Seeds of most species of the Umbelliferae (Apiaciae), Araliaceae, and Garryaceae families are characterized by their high content of the unusual C[sub 18] monounsaturated fatty acid petroselinic acid (18:l[Delta][sup 6cis]). Prior to a recent report of this lab, little was known of the biosynthetic origin of the cis[Delta][sup 6] double bond of petroselinic acid. Such knowledge may be of both biochemical and biotechnological significance. Because petroselinic acid is potentially the product of a novel desaturase, information regarding its synthesis may contribute to an understanding of fatty acid desaturation mechanisms in plants. Through chemical cleavage at its double bond, petroselinic acid can be used as a precursor of lauric acid (12:0), a component of detergents and surfactants, and adipic acid (6:0 dicarboxylic), the monomeric component of nylon 6,6. Therefore, the development of an agronomic source of an oil rich in petroselinic acid is of biotechnological interest. As such, studies of petroselinic acid biosynthesis may provide basic information required for any attempt to genetically engineer the production and accumulation of this fatty acid in an existing oilseed.

During this second project quarter, screening of South Texas fields within the Frio Fluvial-Deltaic Sandstone/Vicksburg Fault Zone oil play was completed. Fields were to identify reservoirs that have a large remaining oil resource, are in danger of premature abandonment, and have geological and production data in sufficient quantity and of suitable quality to facilitate advanced reservoir characterization studies (subtask 1). Two fields have been selected for inclusion in this study: Tijerina-Canales-Blucher (T.C.B.) Field, located in the northern portion of the trend in Jim Wells County, and Rincon Field, located to the south in Starr County. Current plans are to incorporate data from both fields in our reservoir characterization and targeted resource addition studies. Project members met with operators of both fields to review available geologic and production field data and discuss our research plans. The collection of detailed geologic and production data required for the initial reservoir characterization studies (subtask 2) is currently underway. Details outlining specifics of project accomplishments for this quarter are provided.

Progress on 6 projects is reported: excited state absorption spectrum of Ru(bpy)[sub 3][sup 2+], solvent cage model for electron transfer quenching, reductive quenching of [sup *]Cr(III) complexes, solution medium effects in oxidative quenching of [sup *]Ru(II) complexes, photosensitized oxidation of phenol in aqueous solution, and quenching of Ru(II) complexes by oxygen.

The Texas A M University (TAMU) has been awarded a DOE contract to study dynamic properties and atomization characteristics of coal-water slurry (CWS) fuels. Additives are essential for better mixing and stable suspension of coal powders and these additives change CWS properties. Dynamic properties will have major effects on CWS fuel atomization, which constitutes highly dynamic processes, and will determine the combustion as well as the pollutant formation behaviors. The dynamic surface tension of CWS fuels can be much higher than the corresponding static surface tension. Experimental study of correlating the atomization characteristics and dynamic properties of CWS fuels will be performed during the contract period. The research projects consists of five tasks. Task 1 selects appropriate additives and surfactants for CWS fuels by measuring the stabilizing characteristics and critical micelle concentrations (CMC). Task 2 implements the dynamic surface tensiometer operating based on the formation of maximum bubble pressure. Task 3 measures dynamic properties of CWS fuels as functions of bubble frequency while the fuel parameters are varied. The fuel parameters include coal loading, type of stabilizer and type of surfactant. Task 4 will devise a CWS fuel spray system and Task 5 will measure the spray droplet sizes using …

Research was done on the biaxial stress problem accomplished in the first half of the second year. All of the work done was preparatory to magnetic measurements. Issues addressed were: construction of a model for extracting changes in the magnetic properties of a specimen from the readings of an indirect sensor; initial development of a model for how biaxial stress alters the intrinsic magnetic properties of thespecimen; use of finite element stress analysis modeling to determine a detailed shape for the cruciform biaxial stress specimen; and construction of the biaxial stress loading apparatus.

The New York Hall of Science, in response to the national crisis in education and employment in science and engineering, is developing and pilot testing a unique, interactive, video-based, hypermedia series on energy-related and other science and engineering careers for middle and junior high school students. Working in collaboration with the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP) and the Educational Film Center (EFC), this pilot-demonstration phase will last 14 months, during which time the basic design, production, and testing of eight science and engineering career modules (video and software) will be completed and installed as an interactive educational exhibit at the New York Hall of Science. This career education package will then be distributed to other science technology centers nationwide.

