In order to develop an alternative buffer layer architecture using the sol-gel process to produce YBCO (YBa2Cu307+) coated conductors, Yb203 has been chosen as the candidate material. Buffer layers of fi03 were epitaxkdly grown on biaxially textured-Ni (100) substrates by the sol gel process for the first time. The ~03 precursor solution was prepared from an alkoxide sol-gel route in 2-xnetho~ethanol and was deposited on textured-Ni (100) substrates by either spin coating or dip coating methods. The amorphous film was then processed at 1160oC under flowing (96%)MH2(4%) gas mixture for one hour. The fi03 iihn exhibited a strong c-axis orientation on the Ni (100) substrates. The phi and omega scans indicated good in plane and out of plane orientations. The X-ray (222) pde figure showed a cube-on-cube epitaxy. High current YBCO films were grown on the Y&03 sol-gel buffered-Ni substrates.

This report explains how the Harrop, High-Temperature Viscometer was installed, calibrated, and operated. This report includes assembly and alignment of the furnace, viscometer, and spindle, and explains the operation of the Brookfield Viscometer, the Harrop furnace, and the UDC furnace controller. Calibration data and the development of the spindle constant from NIST standard reference glasses is presented. A simple operational procedure is included.

The objectives of the pilot study were to investigate the limitations of the technique for imaging the presence, extent, and boundaries of the low-resistance intervals and associated carbonate sediments.

The affinities for cesium and mercury ions contained in DWPF recycle simulants and Tank-22H waste have been evaluated using Crystalline Silicotitanate (CST) and Self-Assembled Monolayers on Mesoporous Support (SAMMS) ion-exchange materials, respectively. Results of the performance evaluations of CST on the uptake of cesium with simulants and actual DWPF recycle samples (Tank 22H) indicate that, in practice, this inorganic ion-exchange material can be used to remove radioactive cesium from the DWPF recycle. SAMMS material showed little or no affinity for mercury from highly alkaline DWPF waste. However, at near neutral conditions (DWPF simulant solution pH adjusted to 7), SAMMS was found to have a significant affinity for mercury. Conventional Duolite/256 ion exchange material showed an increase in affinity for mercury with increase in DWPF recycle simulant pH. Duolite/256 GT-73 also had a high batch distribution coefficient for mercury uptake from actual Tank 22H waste.

By the end of June 1999, about 250 megawatts of wind generation will have been dedicated in the state of Iowa. This represents the beginning of what is likely to be significant wind capacity development during the next 20 years in the state, as a result of possible public and governmental mandates and consumers' desire for sustainable sources of energy. As the utility industry in the United States moves towards a new structure, renewable energy sources continue to be an important part of new resource development. In this paper, we consider the predicted trends in load growth in Iowa. After accounting for the retirement of nuclear and older fossil fuel facilities over the next 15 years, we estimate Iowa's potential renewable generating capacity through the year 2015 and anticipate the contribution of wind energy to Iowa's portfolio. The Iowa Wind Energy Institute (IWEI) has been monitoring the wind resource in Iowa since June 1994 to obtain wind speed averages at 10, 33 and 50 meters above ground at fourteen geographically dispersed potential wind farm sites. Winds in the Midwest are primarily generated by fronts moving through the region. The Northwest Buffalo Ridge area of Iowa typically has wind speed averages …

Approximately 50 metric tonnes heavy metal of aluminum-base spent nuclear fuel (Al-SNF) or 30,000 assemblies are being consolidated at the Savannah River Site. The melt-dilute (MD) technology option is being developed to allow ultimate disposal of these fuels in the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR). Neutron absorbing materials are needed to maintain k{sub eff} less than 0.95 in desired packaging configurations. The aggressive chemical environment in the MGR is expected to lead to the reconfiguration of the contents of the codisposal waste package following waste package failure. This reconfiguration has the potential for increasing the reactivity of the waste package. The reconfiguration and redistribution of materials within the waste package are being investigated in an analytical and experimental program to support the criticality analysis. Further, the incorporation of neutron absorbing materials that will be integral to the MD SNF form is being investigated.

