A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "DOD's management, funding, and reporting of spending for spare parts programs have been a focus of GAO high risk reports for over a decade. They noted that spare parts shortages adversely affect military operations and readiness. Despite funding of about $1.9 billion over fiscal years 1999-2002 to increase availability of spare parts, managing to mitigate shortages still challenges the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). GAO examined if (1) DLA's strategic planning addresses mitigating critical spare parts shortages that affect readiness, (2) strategic initiatives will likely mitigate these shortages, (3) a DOD-directed initiative has improved availability of critical aviation parts, and (4) DLA can identify the impact of added investment on parts availability."

None

This report contains a guide to obtaining copies of the constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.

Summary of Anchor Glass' plant-wide assessment to identify energy and cost saving opportunities at the corporation's facilities in Warner Robins, GA and Jacksonville, FL.

Positronium (Ps) is simulated using Path Integral Monte Carlo (PIMC). This method can reproduce the results of previous simple theories in which a single quantum particle is used to represent Ps within an idealized pore. In addition, the calculations treat the e{sup -} and e{sup +} of Ps exactly and realistically model interactions with solid atoms, thereby correcting and extending the simpler theory. They study the pick-off lifetime of o-Ps and the internal contact density, {kappa}, which controls the self-annihilation behavior, for Ps in model voids (spherical pores), defects in a solid (argon), and microporous solids (zeolites).

The path forward for managing of Hanford K Basin sludge calls for it to be packaged, shipped, and stored at T Plant until final processing at a future date. An important consideration for the design and cost of retrieval, transportation, and storage systems is the potential for heat and gas generation through oxidation reactions between uranium metal and water. This report, the third in a series (Series III), describes work performed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to assess corrosion and gas generation from irradiated metallic uranium particles (fuel particles) with and without K Basin sludge addition. The testing described in this report consisted of 12 tests. In 10 of the tests, 4.3 to 26.4 g of fuel particles of selected size distribution were placed into 60- or 800-ml reaction vessels with 0 to 100 g settled sludge. In another test, a single 3.72-g fuel fragment (i.e., 7150-mm particle) was placed in a 60 ml reaction vessel with no added sludge. The twelfth test contained only sludge. The fuel particles were prepared by crushing archived coupons (samples) from an irradiated metallic uranium fuel element. After loading the sludge materials (whether fuel particles, mixtures of fuel particles and sludge, or …

We present a new x-ray detection technique based on optical measurement of the effects of x-ray absorption and electron hole pair creation in a direct band-gap semiconductor. The electron-hole pairs create a frequency dependent shift in optical refractive index and absorption. This is sensed by simultaneously directing an optical carrier beam through the same volume of semiconducting medium that has experienced an xray induced modulation in the electron-hole population. If the operating wavelength of the optical carrier beam is chosen to be close to the semiconductor band-edge, the optical carrier will be modulated significantly in phase and amplitude. This approach should be simultaneously capable of very high sensitivity and excellent temporal response, even in the difficult high-energy xray regime. At xray photon energies near 10 keV and higher, we believe that sub-picosecond temporal responses are possible with near single xray photon sensitivity. The approach also allows for the convenient and EMI robust transport of high-bandwidth information via fiber optics. Furthermore, the technology can be scaled to imaging applications. The basic physics of the detector, implementation considerations, and preliminary experimental data are presented and discussed.

Summary of Inland Box Corporation's plant-wide assessment to identify energy and cost saving opportunities at the corporation's linerboard mill in Rome, Georgia.

This is a report of the Meeting of Interests for the Life-cycle Inventory (LCI) Database Project hosted by the Ford Motor Company. The meeting was held to explain the project, discuss related issues and concerns, and to seek the support of a broad spectrum of relevant organizations. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop publicly available LCI Data modules for commonly used materials, products, and processes.

Quarterly magazine with articles on Supplemental Environmental Projects, AFVs for 2004, and a European clean transportation initiative called CIVITAS. Also an interview with Boone Pickens about natural gas fueling for vehicles.

