Helium refrigerator performance degrades rapidly when it has to handle a varying or pulsed heat load. A novel scheme is presented to handle highly pulsed 4.5 K cryogenic loads with a standard helium refrigerator by isolating it from these pulses. The scheme uses a relatively simple arrangement of control valves, heat exchangers, and a storage dewar. Applications include pulsed tokamak machines such as TPX (Tokamak Physics Experiment) and ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). For example, the TPX (currently in the conceptual design phase in a DoE contract) requires an average 4.5 K refrigerator capacity of about 10 kW; however, pulsed loads caused by eddy current and nuclear heating will exceed 100 kW. The scheme presented here provides a method for handling these pulsed loads. Because of the simple and proven nature of the components involved and the thermodynamic properties of the helium, the system could be implemented for projects such as TPX or ITER with little or no development.

The idea of ``locality`` is a deep rooted concept. It does not have to be abandoned even if ``loophole free`` EPR experiments are performed and confirm the predictions of quantum theory. To satisfy locality, one can imagine that influences at a distance are exerted via mechanisms involving an ether and effects propagating in that ether a velocity V > c. Such model of physical phenomena is not Lorentz invariant but, with V large enough, the model can be made to reproduce the results of all experiments where quantum mechanics and Lorentz invariance have been verified.

A system-theoretic approach is proposed to investigate the feasibility of reconstructing a sound velocity profile (SVP) from acoustical hydrophone measurements. This problem is based on a state-space representation of the normal-mode propagation model. It is shown that this representation can be utilized to investigate the so-called observability of the SVP from noisy measurement data. A model-based processor is developed to extract this information and it is shown that even in cases where limited SVP information is available, the SVP can be estimated using this approach.

Many applications in material science, chemistry, and atomic physics require an x-ray source that has a repetition rate of 1 Hz to a few kHz. In these fields, a very wide range of photon energies is of interest. One application is time-resolved surface photoelectron spectroscopy and microscopy where low energy (< 1{mu}J) pulses are required to avoid space charge effects but high-repetition rates ({approx} kHz) provide the high average power which is needed to obtain the desired resolution. In pump-probe experiments, it is desirable to have the repetition rate of the x-ray source be comparable to the repetition rate of the corresponding IR, optical, or UV laser. We show that the very high-repetition rate of synchrotrons (1--1000 MHz) results in an inefficient use of x rays for these types of experiments and that a kHz repetition rate x-ray laser would be an excellent source for many experiments. For some applications, a slower repetition rate of order 1 Hz is adequate provide the energy per pulse is larger ({approx}1 mJ). For example, in photoelectron spectroscopy of free clusters, an x-ray laser can provide the required large number of nearly monoenergetic photons during the short time the clusters can be probed in …

This paper presents a divide-and-conquer ray-traced volume rendering algorithm and its implementation on networked workstations and a massively parallel computer, the Connection Machine CM-5. This algorithm distributes the data and the computational load to individual processing units to achieve fast, high-quality rendering of high-resolution data, even when only a modest amount of memory is available on each machine. The volume data, once distributed, is left intact. The processing nodes perform local ray-tracing of their subvolume concurrently. No communication between processing units is needed during this locally ray-tracing process. A subimage is generated by each processing unit and the final image is obtained by compositing subimages in the proper order, which can be determined a priori. Implementations and tests on a group of networked workstations and on the Thinking Machines CM-5 demonstrate the practicality of our algorithm and expose different performance tuning issues for each platform. We use data sets from medical imaging and computational fluid dynamics simulations in the study of this algorithm.

There is no market failure that warrants utility regulation of the construction of new generating plants, the supply of energy efficiency or the purchase of fuel under contract. The natural monopoly problem applies to the distribution of electricity and gas, not to generation, energy conservation, or gas purchases. Utility regulation magnifies a market failure, which is the principal agent problem. Regulatory allowance of utilities signing long term fixed price contracts and undertaking conservation measures result in costs and risks being shifted to ratepayers that would not occur under competitive market conditions. Economic efficiency would be enhanced if cost of service regulation of electric and gas utilities were replaced by a competitive market process for the construction of new power plants, utility conservation programs and contracts to purchase fuel. Conservation measures could be supplied by energy service companies. Gas merchants could provide gas and energy conservation directly to ultimate customers, if they had access to LDC pipelines. With a competitive market established to sell gas and energy services, contracts and conservation measures would not require cost-of- service regulation.

