Experimental short pulse lasers are rapidly approaching energy levels where target irradiances exceeding 10{sup 20} W/CM{sup 2} are routinely achievable. These high intensity levels will open up a new class of solid target interaction physics where relativistic effects must be included and non-traditional absorption mechanisms become significant. However much remains to be understood of the absorption physics at lower intensities where classical absorption is dominated by collisional and resonance absorption. If attention is paid to producing clean laser pulses that do not significantly pre-pulse interact with the target, it is possible to produce plasmas of sufficiently short scale length that near-solid density interactions are observable at intensities exceeding 10{sup 18} W/CM{sup 2} for 100 fs laser irradiation. We report here extensions to our previous efforts at normal incidence that expand our observations to non-normal angles including the effect of polarization for several target materials. Between 10{sup 13} W/CM{sup 2} and 10{sup 14} W/CM{sup 2} we observe that the target absorption retains a signature of the intra-band atomic transitions. At higher intensities a more material independent ion-electron collisional absorption and short scale length resonance absorption dominate. P - polarized absorption in short scale length plasmas has been observed to exceed 60 …

This document shows compliance with DOE order 6430.1A of the 241-SY-101 RAPID Mitigation system. The purpose of this document is to record the design attributes of the RAPID Mitigation System which fulfill the pertinent requirements specified in DOE Order 6430.1A-General Design Criteria. Those pertinent Order requirements which are not met by the project at the time of the release of this document are recorded and noted as open items in Section 4.0-Conclusions.

We have conducted a series of accelerated exposure test (AET) studies for various crystalline-Si (c-Si) and amorphous-Si (a-Si) cell samples that were encapsulated with different superstrates, pottants, and substrates. Nonuniform browning patterns of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) pottants were observed for glass/EVA/glass-encapsulated c-Si cell samples under solar simulator exposures at elevated temperatures. The polymer/polymer-configured laminates with Tedlar or Tefzel did not discolor because of photobleaching reactions, but yellowed with polyester or nylon top films. Delamination was observed for the polyester/EVA layers on a-Si minimodules and for a polyolefin-based thermoplastic pottant at high temperatures. For all tested c-Si cell samples, irregular changes in the current-voltage parameters were observed that could not be accounted for simply by the transmittance changes of the superstrate/pottant layers. Silicone-type adhesives used under UV-transmitting polymer top films were observed to cause greater cell current/efficiency loss than EVA or polyethylene pottants.

The syntheses of silicon-containing compounds and the studies of their rearrangements have been active research areas in the Barton research group. Previously, the addition of disilanes to acetylenes was studied in the group and an intramolecular 2S + 2A mechanism has been proposed. In this thesis, the work is focused on the addition of disilanes to cumulenes. The syntheses of the precursors are discussed and the possible mechanisms for their thermal, photochemical and catalytic rearrangements are proposed. Conjugated organic polymers have been studied in the group since 1985 because of their potential for exhibiting high electroconductivity, photoconductivity, strong non-linear optical response and intense fluorescence. In the second section of this dissertation, the synthesis and property studies of poly(phenylene vinylene) analogues are discussed.

Use of ``LDS Moldable`` as a cushion material for future DWPF melters is deemed feasible, because it serves the purpose of reducing the stress in the steel shell to acceptable levels. The assessment is based on the design geometry of the DWPF melter currently undergoing testing.

Multi-Canister Overpacks (MCOs) containing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) will be routinely handled at the Canister Storage Building (CSB) during fuel movement operations in the SNF Project. This analysis was performed to investigate the potential for damage from an eccentric accidental drop onto the standard storage tube, overpack tube, service station, or sample/weld station. Appendix D was added to the FDNW document to include the peer Review Comment Record & transmittal record.

Ultrasonic techniques have recently been applied to the texture characterization in polycrystalline aggregates of hexagonal crystals. The basis of this application lies in the relations between the elastic constants {bar C}{sub ij} of the aggregates, which can be inferred from ultrasonic wave velocity measurements, and the orientation distribution coefficients. This communication present such relations for aggregates which possess orthotopic material symmetry and hexagonal crystal symmetry for Voigt, Reuss, and Hill averaging methods in a unified and concise representation.

The Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development of the Committee on Appropriations, in its report dated July 16, 1996, approved the implementation of a Working Capital Fund (Fund) at the U.S. Department of Energy. The Subcommittee also directed the Office of Inspector General to conduct periodic audits of the Fund. This audit was conducted to determine if the Department established an effective system of controls over the Fund. The specific objectives were to determine if internal controls were sufficient to ensure that appropriate costs were allocated in a reasonable and unbiased manner and in a way what was consistent with the expectations established by the Congress.

This is the ninth quarterly report. Objective is to extend and optimize UOP`s single-stage slurry-catalyzed co-processing scheme. Emphasis is given to defining and improving catalyst utilization and costs, evaluating alternative and disposable slurry-catalyst systems, and improving catalyst recycle and recovery. During this quarter, a temperature survey was completed with the reference V catalyst and liquid recycle. Objective of this study was to determine whether the improved high-severity performance observed for the Mo catalyst with liquid recycle was also possible with the reference V catalyst. In Run 5, a temperature-space velocity study was performed with the V catalyst but without liquid recycle. In that run, plant operability dropped dramatically above 425 C. Recycle was added in Run 21, but the temperature was kept constant at the reference 426 C. This report covers results of bench-scale Run 29, which examined combined effects of liquid recycle and increased temperature.

BTeV is a dedicated beauty and charm experiment proposed for the Fer- milab Tevatron. The broad physics program envisaged for BTeV requires a trigger that is efficient for a wide variety of heavy-quark decays, includ- ing those to all-hadronic final states. To achieve this, we plan to trigger on evidence of detached vertices at the very first trigger level, taking ad- vantage of fast-readout pixel detectors to facilitate fast pattern recognition. Simulations show that 100-to-1 rejection of light-quark background events can be achieved at Level 1 using specialized trackfinding hardware, and that an additional factor of 10 to 100 in data reduction can be achieved using general-purpose-processor farms at Levels 2 and 3. This is adequate to allow data-taking at luminosities in excess of 2 x 10³² cm^-2s^-1.

The ground carbonized RDF slurry from the grinding trials at IKA Works at approximately 50 wt.% solids was sealed in drums and shipped to the Energy and Environmental Research Corporation (EER) for the dioxin/furan and trace heavy metal combustion tests. In addition, a fuel characterization and trace component analysis was completed for this final carbonized RDF slurry fuel. This final fuel was a blend of several fuels from the pilot scale slurry carbonization experiments. As can be seen from the data, the final carbonized RDF has an exceptional heating value and volatile matter content. In addition, trace components are significantly lower than the raw RDF pellets. The report summarizes results from combustion tests and air pollution monitoring of these tests. For the upcoming time period 10/96--01/97, it is anticipated that the analysis of the dioxin/furan and trace heavy metal combustion test will be completed. This analysis includes rheology and particle size distribution analysis of the carbonized RDF slurry fuel, carbon content and TCLP of the combustion ash, trace heavy metal balances around combustor, and dioxin/furan emissions. Finally, the slurry carbonization computer model and computer simulations will be completed in the next reporting period (including the waste water treatment subsystem). Based …

In this paper the monthly mean vorticity and divergence at 200 hPa are compared from four data sources: The NCEP/NCAR reanalyses 1958 through 1994, the ECMWF (ERA) reanalyses, 1979 through 1994, a NCAR CCM3 integration using prescribed SSTs from 1979 through 1993, and the NCAR CSM 300 year integration. The NCEP, ERA and CCM3 all provide data for the period 1979 through1993. The timescales examined are the annual cycle and interannual variations. The annual mean vorticity of the ERA and NCEP match very closely. The annual cycle is likewise close except in the eastern equatorial Pacific and Indian Ocean. Compared to the reanalyses, the models have adequate annual means but suffer in the depiction of the annual cycle in the regions of the jet maxima and in some regions of the Tropics. The CSM appears to inherit errors from the CCM3 and apparently add some new ones. The annual mean divergence shows a much larger difference between the reanalyses. This is most pronounced in the Tropics especially over the African and South American land masses. The models also show large differences, with the CSM being an outlier in the tropical Pacific. For many tropical and extratropical locations even the annual …