Scenario development has two primary purposes in the design and documentation of post-closure performance assessments in a regulatory setting. First, scenario development ensures a sufficiently comprehensive consideration of the possible future states of the system. Second, scenario development identifies the important scenarios that must be considered in quantitative analyses of the total system performance assessment (TSPA). Section 2.0 of this report describes the scenario development process. Steps in the process are described in Section 2.1, and terms introduced in this section are defined in Section 2.2. The electronic database used to document the process is described in Section 3, and Section 4 provides a summary of the current status of the YMP scenario development work. Section 5 contains acknowledgments, and Section 6 contains a list of the references cited.

This case study describes the new energy-efficient equipment being installed at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to save nearly $2 million per year in energy and utility costs. The work is being done under a delivery order by Honeywell, Inc., as part of a US Department of Energy ``super'' regional energy savings performance contract, or Super ESPC. These are streamlined contracts that allow Federal agencies to contract with competitively selected energy service companies in their region for a variety of energy- and water-efficient products and services. The service companies pay up-front capital costs and are reimbursed with part of the agency's utility cost savings. In this work, NASA Johnson Space Center will get new energy-efficient lighting and compressed-air systems, water-conserving fixtures, and improved controls.

The ICE 250{trademark} Cleaning System was engineered to convert water into small ice particles for use in cleaning and decontamination applications. Ice crystals are produced in a special icemaker and pressured through a hose-nozzle onto the surface to be cleaned. The Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center and Ice Cleaning Systems, Inc., conducted a test of this system at Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 3 to evaluate the system's cleaning capabilities in an oil field environment. Equipment cleaned included an oil storage tank, a rod pumping unit, a road grader, and a wellhead. Contaminants were unrefined sour crude oil, hydraulic fluid, paraffin, and dirt, occurring separately and as mixtures. In all four demonstration cleaning tasks, the ICE 250 System effectively removed surface contaminant mixtures in a timely manner and left no oily residue. A minimal amount of waste moisture was generated, thereby reducing cleanup and disposal costs.

As a follow-up to a bench-top experiment (1), the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) carried out a full-scale test of a "large-diameter" bubbler (LDB) to measure liquid-level and density in high yield stress slurries. The test was the final step in a process to find an instrument that could effectively and economically operate in the existing mixing tank environments. Positive results would lead to implementation of the LDB. This new bubbler replaced two inadequate instruments: an expensive technology, a Holledge probe, which needed replacing twice a year and "standard bubblers," which plugged in as little as four hours of operation. Three LDBs, at different depths, were tested under highly prototypic conditions from November 27, 1996, to January 23, 1997, using the full-scale test facilities at SRS. The instruments were subjected to 58 days of slurry operation; 14 days of which the slurry was brought to boiling temperatures. The results showed that the LDBs (6.7 cm inside diameter) operated successfully by not plugging with the glass-frit ladened slurry, which was maintained at a minimum temperature of 50 degrees C and at approximatley 102 degrees C during days of boiling. A recommendation was made to implement …

This is a report of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (Pacific Northwest's) FY1999 Annual Self-Evaluation Report. This report summarizes our progress toward accomplishment of the critical outcomes, objectives, and performance indicators as delineated in the FY1999 Performance Evaluation & Fee Agreement. It also summarizes our analysis of the results of Pacific Northwest's Division and Directorate annual self-assessments, and the implementation of our key operational improvement initiatives. Together, these provide an indication of how well we have used our Integrated Assessment processes to identify and plan improvements for FY2000. As you review the report you will find areas of significantly positive progress; you will also note areas where I believe the Laboratory could make improvements. Overall, however, I believe you will be quite pleased to note that we have maintained, or exceeded, the high standards of performance we have set for the Laboratory.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is the first nuclear waste repository certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Success in regulatory compliance resulted from an excellent natural setting for such a repository, a facility with multiple, redundant safety systems, and from a rigorous, transparent scientific and technical evaluation. The WIPP story, which has evolved over the past 25 years, has generated a library of publications and analyses. Details of the multifaceted program are contained in the cited references. Selected geotechnical highlights prove the eminent suitability of the WIPP to serve its congressionally mandated purpose.

