace amounts of phosphate, sulfate, carbonate, and chloride. Because waste leakage can have a profound environmental impact, considerable interest exists in predicting the accumulation of corrosion damage, so as to more effectively schedule maintenance and repair.

Among the current issues in U.S.-Egyptian relations are the shared concerns over the terrorist attacks against Egyptian police, religious, government, and tourist facilities, and what those attacks maysignal for Egypt’s domestic stability. The two nations may disagree over Egypt’s interpretation of applying human rights practices to Islamic terrorists. The two countries disagree over the speed and depth, but not the need for some of Egypt’s economic reforms. Egypt and the United States agree on the importance of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the need to continue current Arab-Israel peace talks, and the need for regional stability. The two nations agree on Egypt’s determination to introduce democratic reforms to Egypt.

Diffraction of a wave passing through a slot is a fundamental problem that has applications in many situations. A problem of current interest is the propagation of waves through obstacles such as buildings in an urban environment, where an entrance aperture could be approximated as a slot. Solutions for the diffracted fields of a slot have been obtained by exact eigenfunction expansions as well as various approximate and numerical methods. The eigenfunction solution, in terms of Mathieu functions, has been published by Stamnes and Eide [1] for a slot with several types of converging incident waves. Results of the eigenfunction solution are presented in [2] for slots up to 20 wavelengths in width and compared with Kirchho. and Debye approximations. We have attempted to duplicate the eigenfunction series results in [2]. Little information is given in [2] about the numerical issues in the evaluation. We encountered a number of problems in the evaluation of the Mathieu functions for wide slots that required modifications of the Mathieu function evaluation methods described in [3]. Results were obtained matching those for the largest slot of 20{lambda} in [2] and also for slots up to 40{lambda} width. The evaluation of the eigenfunction solution was …

Abstract: We present the results of a search for anomalous resonant production of tau lepton pairs with large invariant mass, the first such search using the CDF II Detector in Run II of the Tevatron p{bar p} collider. Such anomalous production could arise from various new physics processes. In a data sample corresponding to 195 pb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity we predict 2.8 {+-} 0.5 events from Standard Model background processes and observe 4. We use this result to set limits on the production of heavy scalar and vector particles decaying to tau lepton pairs.

The aim of this project was to determine phase equilibrium and PVT properties of fluids in the water-methane system using synthetic fluid inclusions. This information is critical to understanding the behavior of natural fluid inclusions trapped in hydrocarbon-bearing environments such as sedimentary basins, oil and gas fields, methane hydrate occurrences and Mississippi Valley type Pb-Zn deposits.

The final report contains an executive summary, listings of accomplishments and students supported and a complete bibliography of papers and posters presented during the grant period.

Nitrosomonas europaea is an aerobic lithoautotrophic bacterium that uses ammonia (NH3) as its energy source. As a nitrifier, it is an important participant in the nitrogen cycle, which can also influence the carbon cycle. The focus of this work was to explore the genetic structure and mechanisms underlying the lithoautotrophic growth style of N. europaea. Whole genome gene expression. The gene expression profile of cells in exponential growth and during starvation was analyzed using microarrays. During growth, 98% of the genes increased in expression at least two fold compared to starvation conditions. In growing cells, approximately 30% of the genes were expressed eight fold higher, Approximately 10% were expressed more than 15 fold higher. Approximately 3% (91 genes) were expressed to more than 20 fold of their levels in starved cells. Carbon fixation gene expression. N. europaea fixes carbon via the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle via a type I ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO). This study showed that transcription of cbb genes was up-regulated when the carbon source was limited, while amo, hao and other energy harvesting related genes were down-regulated. Iron related gene expression. Because N. europaea has a relatively high content of hemes, sufficient Fe must be available in the …

The bedded salt formations located throughout the United States are layered and interspersed with non-salt materials such as anhydrite, shale, dolomite and limestone. The salt layers often contain significant impurities. GRI and DOE have initialized this research proposal in order to increase the gas storage capabilities by providing operators with improved geotechnical design and operating guidelines for thin bedded salt caverns. Terralog has summarized the geologic conditions, pressure conditions, and critical design factors that may lead to: (1) Fracture in heterogeneous materials; (2) Differential deformation and bedding plane slip; (3) Propagation of damage around single and multiple cavern; and (4) Improved design recommendations for single and multiple cavern configurations in various bedded salt environments. The existing caverns within both the Permian Basin Complex and the Michigan and Appalachian Basins are normally found between 300 m to 1,000 m (1,000 ft to 3,300 ft) depth depending on local geology and salt dissolution depth. Currently, active cavern operations are found in the Midland and Anadarko Basins within the Permian Basin Complex and in the Appalachian and Michigan Basins. The Palo Duro and Delaware Basins within the Permian Basin Complex also offer salt cavern development potential. Terralog developed a number of numerical models …