This paper presents a new algorithm for partitioning a gray-level image into connected homogeneous regions. The novelty of this algorithm lies in the fact that by constructing a minimum spanning tree representation of a gray-level image, it reduces a region partitioning problem to a minimum spanning tree partitioning problem, and hence reduces the computational complexity of the region partitioning problem. The tree-partitioning algorithm, in essence, partitions a minimum spanning tree into subtrees, representing different homogeneous regions, by minimizing the sum of variations of gray levels over all subtrees under the constraints that each subtree should have at least a specified number of nodes, and two adjacent subtrees should have significantly different average gray-levels. Two (faster) heuristic implementations are also given for large-scale region partitioning problems. Test results have shown that the segmentation results are satisfactory and insensitive to noise.

Material opacities are of interest in many fields. We have developed a Bragg reflection spectrometer that is gated for imaging samples in a laser heated environment for opacity measurement. A micro-channel plate is coated with a photocathode material and a fast pulse is launched across it. Electrons are converted to photons in a phosphor and recorded on film. Optical gate pulse widths of 100 ps are achieved. Some optical pulse width and sensitivity enhancements are noted at launch and termination. Events of interest are 200 ps long. The framing window is approximately 250 ps in length. Timing jitter is a problem. The instrument timing networks have been examined, and the source of jitter is still unknown. Timing to 50 ps resolution is desired. Close in proximity to the laser-driven event leads to complications in shielding from hard x-rays, hot electrons and shock-driven damage. High Z materials provide shielding from hard x-rays. Magnets screen out hot electrons produced by laser-matter interactions Filters provide energy fiducials. PCD`s provide high resolution timing measurements. Data is recorded on film in a specially designed film pack. The instrument is designed to be used in the NOVA Laser Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Sampling analysis plans (SAP) are a recognized manner of providing applicable requirements for conducting media sampling and analysis in a manner consistent with prescirbed objectives. This SAP has been prepared to satisfy the data quality objectives listed in this SAP with respect to the operation of the 183 KE potable water for K Area.

This Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) describes the quality assurance (QA) requirements for sampling, analysis, equipment, and data reporting for the 183 KE Potable Water Facility.

This document establishes the technical basis in support of Emergency Planning Activites for the 283-E and 283-W Facilities on the Hanford Site. Through this document, the technical basis for the development of facility specific Emergency Action Levels and the Emergency Planning Zone is demonstrated.

The document contains the functions, function definitions, function interfaces, function interface definitions, Input Computer Automated Manufacturing Definition (IDEFO) diagrams, and a function hierarchy chart that describe what needs to be performed to deactivate the 300 Area Fuel Supply Facilities.

This document presents the 300 Area Treated Effluent Disposal Facility (TEDF) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Compliance Monitoring Plan (MP). The MP describes how ongoing monitoring of the TEDF effluent stream for compliance with the NPDES permit will occur. The MP also includes Quality Assurance protocols to be followed.

The document contains the functions, function definitions, function interfaces, function interface definitions, Input Computer Automated Manufacturing Definition (IDEFO) diagrams, and a function hierarchy chart that describes what needs to be performed to deactivate the 308 Building.

The document contains the functions, function definitions, function interfaces, function interface definitions, Input Computer Automated Manufacturing Definition (IDEFO) diagrams, and a function hierarchy chart that describe what needs to be performed to deactivate the 309 Building.

This report describes a tool for use by organizational management teams to plan, manage, and oversee personnel exposures within their organizations. The report encompasses personnel radiation exposures received from activities associated with the B-Cell Cleanout Project, Surveillance and Maintenance Project, the Mk-42 Project, and other minor activities. It is designed to provide verifiable Radiological Performance Reports. The primary area workers receive radiation exposure is the Radiochemical Engineering Complex airlock. Entry to the airlock is necessary for maintenance of cranes and other equipment, and to set up the rail system used to move large pieces of equipment and shipping casks into and out of the airlock. Transfers of equipment and materials from the hot cells in the complex to the airlock are required to allow dose profiles of waste containers, shuffling of waste containers to allow grouting activities to go on, and to allow maintenance of in-cell cranes. Both DOE and the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) are currently investing in state-of-the-art decontamination equipment. Challenging goals for exposure reduction were established for several broad areas of activity. Exposure estimates and goals developed from these scheduled activities will be compared against actual exposures for scheduled and unscheduled activities that contributed to exposures received …