Structural phase transformation in lanthanides and actinides were investigated as a function of pressure up to 300 GPa at room temperature. Except in Ce and Pr, no large volume changes were noticed for these metals as thy went through several phase changes. The appearance of a bct ultra-high pressure phase in Ce, Sm, Th, and possibly in Np, raises the possibility that the ultimate high pressure structure for the 4f and 5f metals may be the bct structure. On the other hand, it is also possible that this is a precursor to another close-packed structure at even higher pressure.

This report discusses the time evolution of the quark-gluon plasma.

The TVA/EPRI Tailored Collaborative Project {open_quotes}Biotransformation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBS) in Contaminated Soils{close_quotes}, has as its objective biotransformation of PCB contaminated soils at utility sites (Phase I Report March 1992). However, there is recognition of the existence of other types of nonmetabolic alterations of PCBs in the contaminated soils. Of these nonmetabolic alterations, photoalteration is of special interest to the project. Photoalteration has the potential for enhancing PCB transformation with little intervention and little harm to the microbial community. PCBs have pervaded the environment, and the paucity of knowledge about their chemistry is becoming readily apparent. Although PCBs are quite resistant to degradation, photolysis, which is a chemical decomposition process that is induced by radiant energy, may be important in the environmental chemistry of PCBS. The photochemical degradation of PCBs may affect atmospheric levels of contaminants and photolabile chemicals that reside in water bodies or on surfaces, as for example, on leaves and vegetation. Chemicals present in the environment can undergo direct or indirect phototransformation which includes photosensitized degradation and oxygenation as well as photoinduced degradation. Photoalteration is produced by either artificial light or by light from the sun. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) is known to induce chemical reactions in many …

Microchannel heatsinks represent a highly efficient and compact method for heat removal in high heat flux components. Excellent thermal performance of a silicon microchannel heatsink has been demonstrated using liquid nitrogen as the coolant. For the heating of a 1 square centimeter area, at a heat dissipation of 500 W, a typical silicon heatsink cooled by liquid nitrogen has a thermal resistance of 0.046 cm{sup 2}{degrees}K/W. The actual heatsink structure in this case is only 0.1 cm high. Silicon, although it has excellent thermal properties at liquid nitrogen temperatures, may fracture with very little plastic deformation due to mechanical and thermal stresses. Because the fracture strength of silicon depends on the presence of small defects, strength of the heatsink structures must be addressed to insure highly reliable heatsink devices. Microchannel heatsink reliability can be affected by thermal stresses that arise due to temperature gradients between the base and fin and along the film length. These stresses are combined with the bonding stresses that arise in attaching components at elevated temperatures to the silicon heatsink and then cooling the structure to the cryogenic operating temperatures. These bonding stresses are potentially large because of the differences in the values of the coefficients …

The transpiration technique is used to measure volatilities of U from U{sub 3}O{sub 8}(s), Pu from PuO{sub 2}(s) and Pu and Am from PuO{sub 2}/2%AmO{sub 2}(s) in the presence of steam and oxygen at temperatures ranging from 900 to 1300{degree}C.

Uranium enrichment processes have the capability of producing weapons-grade material in the form of highly enriched uranium. Thus, detection of undeclared uranium enrichment activities is an international safeguards concern. The uranium separation technologies currently in use employ UF{sub 6} gas as a separation medium, and trace quantities of enriched uranium are inevitably released to the environment from these facilities. The isotopic content of uranium in the vegetation, soil, and water near the plant site will be altered by these releases and can provide a signature for detecting the presence of enriched uranium activities. This paper discusses environmental sampling and analytical procedures that have been used for the detection of uranium enrichment facilities and possible safeguards applications of these techniques.

This paper describes findings from the Second Colloquium on Petroleum engineering Education. The purpose of this colloquium was to provide a forum for petroleum engineering educators and representatives from industry and government to explore critical issues facing petroleum engineering education as we move into the 21st Century. It was expected that the colloquium would identify areas where changes are needed in petroleum engineering education, to best prepare students for careers in the oil and gas industry or other, related industries.

Questions still exist concerning the appropriate model for turbulence- induced phase fluctuations seen in ground-based telescopes. Bester et al. used a particular observable (slope of the Allan variance) with an infrared interferometer in an attempt to distinguish models. The authors have calculated that observable for Kolmogorov and {open_quotes}random walk{close_quotes} models with a variety of outer scales and altitude-dependent turbulence and wind velocity. The authors have found that clear distinction between models requires good data on the vertical distribution of wind and turbulence. Furthermore, measurements at time separations of order 60 s are necessary to distinguish the {open_quotes}random walk{close_quotes} model from the Kolmogorov model.