An attempt was made to pursue [sup 129]Xe NMR as a pore measurement technique. Samples studied were synthetic imogolite (tubular aluminosilicate with gibbsite structure), sodium Y-zeolite, and an aerogel and a xerogel. Gases used were normal Xe, [sup 13]CO[sub 2], and [sup 15]N[sub 2]. Although a completely general NMR technique for measuring pore size distributions may not be possible, information about molecular motion and interactions can be obtained, because NMR is sensitive to short range interactions (1 nm or less) and to molecular dynamics in the range 10[sup [minus]2] to 10[sup [minus]6]s.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a commissioners court may limit the number of monthly supplemental workers' compensation payments to county employees already receiving such payments (RQ-231)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Impact of “leave without pay” provisions of the General Appropriations Act on the Workers’ Compensation Act, V.T.C.S. article 8307c (RQ-476)

The prospects of legislative and regulatory action aimed at taxing, restricting or banning lead-bearing materials from manufactured products has prompted the electronics community to examine the implementation of lead-free solders to replace currently used lead-containing alloys in the manufacture of electronic devices and assemblies. The logistics for changing the well established ``tin-lead solder technology`` require not only the selection of new compositions but also the qualification of different surface finishes and manufacturing processes. The meniscometer/wetting balance technique was used to evaluate the wettability of several candidate lead-free solders as well as to establish windows on processing parameters so as to facilitate prototype manufacturing. Electroplated and electroless 100Sn coatings, as well as organic preservatives, were also examined as potential alternative finishes for device leads and terminations as well as circuit board conductor surfaces to replace traditional tin-lead layers. Sandia National Laboratories and AT&T have implemented a program to qualify the manufacturing feasibility of surface mount prototype circuit boards using several commercial lead-free solders by infrared reflow technology.

As part of the component development process for the particle bed reactor (PBR), it is necessary to develop coatings for fuel particles which will be time and temperature stable. These coatings must not only protect the particle from attack by the hydrogen coolant, but must also help to maintain the bed in a coolable geometry and mitigate against fission product release. In order to develop these advanced coatings, a process to produce chemical vapor reaction (CVR) coatings on fuel for PBRs has been developed. The initial screening tests for these coatings consisted of testing in flowing hot hydrogen at one atmosphere. Surrogate fuel particles consisting of pyrolytic graphite coated graphite particles have been heated in flowing hydrogen at constant temperature. The carbon loss from these particles was measured as a function of time. Exposure temperatures ranging from 2,500 to 3,000 K were used and samples were exposed for up to 14 minutes in a cyclical fashion, cooling to room temperature between exposures. The rate of weight loss measured as a function of time is compared to that from other tests of coated materials under similar conditions. Microscopic examination of the coatings before and after exposure was also conducted and these …

Arms control treaties, unilateral actions, and cooperative activities -- reflecting the defusing of East-West tensions -- are causing nuclear weapons to be disarmed and dismantled worldwide. In order to provide for future reductions and to build confidence in the permanency of this disarmament, verification procedures and technologies would play an important role. This paper outlines arms-control objectives, treaty organization, and actions that could be undertaken. For the purposes of this Workshop on Verification, nuclear disarmament has been divided into five topical subareas: Converting nuclear-weapons production complexes, Eliminating and monitoring nuclear-weapons delivery systems, Disabling and destroying nuclear warheads, Demilitarizing or non-military utilization of special nuclear materials, and Inhibiting nuclear arms in non-nuclear-weapons states. This paper concludes with an overview of potential methods for verification.