Information management is moving quickly toward archiving and retrieving documents electronically, so Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is taking steps to help its research staff create electronic documents. Declining budgets frequently dictate that authors handle the technicalities of getting published as well as the scientific and technical information that they publish. To help the Laboratory benefit from being the leader in this area, ORNL'S Information Management Section formed a multidisciplinary team to develop, pilot, and implement a Web- based process to register and clear technical documents and to add the fill text of these documents to the Laboratory's Comprehensive Publications and Presentations Registry (CPPR). Making this happen required implementing policy changes to address the new performance measure, acquiring software needed for file conversion, developing Web guidance, and providing training and consulting for ORNL staff.

Recent advances in DNA sequencing and genome mapping technologies are making it possible, for the first time in history, to find genes in plants and animals and to elucidate their function. This means that diagnostics and therapeutics can be developed for human diseases such as cancer, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular problems. Crop and animal strains can be developed that are hardier, resistant to diseases, and produce higher yields. The challenge is to develop tools that will find the nucleotides in the DNA of a living organism that comprise a particular gene. In the human genome alone it is estimated that only about 51% of the approximately 3 billion pairs of nucleotides code for some 100,000 human genes. In this search for nucleotides within a genome which are active in the actual coding of proteins, efficient tools to locate and identify their function can be of significant value to mankind. Software tools such as ApoCom GRAIL{trademark} have assisted in this search. It can be used to analyze genome information, to identify exons (coding regions) and to construct gene models. Using a neural network approach, this software can ''learn'' sequence patterns and refine its ability to recognize a pattern as it is …

We present experimented results directed at understanding the growth and structure of metallic barrier layer and interconnect films. Numerical simulation results associated with this experimental work are presented in an accompanying paper in these proceedings. Here, thin films of Al, Ti, Cu and Ta have been grown by magnetron sputtering onto oxidized Si substrates. Using a specially-constructed substrate holder, the orientation of the substrate with respect to the growth direction was varied from horizontal to vertical. Films were grown at both low and high argon pressure; in the case of Ta, the cathode power was varied as well. The film structure and in particular the surface roughness was measured by X-ray reflectance and also by atomic force microscopy. We find that the surface roughness increases markedly with orientation angle in the case of Ta and Cu films, and in Ti films grown at high argon pressure. At low pressure, however, the Ti film surface roughness remains constant for all substrate orientations. No variation in roughness with either orientation angle or argon pressure was observed in the Al films. These results suggest that, under certain circumstances, shadowing effects and/or grain orientation (i.e., texture) competition during growth can give rise to lower …

The Richland Operations Office (RL) and Office of River Protection (ORP) are pleased to issue the attached Pollution Prevention Progress Report. We have just met the most aggressive waste reduction and A recycling goals to date and are publishing this report to recognize A the site's progress, and to ensure it will sustain success beyond 1 Fiscal Year 2000. This report was designed to inform the been made by RL and ORP in Waste Minimization (WMin) and Pollution Prevention (P2). RL, ORP and their contractors are committed to protecting the environment, and we reiterate pollution prevention should continue to be at the forefront of the environmental cleanup and research efforts. As you read the attached report, we believe you will see a clear demonstration of RL and ORP's outstanding performance as it has been responsible and accountable to the nation, its employees, and the community in which we live and work. commitment that all employees have for environmental stewardship. The report provides useful information about the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE'S) environmental policy and programs, and contains countless examples of waste minimization projects. This year was the first year our site received the White House Closing the Circle in the …

Tank 241-SY-101 waste level growth is an emergent, high priority issue. The purpose of this document is to record the hazards evaluation process and document potential hazardous conditions that could lead to the release of radiological and toxicological material from the proposed transfer of a limited quantity (approximately 100,000 gallons) of waste from Tank 241-SY-101 to Tank 241-SY-102. The results of the hazards evaluation were compared to the current Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Basis for Interim Operation (HNF-SD-WM-BIO-001, 1998, Revision 1) to identify any hazardous conditions where Authorization Basis (AB) controls may not be sufficient or may not exist. Comparison to LA-UR-92-3196, A Safety Assessment for Proposed Pump Mixing Operations to Mitigate Episodic Gas Releases in Tank 241-SY-101, was also made in the case of transfer pump removal activities. Revision 1 of this document deletes hazardous conditions no longer applicable to the current waste transfer design and incorporates hazardous conditions related to the use of an above ground pump pit and overground transfer line. This document is not part of the AB and is not a vehicle for requesting authorization of the activity; it is only intended to provide information about the hazardous conditions associated with this activity. The …

Single cylinder engine experiments and chemical kinetic modeling have been performed to study the effect of variations in fuel, equivalence ratio, and intake charge temperature on the start of combustion and the heat release rate. Neat propane and a fuel blend of 15% dimethyl-ether in methane have been studied. The results demonstrate the role of these parameters on the start of combustion, efficiency, imep, and emissions. Single zone kinetic modeling results show the trends consistent with the experimental results.

