Well ER-12-4 was drilled for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office, in support of the Nevada Environmental Restoration Project at the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada. This well was drilled in May 2005, as part of a hydrogeologic investigation program for the Rainier Mesa-Shoshone Mountain Corrective Action Unit in the north-central portion of the Nevada Test Site. The well is located on Rainier/Aqueduct Mesa, northwest of Yucca Flat, within Area 12 of the Nevada Test Site. The well provided information regarding the radiological and physical environment near underground nuclear tests conducted in U12t Tunnel, information on the pre-Tertiary rocks in the area, and depth to the regional water table.

The Regional HEP Team (RHT) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) staff conducted a follow-up habitat evaluation procedures (HEP) analysis on the Ladd Marsh Wildlife Management Area (LMWA) in May 2005. The 2005 HEP assessment resulted in a total of 647.44 HUs, or 0.76 HUs/acre. This is an increase of 420.34 HUs (0.49 HUs/acre) over 2001 HEP survey results. The most significant increase in HUs occurred on the Wallender and Simonis parcels which increased by 214.30 HUs and 177.49 HUs respectively. Transects were established at or near 2001 HEP analysis transect locations whenever possible. ODFW staff biologists assisted the RHT re-establish transect locations and/or suggested areas for new surveys. Since 2001, significant changes in cover type acreage and/or structural conditions have occurred due to conversion of agriculture cover types to emergent wetland and grassland cover types. Agricultural lands were seeded to reestablish grasslands and wetlands were restored through active management and manipulation of extant water sources including natural stream hydrology/flood regimes and available irrigation. Grasslands increased on the Wallender parcel by 21% (65 acres), 23% (71 acres) at the Simonis site, and 39% (62 acres) at Conley Lake. The emergent wetland cover type also changed significantly increasing 60% …

This Work Plan outlines the scope of work for targeted sampling at Webber, Kansas (Figure 1.1). This activity is being conducted at the request of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), in accordance with Section V of the Intergovernmental Agreement between the KDHE and the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA). Data obtained in this sampling event will be used to (1) evaluate the current status of previously detected contamination at Webber and (2) determine whether the site requires further action. This work is being performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by the Environmental Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary research center operated by the University of Chicago for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The CCC/USDA has entered into an interagency agreement with DOE, under which Argonne provides technical assistance to the CCC/USDA with environmental site characterization and remediation at its former grain storage facilities. Argonne has issued a Master Work Plan (Argonne 2002) that describes the general scope of and guidance for all investigations at former CCC/USDA facilities in Kansas. The Master Work Plan, approved by the KDHE, contains the materials common to investigations at all locations …

The 2004 Toyota Prius is a hybrid automobile equipped with a gasoline engine and a battery- and generator-powered electric motor. Both of these motive-power sources are capable of providing mechanical-drive power for the vehicle. The engine can deliver a peak-power output of 57 kilowatts (kW) at 5000 revolutions per minute (rpm) while the motor can deliver a peak-power output of 50 kW over the speed range of 1200-1540 rpm. Together, this engine-motor combination has a specified peak-power output of 82 kW at a vehicle speed of 85 kilometers per hour (km/h). In operation, the 2004 Prius exhibits superior fuel economy compared to conventionally powered automobiles. To acquire knowledge and thereby improve understanding of the propulsion technology used in the 2004 Prius, a full range of design characterization studies were conducted to evaluate the electrical and mechanical characteristics of the 2004 Prius and its hybrid electric drive system. These characterization studies included (1) a design review, (2) a packaging and fabrication assessment, (3) bench-top electrical tests, (4) back-electromotive force (emf) and locked rotor tests, (5) loss tests, (6) thermal tests at elevated temperatures, and most recently (7) full-design-range performance testing in a controlled laboratory environment. This final test effectively mapped the …

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Although the standard model of particle physics agrees perfectly with experimental data, it is unlikely the final theory describing particles and their interactions. New phenomena has been searched in the jets and missing transverse energy topology. Such phenomena may be due to the pair production of leptoquarks decaying into a quark and a neutrino or the pair production of stops decaying into a charm and a neutralino which is assumed to be the lightest supersymmetric particle. These searches have been performed with the D0 detector at hadronic collider TeVatron with a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV. This kind of search needs a good understanding of the jet energy calibration. The determination of the relative jet energy scale has allowed them to reduce the systematic uncertainties on the jet energy measurement when comparing the data and the simulation. Moreover a new method has been developed in order to correct simulated jets for the differences observed in the jet energy scale, the jet energy resolution and the jet reconstruction efficiency between the data and the simulation. The data analysis, performed with an integrated luminosity of 310 pb{sup -1}, has not observed any excess. This result is interpreted in terms of …