The Pantex plant presently processes about 45,000 kg (100,000 lb) of high explosives annually by outdoor burning. About half of the explosives are weapon components weighing over 5 kg (10 lb) which come directly out of nuclear weapons being removed from the stockpile. The other half is generated from various support processes, special tests, etc. Burning serves the three-fold purpose of demilitarizing, removing all classified characteristics, and eliminating the severe hazard posed by the explosives themselves. Transporting such large quantities of classified high explosives for such processing at another site would be prohibitive. Computerized atmospheric modelling of the burning process was conducted during the past year. The results were somewhat surprising in that oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide, two ``criteria pollutants,`` were not of great concern even though it is known that high explosives contain significant amounts of nitrogen and they generate measureable amounts of carbon monoxide when they are burned. Rather, it was determined that hydrogen fluoride gas is of much greater concern, and stringent controls on the burning operation have been implemented to address this concern. Although the amount of fluorine-containing explosive must be restricted, other kinds of air emissions are not a great concern. This favorable …

Microstructures and textures which develop during cold deformation are compared to those which develop during hot deformation. This comparison is made using the evolutionary framework of grain subdivision and the formation of low energy dislocation structures. During deformation grains are subdivided into differently deforming regions separated by geometrically necessary dislocation boundaries. These boundaries include dense dislocation walls, microbands, lamellar boundaries and subgrains. Grain subdivision occurs as a result of the requirement for strain accommodation balanced by energy considerations. This grain subdivision weakens the texture and increases the texture scatter. The tendency for grain subdivision decreases with increasing temperature of deformation with implications for the microstructural evolution and the texture formation.

The situation in solar neutrino physics has changed drastically in the past few years, so that now there are four neutrino experiments in operation, using different methods to look at different regions of the solar neutrino energy spectrum. These experiments are the radiochemical {sup 37}Cl Homestake detector, the realtime Kamiokande detector, and the different forms of radiochemical {sup 71}Ga detectors used in the GALLEX and SAGE projects. It is noteworthy that all of these experiments report a deficit of observed neutrinos relative to the predictions of standard solar models (although in the case of the gallium detectors, the statistical errors are still relatively large). This paper reviews the basic principles of operation of these neutrino detectors, reports their latest results and discusses some theoretical interpretations. The progress of three realtime neutrino detectors that are currently under construction, SuperKamiok, SNO and Borexino, is also discussed.

The object of the proposed research program is a unified theoretical approach to the description of a variety of physico-chemical hydrodynamic systems characterized by a significant disparity between the spatial scales involved. By appropriately performed averaging over short scales, one may considerably simplify the original problem, sometimes even lowering its effective dimensionality, and thereby making the latter quite tractable either analytically or numerically. Specifically, the author plans to study: (1) the hydrodynamic aspects of flameholding and flammability in premixed gas flames, (2) large-scale structures in Rayleigh-Benard-Marangoni convection in nonreactive and reactive liquid layers, (3) nonlinear dynamics of interfacial instabilities dominated by viscosity effects, and (4) negative viscosity effects and formation of large-scale structures in liquid layers driven at small scales.

In 1996, the Savannah River Site plans to begin operation of the Consolidated Incineration Facility (CIF) to treat solid and liquid RCRA hazardous and mixed wastes. The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) leads an extensive technical support program designed to obtain incinerator and air pollution control equipment performance data to support facility start-up and operation. Key components of this technical support program include recently completed waste burn tests at both EPA`s Incineration Research Facility and at Energy and Environmental Research Corporation`s Solid Waste Incineration Test Facility. The main objectives for these tests were determining the fate of heavy metals, measuring organics destruction and removal efficiencies, and quantifying incinerator offgas particulate loading and size distribution as a function of waste feed characteristics and incineration conditions. In addition to these waste burning tests, the SRTC has recently completed installations of the Offgas Components Test Facility (OCTF), a 1/10 scale CIF offgas system pilot plant. This pilot facility will be used to demonstrate system operability and maintainability, evaluate and optimize equipment and instrument performance, and provide direct CIF start-up support. Technical support programs of this type are needed to resolve technical issues related with treatment and disposal of combustible hazardous, mixed, and low-level …

Polymeric silica sols were used to prepare membranes on commercial {gamma}-A1{sub 2}O{sub 3} supports. Aging of the silica sols was shown to be effective to form discrete membrane layers. He/N{sub 2} selectivity factors exceeding ideal Knudsen values were observed when the sols were prepared under conditions in which the condensation rate was minimized. It is proposed that the average pore size of the membrane depends on the balance of capillary pressure and modulus during membrane deposition and that the breadth of the pore size distribution might be influenced by the extent of condensation accompanying membrane deposition. The use of organic templates may allow independent control of pore size, pore shape, and pore volume. The membranes are to be used in processing natural gas (gas separation/purification).