This report describes efforts made at the oak Rklge NatiOnrd Laboratory to design high- efficiency-release targets that simultaneously incorporate the short diffusion lengths, high permeabilities, controllable temperatures, and heat-removal properties required for the generation of useful radioactive ion beam (RIB) intensities for nuclear physics and astrophysics research using the isotope separation on-line (ISOL) technique. Short diffusion lengths are achieved either by using thin fibrous target materials or by coating thin layers of selected target material onto low-density carbon fibers such as reticulated-vitreous-carbon fiber (RVCF) or carbon-bonded-carbon fiber (CBCF) to form highly permeable composite target matrices. Computational studies that simulate the generation and removal of primary beam deposited heat from target materials have been conducted to optimize the design of targetheat-sink systems for generating RIBs. The results derived from diffusion release-rate simulation studies for selected targets and thermal analyses of temperature distributions within a prototype targetlheat-sink system subjected to primary ion beam irradiation will be presented in this report.

We gain-switch flared waveguide lasers to obtain 14.5 W peak powers and 0.5 nJ pulse energies with laser structures compatible with the generation of diffraction-limited beams. The results are in excellent agreement with a microscopic laser model.

The mission of this project was to use inverse micelle solutions to synthesize nanometer sized metal particles and test the particles as catalysts in the liquefaction of coal and other related reactions. The initial focus of the project was the synthesis of iron based materials in pseudo-homogeneous form. The frost three chapters discuss the synthesis, characterization, and catalyst testing in coal liquefaction and model coal liquefaction reactions of iron based pseudo-homogeneous materials. Later, we became interested in highly dispersed catalysts for coprocessing of coal and plastic waste. Bifunctional catalysts . to hydrogenate the coal and depolymerize the plastic waste are ideal. We began studying, based on our previously devised synthesis strategies, the synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts with a bifunctional nature. In chapter 4, we discuss the fundamental principles in heterogeneous catalysis synthesis with inverse micelle solutions. In chapter 5, we extend the synthesis of chapter 4 to practical systems and use the materials in catalyst testing. Finally in chapter 6, we return to iron and coal liquefaction now studied with the heterogeneous catalysts.

None

Surface pressure data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's ''Unsteady Aerodynamics Experiment'' were analyzed to characterize the impact of three-dimensionality, unsteadiness, and flow separation effects observed to occur on downwind horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT). Surface pressure and strain gage data were collected from two rectangular planform blades with S809 airfoil cross-sections, one flat and one twisted. Both blades were characterized by the maximum leading edge suction pressure and by the azimuth, velocity, and yaw at which it occurred. The occurrence of dynamic stall at all but the inboard station (30% span) shows good quantitative agreement with the theoretical limits on inflow velocity and yaw that should yield dynamic stall events. A full three-dimensional characterization of the surface pressure topographies combined with flow visualization data from surface mounted tufts offer key insights into the three-dimensional processes involved in the unsteady separation process and may help to explain the discrepancies observed with force measurements at 30% span. The results suggest that quasi-static separation and dynamic stall analysis methods relying on purely two-dimensional flow characterizations may not be capable of simulating the complex three-dimensional flows observed with these data.

Structured packings utilized in today's distillation packed towers consist of stacked units of many vertically oriented parallel corrugated plates. The V-shaped corrugations are oriented at a fixed angle with respect to the vertical direction, and the corrugation angle in adjacent plates are oriented in reverse direction. Points of contact, at the crests of the corrugations, between adjacent plates, form an unconsolidated porous medium with known topology. Modern structured packings have been gaining acceptance in several separation processes, particularly distillation where gas/vapor and liquid flow countercurrently through the packing. In addition, structured packings have been credited with relatively low pressure drop, high efficiency, low holdup, and higher capacity; the packing also can be made corrosion resistive.