Technology project demonstrating advanced wall-fired combustion techniques for the reduction of nitrogen oxide NOx emissions from coal-fired boilers. The primary objective of the demonstration is to determine the long-term NOx reduction performance of advanced overfire air (AOFA), low NOx burners (LNB), and advanced digital control/optimization methodologies applied in a stepwise fashion to a 500 MW boiler. The focus of this paper is to report (1) on the installation of three on-line carbon-in-ash monitors and (2) the design and results to date from the advanced digital control/optimization phase of the project.

This quarterly report discusses the technical progress of an Innovative Clean Coal Technology (ICCT) demonstration of advanced wall-fired combustion techniques for the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from coal-fired boilers. The project is being conducted at Georgia Power Company`s Plant Hammond Unit 4 located near Rome, Georgia. The primary goal of this project is the characterization of the low NOx combustion equipment through the collection and analysis of long-term emissions data. A target of achieving fifty percent NOx reduction using combustion modifications has been established for the project. The project provides a stepwise retrofit of an advanced overfire air (AOFA) system followed by low NOx burners (LNB). During each test phase of the project, diagnostic, performance, long-term, and verification testing will be performed. These tests are used to quantify the NOx reductions of each technology and evaluate the effects of those reductions on other combustion parameters. Results are described.

This quarterly report discusses the technical progress of an Innovative Clean Coal Technology (ICCT) demonstration of advanced wall-fired combustion techniques for the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from coal-fired boilers. The project is being conducted at Georgia Power Company`s Plant Hammond Unit 4 located near Rome, Georgia. The primary goal of this project is the characterization of the low NOx combustion equipment through the collection and analysis of long-term emissions data. A target of achieving fifty percent NOx reduction using combustion modifications has been established for the project. The project provides a stepwise evaluation of the following NOx reduction technologies: Advanced overfire air (AOFA), Low NOx burners (LNB), LNB, with AOFA, and Advanced Digital Controls and Optimization Strategies. Baseline, AOFA, LNB, and LNB plus AOFA test segments have been completed. Based on a preliminary analysis, approximately 17 percent of the incremental change in NOx emissions between the LNB and LNB+AOFA configurations is the result of AOFA, the balance of the NOx reduction resulting from other operational adjustments. Preliminary diagnostic testing was conducted during August and September. The purpose of these tests was to determine the emissions and performance characteristics of the unit prior to activation of the advanced control/optimization …

This quarterly report discusses the technical progress of an innovative Clean Coal Technology (ICCT) demonstration of advanced wall-fired combustion techniques for the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from coal-fired boilers. The project is being conducted at Georgia Power Company`s Plant Hammond Unit 4 located near Rome, Georgia. The primary goal of this project is the characterization of the low NOx combustion equipment through the collection and analysis of long-term emissions data. The project provides a stepwise evaluation of the following NOx reduction technologies: Advanced overfire air (AOFA), Low NOx burners (LNB), LNB with AOFA, and Advanced Digital Controls and Optimization Strategies. The project has completed the baseline, AOFA, LNB, and LNB+AOFA test segments, fulfilling all testing originally proposed to DOE. Analysis of the LNB long-term data collected show the full load NOx emission levels to be near 0.65 lb/MBtu. This NOx level represents a 48 percent reduction when compared to the baseline, full load value of 1.24 lb/MBtu. These reductions were sustainable over the long-term test period and were consistent over the entire load range. Full load, fly ash LOI values in the LNB configuration were near 8 percent compared to 5 percent for baseline. Results from the LNB+AOFA …