The Wind Energy Resource Atlas of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) wind resource group identifies the wind characteristics and distribution of the wind resource in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The detailed wind resource maps and other information contained in the atlas facilitate the identification of prospective areas for use of wind energy technologies, both for utility-scale power generation and off-grid wind energy applications.

We employed the two detector coincident Doppler Broadening Technique (coPAS) to investigate Ag, Au and Ag/Au alloy quantum dots of varying sizes which were deposited in thin layers on glass slides. The Ag quantum dots range from 2 to 3 nm in diameter, while the Ag/Au alloy quantum dots exhibit Ag cores of 2 nm and 3 nm and Au shells of varying thickness. We investigate the possibility of positron confinement in the Ag core due to positron affinity differences between Ag and Au. We describe the results and their significance to resolving the issue of whether positrons annihilate within the quantum dot itself or whether surface and positron escape effects play an important role.

The countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives lie within the equatorial belt, a region where substantial solar energy resources exist throughout much of the year in adequate quantities for many applications, including solar water heating, solar electricity, and desalination. The extent of solar resources in Sri Lanka has been estimated in the past based on a study of the daily total direct sunshine hours recorded at a number of weather and agricultural stations throughout the country. These data have been applied to the well-known Angstrom relationship in order to obtain an estimate of the distribution of monthly average daily total solar resources at these stations. This study is an effort in improve on these estimates in two ways: (1) to apply a gridded cloud cover database at a 40-km resolution to produce updated monthly average daily total estimates of all solar resources (global horizontal, DNI, and diffuse) for the country, and (2) to input hourly or three-hourly cloud cover observations made at nine weather stations in Sri Lanka and two in the Maldives into a solar model that produces estimates of hourly solar radiation values of the direct normal, global, and diffuse resource covering the length of the observational …

The purpose of the Demonstration Plan is to define a pathway to IR technology implementation and use by addressing these issues. The intended outcome of this demonstration and evaluation is to identify and remove barriers for the targeted use of IR technologies in trucking applications. Positive results will encourage truck operators to demand these systems and motivate truck manufacturers to integrate and install IR as standard equipment.

This report gives a brief overview of the progress of the project since January 1, 2003. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop publicly available LCI Data modules for commonly used materials, products, and processes.

This report details a research program to develop requirements that support the definition, design, and demonstration of a distributed generation-electric power system interconnection interface concept that allows distributed generation to be interconnected to the electric power system in a manner that provides value to end users without compromising reliability and performance.

Subcontractor report details work done by TIAX and Westport to test and perform cost analysis for catalytic glow plugs and shields for direct-injection natural gas engines for the Next Generation Natural Gas Vehicle Program.

We report two investigations conducted by using photoconductivity decay lifetime measurement. The first is crystalline silicon (c-Si) surface passivation using quinhydrone/methanol (QM) for bulk minority-carrier lifetime measurement. QM shows great promise as a substitute for iodine-based solutions because of its superior stability and minimized surface-recombination velocity in silicon. The second is interface passivation in an amorphous silicon (a-Si)/c-Si heterojunction structure as a parallel effort to develop and optimize heterojunction c-Si solar cells by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). A thin buffer layer inserted between the a-Si and the c-Si substrate has been found to be much more effective than a directly deposited a-Si/c-Si interface in reducing the interface recombination velocity.

The thickness of a semiconductor wafer can critically influence mechanical and/or electronic yield of the device(s) fabricated on it. For most microelectronic (surface) devices, the thickness of a wafer is important primarily for mechanical reasons--to provide control and stability of devices by minimizing stresses resulting from various device-fabrication processes. However, for minority-carrier devices, such as solar cells, the entire thickness of the wafer participates in the optical and electronic performance of the device. In either case, control of wafer thickness through careful measurement is a fundamental requirement in the commercial fabrication of electronic devices.