Well ER-12-3 was drilled for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office, in support of the Nevada Environmental Restoration Project at the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada. The well was drilled in March and April 2005 as part of a hydrogeologic investigation program for the Rainier Mesa-Shoshone Mountain Corrective Action Unit. The overall purpose of the well was to gather subsurface data to better characterize the hydrogeology of central Rainier Mesa, especially in the older Tertiary volcanic rocks and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. The main 47.0-centimeter hole was drilled to a depth of 799.2 meters and cased with 33.97-centimeter casing to 743.1 meters. The hole diameter was then decreased to 31.1 centimeters, and the well was drilled to a total depth of 1,496.0 meters. The completion string consisted of 13.97-centimeter stainless steel casing, with two slotted intervals open to the lower carbonate aquifer, suspended from 19.37-centimeter carbon steel casing. A piezometer string was installed outside the 33.97-centimeter casing to a depth of 467.1 meters to monitor a zone of perched water within the Tertiary volcanic section. Data gathered during and shortly after hole construction include composite drill cuttings samples collected every 3 meters (extra cuttings …

This deliverable is for Task 9, Mixed Alcohols from Syngas: State of Technology, as part of National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Award ACO-5-44027, ''Equipment Design and Cost Estimation for Small Modular Biomass Systems, Synthesis Gas Cleanup and Oxygen Separation Equipment''. Task 9 supplements the work previously done by NREL in the mixed alcohols section of the 2003 technical report Preliminary Screening--Technical and Economic Assessment of Synthesis Gas to Fuels and Chemicals with Emphasis on the Potential for Biomass-Derived Syngas.

This deliverable is Subtask 2.3 of Task 2, Gas Cleanup Design and Cost Estimates, of NREL Award ACO-5-44027, ''Equipment Design and Cost Estimation for Small Modular Biomass Systems, Synthesis Gas Cleanup and Oxygen Separation Equipment''. Subtask 2.3 builds upon the sulfur removal information first presented in Subtask 2.1, Gas Cleanup Technologies for Biomass Gasification by adding additional information on the commercial applications, manufacturers, environmental footprint, and technical specifications for sulfur removal technologies. The data was obtained from Nexant's experience, input from GTI and other vendors, past and current facility data, and existing literature.

Nano-phosphors of Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ (YAG:Ce) were synthesized with a novel salted sol-gel method, in which aqueous solution of inorganic salts (yttrium/cerium nitrates) were used along with the metal alkoxide precursor, aluminum sec-butoxide, Al(OC4H9)3. YAG single phase was formed at temperature as low as 800 C. Luminescence of YAG:Ce reached the maximum intensity when calcined above 1350C. The SEM image reveals that the grain sizes of the nano-phosphors calcined at 1100 C are in a range of 50-150 nm.

Conference paper regarding research in freeze-protection methods that could extend market acceptance for passive solar domestic water heating systems in more northern climates if the U.S.

Wind Power Today is an annual publication that provides an overview of the wind energy research conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program.

We extract parameters relevant for distinguishing among single-field inflation models from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) three-year data set, and also from WMAP in combination with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxy power spectrum. Our analysis leads to the following conclusions: (1) the Harrison-Zel'dovich model is consistent with both data sets at a 95% confidence level; (2) there is no strong evidence for running of the spectral index of scalar perturbations; (3) Potentials of the form V {infinity} {phi}{sup P} are consistent with the data for p = 2, and are marginally consistent with the WMAP data considered alone for p = 4, but ruled out by WMAP combined with SDSS. We perform a ''Monte Carlo reconstruction'' of the inflationary potential, and find that: (1) there is no evidence to support an observational lower bound on the amplitude of gravitational waves produced during inflation; (2) models such as simple hybrid potentials which evolve toward an inflationary late-time attractor in the space of flow parameters are strongly disfavored by the data, (3) models selected with even a weak slow-roll prior strongly cluster in the region favoring a ''red'' power spectrum and no running of the spectral index, consistent with …

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In this paper we discuss long-term least cost CO2stabilization scenarios based on the SRES AIM A1B scenario in the contextof an international burden-sharing regime. Starting from a stabilizationtarget, regional emission caps are formulated dynamically on the basis ofpast emissions. With these regional caps, the cost-optimal supply fuelmix in the energy sector in the four SRES world regions is calculated,and lower bounds on the volume of traded carbon are estimated. Theallocation scheme provides incentives for early mitigation action. Weestimate additional regional costs incurred by the allocation scheme, andassess the sensitivity of results to changes in the concentrationceiling, discount rates, and start date for burden sharing.