Many Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention successes at the Hanford Site occur every day without formal recognition. A few of the successful projects are: T-Plant helps facilities reuse equipment by offering decontamination services for items such as gas cylinders, trucks, and railcars, thus saving disposal and equipment replacement costs. Custodial Services reviewed its use of 168 hazardous cleaning products, and, through a variety of measures, replaced them with 38 safer substitutes, one for each task. Scrap steel contaminated with low level radioactivity from the interim stabilization of 107-K and 107-C was decontaminated and sold to a vendor for recycling. Site-wide programs include the following: the Pollution Prevention Opportunity Assessment (P2OA) program at the Hanford site was launched during 1994, including a training class, a guidance document, technical assistance, and goals; control over hazardous materials purchased was achieved by reviewing all purchase requisitions of a chemical nature; the Office Supply Reuse Program was established to redeploy unused or unwanted office supply items. In 1994, pollution prevention activities reduced approximately 274,000 kilograms of hazardous waste, 2,100 cubic meters of radioactive and mixed waste, 14,500,000 kilograms of sanitary waste, and 215,000 cubic meters off liquid waste and waste water. Pollution Prevention activities also saved almost …

This 1994 report contains data from routine radiological and nonradiological environmental monitoring activities. Summaries of significant environmental compliance programs in progress, such as National Environmental Policy Act documentation, environmental permits, environmental restoration, and various waste management programs for Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are included. The maximum off-site dose impact from air emissions was calculated to be 1.5 x 10{sup -4} millirem. The total population within a 50-mile radius of Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico received an estimated collective dose of 0.012 person-rem during 1994 from the laboratories` operations. This report is prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy in compliance with DOE Order 5400.1.

This report summarizes the environmental surveillance activities conducted by Sandia National Laboratories, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and Kirk-Mayer, Inc., for the Tonopah Test Range operated by Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia National Laboratories` responsibility for environmental surveillance results extends to those activities performed by Sandia National Laboratories or under its direction. Results from other environmental surveillance activities are included to provide a measure of completeness in reporting. Other environmental compliance programs such as the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, environmental permits, and environmental restoration and waste management programs are also included in this report, prepared for the US Department of Energy (DOE) in compliance with DOE Order 5400. 1.

Each year the National Low-Level Waste Management Program publishes a state-by-state assessment report. This report provides both national and state-specific disposal data on low-level radioactive waste commercially disposed in the United States. Data in this report are categorized according to disposal site, generator category, waste class, volumes, and radionuclide activity. Included in this report are tables showing the distribution of waste by state for 1994 and a comparison of waste volumes and radioactivity by state for 1990 through 1994; also included is a list of all commercial nuclear power reactors in the United States as of December 31, 1994. This report distinguishes between low-level radioactive waste shipped directly for disposal by generators and waste that was handled by an intermediary, a reporting change introduced in the 1988 state-by-state report.

In a rapidly changing world, effective governmental organizations must anticipate and plan for the future. Nowhere is this more true than in the realm of information generation and dissemination. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) faces a future of great opportunity and also significant challenge. Technological advances are providing opportunities to improve our work processes and the way we serve our customers. This year`s Strategic Plan was developed by an EIA Strategic Planning Group with a membership that spans the entire organization. The Strategic Plan provides both a broad vision and a clear map of EIA`s near-term future. The Strategic Planning Group conducted an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of EIA as an organization, and of the opportunities and constraints facing EIA in the future. Opportunities exist in the future in technological advances and staff training; constraints lie in federal budget trends and staff demographics. This will require a Strategic Plan that recognizes the need to prioritize services and products across EIA, standardize technology across EIA where possible, lead with fewer layers of management, and be acutely aware of customer needs. Developing and training EIA employees to meet the challenges of rapidly changing technology and decreasing budgets were given high …