The paper describes the design and analysis of Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators Integrated with JPL's CRAF and Cassini spacecraft. The principal purpose of the CRAF mission is the study of asteroids and comets, and the principal purpose of the Cassini mission is the study of asteroids, Saturn, and its moons (particularly Titan). Both missions will employ the Mariner/Mark-2 spacecraft, and each will be powered by two GPHS-RTGs. JPL's spacecraft designers wish to locate the two RTGs in close proximity to each other, resulting in mutual and unsymmetrical obstruction of their heat rejection paths. To support JPL's design studies, the U.S. Department of Energy asked Fairchild to determine the effect of the RTGs' proximity on their power output. As described in the paper, this required the development of novel analysis methods and computer codes for the coupled thermal and electrical analysis of obstructed RTGs with axial and circumferential temperature, voltage, and current variations. The code was validated against measured data of unobstructed RTG tests, and was used for the detailed analysis of the obstructed CRAF and Cassini RTGs. Also described is a new method for predicting the combined effect of fuel decay and thermoelectric degradation on the output of obstructed RTGs, which …

A main research interest is the characterization of monolayers formed by the spontaneous adsorption of organosulfur compounds at gold. This dissertation describes the development and application of long optical pathlength thin-layer spectroelectrochemistry in an attempt to address key issues regarding the reactivity of surface-immobilized molecules. The first section of this introductory chapter briefly describes the general approach to the preparation and characterization of these films. The last section provides an overview of the main principles and advantages of thin-layer spectroelectrochemistry for studying surface-adsorbed species. The body of this dissertation is divided into four chapters. Chapter 2 consists of a paper describing the design, construction, and characterization of a cuvette-based LOPTLC. Chapter 3 is a paper which examines the reductive desorption process using thin-layer spectroelectrochemistry to monitor and identify the desorption product. Chapter 4 is a paper describing the characterization of monolayers functionalized with a catechol terminal group which serves as a redox transformable coordination site for metal ion binding. Chapter 5 discusses the application of thin-layer spectroelectrochemistry to acid-base reactivity studies of surface-immobilized molecules. The final section provides some general conclusions and a prospectus for future studies. These chapters have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base. This …

A user interface is created to monitor and operate the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. The interface is networked to the system's programmable logic controller. The controller maintains automated control of the system. The user through the interface is able to see the status of the system and override or adjust the automatic control features. The interface is programmed to show digital readouts of system equipment as well as visual queues of system operational statuses. It also provides information for system design and component interaction. The interface is made easier to read by simple designs, color coordination, and graphics. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermi lab) conducts high energy particle physics research. Part of this research involves collision experiments with protons, and anti-protons. These interactions are contained within one of two massive detectors along Fermilab's largest particle accelerator the Tevatron. The D-Zero Assembly Building houses one of these detectors. At this time detector systems are being upgraded for a second experiment run, titled Run II. Unlike the previous run, systems at D-Zero must be computer automated so operators do not have to continually monitor and adjust these systems during the run. Human intervention should only be necessary for system start …

The pyrolysis of methane in the absence of a quench was studied at temperatures between 900 and 1050{degrees}C and methane flows of 80--200 Scc/min. At 1050{degrees}C and a methane flow rate of 100 Scc/minute, methane conversion ranged between 15--19% with the major products being benzene, acetylene, and ethylene. The benzene molar selectivity was ca. 50%, corresponding to molar yield of ca. 7.5--10%. The reaction resulted in the formation of visible amounts of solid carbon, particularly at 1050{degrees}C. The resulting solid consisted partly of carbon and partly of a yellowish tar-like material which was soluble in toluene and contained various heavy hydrocarbons and polyring aromatics.