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Today's need for rapid software development has generated a great interest in employing Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software products as a way of managing cost, developing time, and effort. With an abundance of COTS software packages to choose from, the problem now is how to systematically evaluate, rank, and select a COTS product that best meets the software project requirements and at the same time can leverage off the current corporate information technology architectural environment. This paper describes a systematic process for decision support in evaluating and ranking COTS software. Performed right after the requirements analysis, this process provides the evaluators with more concise, structural, and step-by-step activities for determining the best COTS software product with manageable risk. In addition, the process is presented in phases that are flexible to allow for customization or tailoring to meet various projects' requirements.

As cognitive systems technologies emerge, so too do the ethical issues surrounding their development and use. To develop cognitive systems technologies responsibly, Sandia National Laboratories is establishing a framework to proactively address both real and potential ethical issues. This report contains the principles and guidelines developers can use to guide them as they are confronted with ethical issues related to developing cognitive systems technologies as they apply to U.S. national security. A process to apply these principles offers a practical way to transfer these principles from paper to a working strategy. Case studies are presented to reflect upon potential scenarios and to consider resolution strategies.

Conference paper regarding research in the use of freeze prevention for passive solar domestic water heating systems.

Fact sheet describes the study being conducted on fuel cell buses at SunLine Transit Agency.

The Pennsylvania State University, under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) established a national industry-driven Stripper Well Consortium (SWC) that is focused on improving the production performance of domestic petroleum and/or natural gas stripper wells. The consortium creates a partnership with the U.S. petroleum and natural gas industries and trade associations, state funding agencies, academia, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory. This report serves as the eighth quarterly technical progress report for the SWC. Key activities for this reporting period include: (1) Organize and host the 2006 Spring Meeting in State College, PA to review and select projects for SWC co-funding; (2) Participation in the 2006 PA CleanEnergy Expo Energy Theater to air the DVD on ''Independent Oil: Rediscovering American's Forgotten Wells''; (3) New member additions; (4) Improving communications; and (5) Planning of the fall technology meetings.

In this report, we characterize the key themes of transformation and tie them together in a ''how to'' guide. The perspectives were synthesized from strategic management literature, case studies, and from interviews with key management personnel from private industry on their transformation experiences.

The Program for the Evaluation and Analysis of Residential Lighting (PEARL) is a watchdog program. It was created in response to complaints received by utility program managers about the performance of certain Energy Star lighting products being promoted within their service territories and the lack of a self-policing mechanism within the lighting industry that would ensure the reliability of these products and their compliance with ENERGY STAR specifications. To remedy these problems, PEARL purchases and tests products that are available to the consumers in the marketplace. The Lighting Research Center (LRC) tests the selected products against the corresponding Energy Star specifications. This report includes the experimental procedure of Cycle 7 of PEARL program during the period of October 2005 to March 2006, along with the description of apparatus used, equipment calibration process, experimental methodology, and research findings from the testing. LRC administered the purchasing of CFL samples to test in Cycle 7, performed 100-hour seasoning for most of the CFL samples received by March 2006, and performed sphere testing for some of the CFL samples at 100 hours of life (initial measurement).

From 1994 through 2005, the Environmental Management Department of Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) at the Tonopah Test Range (TTR), NV, has collected soil samples at numerous locations on-site, on the perimeter, and off-site for the purpose of determining potential impacts to the environs from operations at TTR. These samples were submitted to an analytical laboratory of metal-in-soil analyses. Intercomparisons of these results were then made to determine if there was any statistical difference between on-site, perimeter, and off-site samples, or if there were increasing or decreasing trends which indicated that further investigation may be warranted. This work provided the SNL Environmental Management Department with a sound baseline data reference against which to compare future operational impacts. In addition, it demonstrates the commitment that the Laboratories have to go beyond mere compliance to achieve excellence in its operations. This data is presented in graphical format with narrative commentaries on particular items of interest.