This provides a detailed solid waste system description that documents the treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) strategy for managing Hanford`s solid low-level waste, low-level mixed waste, transuranic and transuranic mixed waste, and greater-than-Class III waste. This system description is intended for use by managers of the solid waste program, facility and system planners, as well as system modelers. The system description identifies the TSD facilities that constitute the solid waste system and defines these facilities` interfaces, schedules, and capacities. It also provides the strategy for treating each of the waste streams generated or received by the Hanford Site from generation or receipt through final destination.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is planning to sell the 3000 Area to prospective buyers. Environmental Services was requested by the WHC Economic Transition group to assess potential environmental liabilities in the area. Historical review of the area indicated that the site was the location of ``Camp Hanford`` in 1951 and has been used for a variety of purposes since then. The activities in the area have changed over the years. A number of Buildings from the area have been demolished and at least 15 underground storage tanks (USTs) have been removed. Part of the 3000 Area was identified as Operable Unit 1100-EM-3 in the Tri-Party Agreement and was cleaned up by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The cleanup included removal of contaminated soil and USTS. WHC and ICF KH had also performed sampling and analysis at some locations in the 3000 Area prior to USACE`s work on the Operable Unit 1100-EM-3. They removed a number of USTs and performed remediation.

In 1974, a charged particle transport scheme was introduced which utilized a multi-group diffusion method for the spatial transport and slowing down of energetic ions in a hot plasma. In this treatment a diffusion coefficient was used which was flux-limited to provide, hopefully, some degree of accuracy when the slowing down of an energetic charged particle is dominated by Coulomb collisions with thermal ions and electrons in a plasma medium. An advantage of this method was a very fast, memory-contained program for calculating the behavior of energetic charged particles which resulted in smoothly varying particle number densities and energy depositions. The main limitation of the original multi-group charged particle diffusion scheme is its constraint to a basic ten group structure; the same ten group structure for each of the five energetic ions tracked. This is regarded as a severe limitation, inasmuch as more groups would be desired to simulate more accurately the corresponding Monte Carlo results of energies deposited over spatial zones from a charged particle source. More generally, it seems preferable to have a different group structure for each particle type since they are created at inherently different energies. In this paper, the basic theory and multi-group description will …

The Ulysses mission is providing the first opportunity to observe variations in solar wind plasma parameters at heliographic latitudes far removed from the ecliptic plane. We present an overview of the solar wind speed and the variability in helium abundance, [He] data on [He] in six high latitude coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and a superposed epoch analysis of [He] variations at the seven heliospheric current sheet (HCS) crossings made during the rapid-latitude-scan portion of the mission. The differences in the variability of the solar wind speed and [He] in high latitude and equatorial regions are quite striking. Solar wind speed is generally low but highly variable near the solar equator, while at higher latitudes the average speed is quite high with little variability. [He] can vary over nearly two decades at low solar latitudes, while at high latitudes it varies only slightly. In contrast to the high [He] that is commonly associated with CMEs observed in the ecliptic, none of the six high-speed CMEs encountered at high southern heliographic latitudes showed any significant variation in helium content. A superposed epoch analysis of the [He] during all seven HCS crossings made as Ulysses passed from the southern to northern solar hemisphere …

The research reported herein was performed to develop an accelerated screening method for determining the chemical and thermal stabilities of refrigerant/lubricant mixtures. The developed screening method was designed to be safe and to produce accelerated stability rankings that are in agreement with the rankings determined by the current test, Sealed Glass Tube Method to Test the Chemical Stability of Material for Use Within Refrigerant Systems, ANSI/ASHRAE Method 97-1989. The accelerated screening test developed was designed to be independent of refrigerant and lubricant compositions and to be used with a wide variety of construction materials. The studied refrigerants included CFC-11, CFC-12, HCFC-22, HFC-134a, and HFC-32/HFC-134a (zeotrope 30:70 by weight). The studied lubricants were selected from the chemical classes of mineral oil, alkylbenzene oil, polyglycols, and polyolesters. The work reported herein was performed in three phases. In the first phase, previously identified thermal analytical techniques were evaluated for development into an accelerated screening method for refrigerant/lubricant mixtures. The identified thermal analytical techniques used in situ measurements of color, temperature, or conductivity to monitor the degradation of the heated refrigerant/lubricant mixtures. The identified thermal analytical techniques also used catalysts such as ferric fluoride to accelerate the degradation of the heated refrigerant/lubricant mixtures. The …