As dictated by DOE Order 5480.28, seismic evaluations of essential systems and components at DOE facilities will be conducted over the next several years. For many of these systems and components, few, if any, seismic requirements applied to the original design, procurement, installation, and maintenance process. Thus the verification of the seismic adequacy of existing systems and components presents a difficult challenge. DOE has undertaken development of the criteria and procedures for these seismic evaluations that will maximize safety benefits in a timely and cost effective manner. As demonstrated in previous applications at DOE facilities and by the experience from the commercial nuclear power industry, use of experience data for these evaluations is the only viable option for most existing systems and components. This paper describes seismic experience data, the needs at DOE facilities, the precedent of application at nuclear power plants and DOE facilities, and the program being put in place for the seismic verification task ahead for DOE.

The Nuclear Electric Propulsion Space Test Program (NEPSTP) has developed a cooperative relationship with several institutes of the former Soviet Union to evaluate Russian space hardware on a US spacecraft One component is the Topaz II Nuclear Power System; a built and flight qualified nuclear reactor that has yet to be tested in space. The access to the Topaz II reactor provides the NEPSTP with a rare opportunity; to conduct an early flight demonstration of nuclear electric propulsion at a relatively low cost. This opportunity, however, is not without challenges. Topaz II was designed to be compatible with Russian spacecraft and launch vehicles. It was manufactured and flight qualified by Russian techniques and standards and conforms to safety requirements of the former Soviet Union, not the United States. As it is desired to make minimal modifications to the Topaz II, integrating the reactor system with a United States spacecraft and launch vehicle presents an engineering challenge. This paper documents the lessons teamed regarding the integration of reactor based spacecraft and also some insight about integrating Russian hardware. It examines the planned integration flow along with specific reactor requirements that affect the spacecraft integration including American-Russian space system compatibility.

Adaptive optic systems promise to give diffraction limited performance to ground based telescopes operating at visible and near infrared wavelengths. However, because of the short spatial scale of atmospheric turbulence, the corrected field of view is limited to only a few arc seconds in the visible, to perhaps 10 arc seconds at L band (3.5 {mu}). A bright point source must be in this field of view as a wavefront reference, but the number density of natural stars is too small for full sky coverage at imaging wavelengths less than 3{mu}. A sufficiently bright point source can be artificially generated by a laser however, and investigations into the use of laser beacons has been proceeding for some time now. Our experiments at Livermore have concentrated on the formation of guide stars in the sodium mesospheric layer at 90 km altitude. We have also designed and built adaptive optics systems that use both artificial and natural guide stars. Experimental results to date have shown great promise for the practicality of this technique in astronomy.

This report very briefly discusses heavy quark symmetry.

Provisions of DOE-STD-1021-93 on performance categorization of structures, systems and components (SSCs) subjected to natural phenomena hazards (NPHs) are summarized. The interrelationship among safety classification of SSCs (per DOE 6430.1A and DOE 5480.30), facility hazard categorization/classification (per DOE 5481.1B and DOE 5480.23), and NPH performance categorization of SSCs (per DOE 5480.28 and DOE-STD-1021-93) is discussed. The compatibility between the safety goals in the Department of Energy Safety Policy, SEN-35-91, and the numerical NPH performance goals of DOE 5480.28, as presented in UCRL-ID-12612 (draft), is examined.

This article reviews recent investigations of nonlinear optical processes in semiconductors. Section II discusses theory of coherent wave mixing in semiconductors, with emphasis on resonant excitation with only one exciton state. Section III reviews recent experimental investigations of amplitude and phase of coherent wave-mixing resonant with quasi-2d excitons in GaAs quantum wells.

A low intensity radiation field is generated by the high level waste that is stored within carbon steel lined tanks at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The highest level of radiation damage to the tank walls from gamma and spontaneous neutron emissions is estimated to be less than 1.0E-6 displacements per atom (DPA) for a 100 year exposure to fresh, ``high heat`` SRS waste assuming continuous replenishment of the radionuclides. This damage level is below the limit for measurable radiation damage to the mechanical properties of carbon steel. Structural assessment of tanks for storage of high level waste may be based on nominal or code values of the mechanical properties of the steels from which the tanks were constructed.

A high level nuclear waste repository, like the one at Nevada`s Yucca Mountain that is being investigated for site suitability, will have some unique seismic design and analysis considerations. These are discussed, and a design philosophy that can rationally account for the unique performance objectives of such facilities is presented. A case is made for the use of DOE`s performance goal-based seismic design and evaluation methodology that is based on a hybrid ``deterministic`` and ``probabilistic`` concept. How and to what extent this methodology should be modified to adopt it for a potential site like Yucca Mountain is also outlined. Finally, the issue of designing for seismic fault rupture is discussed briefly, and the desirability of using the proposed seismic design philosophy in fault rupture evaluation is described.