This study investigates the stability of metastable Si{sub 1{minus}y}C{sub y}/Si heterostructures during rapid thermal annealing (RTA) over a temperature range of 1,000--1,150 C. Heterostructures of Si{sub 1{minus}y}C{sub y}/Si and Si{sub 1{minus}x{minus}y}Ge{sub x}C{sub y}/Si (x {equals} 0.77, Y {<=} .0014) were formed by solid phase epitaxy from C implanted, preamorphized substrates using a 30 minute 700 C anneal in N{sub 2}. The occupancy of C in substitution lattice sites was monitored by Fourier Transform Infrared Absorption spectroscopy. The layer strain was monitored by rocking curve X-ray diffraction and the structural changes in the layers were determined using plan-view and X-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For anneals of 1,150 C or above, all the substitutional C was lost from the Si lattice after 30 seconds. TEM verified that the strain relaxation was the result of C precipitating into highly aligned {beta}SiC particles rather than by the formation of extended defects. No nucleation barrier was observed for the loss of substitutional C. Preliminary results will also be discussed for Si{sub 1{minus}x{minus}y}Ge{sub x}C{sub y}/Si heterostructures where there is the additional factor of the competition between strain energy and the chemical driving forces.

This document is the Management Plan for US DOE contract entitled, {open_quotes}Demonstration, Testing and Evaluation of In Situ Soil Heating,{close_quotes} Contract No. DE-AC05-93OR22160, IITRI Project No. C06787. In this project IITRI will demonstrate an in situ soil heating technology for the removal of hazardous organic contaminants present in the soil. In situ heating will be accomplished by the application of 60 Hz ac power to the soil. The soil will be heated to a temperature of about 90{degrees}C. This technology is suited for the removal of those organic compounds which have a normal boiling point in the range of 100{degrees} to 210{degrees}C, or else for those which exhibit a pure component vapor pressure of at least 10 mm Hg in the 90{degrees} to 100{degrees}C temperature range. For example, perchloroethylene, dichlorobenzene, trichlorobenzene, etc. may be removed by in situ ac heating. It is planned to demonstrate the technology by heating approximately 400 tons of soil in the K-1070 Classified Burial Ground located at DOE`s K-25 Site located in Oak Ridge, TN. It is estimated that the heating portion of the demonstration will take approximately 3 weeks at an average power input rate of 150 to 175 kW. IITRI expects to spend …

This report discusses the finite element method analysis which was used to refine the SPR III-M reactor fuel assembly mechanical design to withstand the stresses and strains of pulse-mode operation, which induces thermal shock loading in the fuel assembly components. The original reactor design was analyzed for its structural response to separate pulses at increasingly severe levels. Subsequent calculations at one consistent pulse level examined several design modifications, which will result in a significant reduction in stress in the final design.

The first practical use of graphite intercalation compounds (GIC) as battery anodes was reported in a 1981 patent by Basu in which a molten salt cell was described having a negative electrode that consisted of lithium intercalated in graphite. A second patent by Basu, issued in 1983, described an ambient temperature rechargeable system which also utilized lithium intercalated in graphite as the anode. Work in this area progressed at a low level, however, until interest was sparked in 1990 when Sony Corporation announced a new ``lithium-ion`` rechargeable cell containing a lithium ion intercalating carbon anode. These cells have the advantages of metallic lithium systems; i.e., high energy density, high voltage, and light weight, without the disadvantages of dendrite formation on charge and the safety considerations associated with metallic lithium. Materials other than carbon have been studied as intercalation anodes. Examples are Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}, WO{sub 2} and TiS{sub 2}. Although these alternate anode materials are of interest academically and for specialty applications, they do not hold much promise for widespread general use due to their increased weight and lower cell voltage. Studies of cathode materials for lithium-ion systems have centered on the transition metal chalcogenides. A number of these materials …

The great variety of instruments proposed for LANSCE-II entails an equally varied set of requirements for the target stations moderators. Besides the obvious features such as intensity and pulse width of the neutron pulse, a number of more pragmatic questions have to be addressed such as fast neutron background and energy deposition in the moderators, especially at large proton beam powers such as the 1 MW proton beam power proposed for LANSCE-II.