The goal of the work reported here is to develop a concept for an active neutron interrogation system that can detect small targets of SNM contraband in cargo containers, roughly 5 kg HEU or 1 kg Pu, even when well shielded by a thick cargo. It is essential that the concept be reliable and have low false-positive and false-negative error rates. It also must be rapid to avoid interruption of commerce, completing the analysis in minutes. A new radiation signature unique to SNM has been identified that utilizes high-energy (E{sub {gamma}} = 3-7 MeV) fission product {gamma}-ray emission. Fortunately, this high-energy {gamma}-ray signature is robust in that it is very distinct compared to normal background radiation where there is no comparable high-energy {gamma}-ray radiation. Equally important, it has a factor of 10 higher yield than delayed neutrons that are the basis of classical interrogation technique normally used on small unshielded specimens of SNM. And it readily penetrates two meters of low-Z and high-Z cargo at the expected density of {approx} 0.5 gm/cm{sup 3}. Consequently, we expect that in most cases the signature flux at the container wall is at least 2-3 decades more intense than delayed neutron signals used historically …

At the former nuclear test site at Maralinga, South Australia, soil cleanup began in October 1996 with the objective to remove the potential for residual plutonium (Pu) exposures to the public. In this case the cleanup was to restore access to the closed test site. The proposed long-term land use was primarily to be a hunting area for Pitjantjatjara (Aboriginal) people, but also presumably to be available to the public who might have an interest in the history of the site. The long-term management objective for the site was to allow casual use, but to prohibit habitation. The goal of this study is to provide an evaluation of the Maralinga soil cleanup in terms of potential long-term public inhalation exposures to particulate Pu, and in terms of a contribution to planning and conducting any such soil Pu-cleanup. Such cleanups might be carried out for example, on the Nevada Test Site in the United States. For Pu that has been deposited on the soil by atmospheric sources of finely divided particles, the dominant exposure pathway to humans is by inhalation. Other exposure pathways are less important because the Pu particles become oxidized into a nearly insoluble form, do not easily enter …

We report on a solid-source method to introduce dopants or controlled impurities directly into the melt zone during float-zone growth of single- or multicrystalline ingots. Unlike the Czochralski (CZ) growth situation, float-zoning allows control over the levels of some impurities (O, C) that cannot be avoided in CZ growth or ingot casting. But aside from impurity studies, the method turns out to be very practical for routine p-type doping in semicontinuous growth processes such as float-zoning, electromagnetic casting, or melt-replenished ribbon growth. Equations governing dopant incorporation, dopant withdrawal, and N co-doping are presented and experimentally verified. Doping uniformity and doping initiation and withdrawal time constants are also reported. The method uses nontoxic source materials and is flexible with quick turnaround times for changing doping levels. Boron p-type doping with nitrogen co-doping is particularly attractive for silicon lattice strengthening against process-induced dislocation motion and also allows greater freedom from incorporation of Si self-interstitial cluster or A and B swirl-type defects and"D"-type microdefects than nitrogen-free p-type material.

N/A

Through their John Day Basin Office, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (Tribes) acquired the Forrest Ranch during July of 2002. The property consists of two parcels located in the John Day subbasin within the Columbia basin. The mainstem parcel consists of 3,503 acres and is located 1/2 mile to the east of Prairie City, Oregon on the mainstem of the John Day River. The middle fork parcel consists of 820 acres and is located one mile to the west of the town of Austin, OR on the middle fork John Day River. The Forrest Ranch Project is under a memorandum of agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to provide an annual written report generally describing the real property interests of the project and management activities undertaken or in progress. The Forrest Ranch acquisition was funded by BPA as part of their program to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife habitat affected by the operation of their hydroelectric facilities on the Columbia River and its tributaries. Following lengthy negotiations with the BPA and property owner, the Tribes were able to conclude the acquisition of the Forrest Ranch in July of 2002. The intent of the …