Microscale separation and detection methods for real-time monitoring of dynamic cellular processes (e.g., secretion) by capillary electrophoresis (CE) and microscopic imaging were developed. Ultraviolet laser-induced native fluorescence (LINF) provides simple, sensitive and direct detection of neurotransmitters and proteins without any derivatization. An on-column CE-LINF protocol for quantification of the release from single cell was demonstrated. Quantitative measurements of both the amount of insulin released from and the amount remaining in the cell ({beta}TC3) were achieved simultaneously. Secretion of catecholamines (norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E)) from individual bovine adrenal chromaffin cells was determined using the on-column CE-LINF. Direct visualization of the secretion process of individual bovine adrenal chromaffin cells was achieved by LINF imaging microscopy with high temporal and spatial resolution. The secretion of serotonin from individual leech Retzius neurons was directly characterized by LINF microscopy with high spatial resolution.

Capillary electrophoresis is becoming more and more important in nucleic acid analysis including DNA sequencing, typing and disease gene measurements. This work summarized the background of DNA typing. The recent development of capillary electrophoresis was also discussed. The second part of the thesis showed the principle of DNA typing based on using the allelic ladder as the absolute standard ladder in capillary electrophoresis system. Future work will be focused on demonstrating DNA typing on multiplex loci and examples of disease diagnosis in the on-line format of PCR-CE. Also capillary array electrophoresis system should allow high throughput, fast speed DNA typing. Only the introduction and conclusions for this report are available here. A reprint was removed for separate processing.

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This work describes the continued development of a new separation technique, electrochemically-modulated liquid chromatography (EMLC), from column design, retention mechanisms to pharmaceutical applications. The introduction section provides a literature review of the technique as well as a brief overview of the research in each of the chapters. This section is followed by four chapters which investigate the issues of EMLC column design, the retention mechanism of monosubstituted aromatic compounds, and the EMLC-based applications to two important classes of pharmaceutical compounds (i.e., corticosteroids and benzodiazepines). These four sections have been removed to process separately for inclusion on the database. The dissertation concludes with a general summary, a prospectus, and a list of references cited in the General Introduction. 32 refs.

The author`s group has previously shown that isocyanides are readily adsorbed from solutions to Au powder and bind to the Au surface in an end-on fashion through the terminal carbon. Later work demonstrated that the equilibrium constants for the reversible adsorption of electronically inequivalent isocyanides could be obtained using the Langmuir isotherm technique. This dissertation describes two projects completed which complement the initial findings of this group. Initially, several alkylisocyanides were synthesized to examine the effect of tail length on Au powder adsorption. It was observed that the length of the alkyl chain affected not only the Au surface binding affinity, but also the rate of surface saturation and saturation coverage values. Direct competition studies were also studied using a {sup 13}C-labeled isocyanide. These studies demonstrated the stabilization afforded by substrate-substrate packing forces in SAM`s formed by the longer chain isocyanides. In a second study, di and triisocyanides were synthesized to determine the effect that the length of the connecting link and the number of isocyanide groups (as points of attachment) have on Au adsorption stability. The work in this area describes the binding modes, relative binding affinities and surface coverage values for a series of flexible alkyl and xylyldiisocyanides …

The parameterized subgrid-scale surface fluxes (PASS) model uses satellite data and limited surface observations to infer root-zone available moisture content and evapotranspiration rate with moderate spatial resolution over extended terrestrial areas. The ultimate goal of this work is to produce estimates of water loss by evapotranspiration, for application in hydrological models. The major advantage to the method is that it can be applied to areas having diverse surface characteristics where direct surface flux measurements either do not exist or are not feasible and where meteorological data are available from only a limited number of ground stations. The emphasis of this work with the PASS model is on improving (1) methods of using satellite remote sensing data to derive the essential parameters for individual types of surfaces over large areas, (2) algorithms for describing the interactions of near-surface atmospheric conditions with surface processes, and (3) algorithms for computing surface energy and water vapor flux at a scale close to the size of a satellite-derived image pixel. The PASS approach is being developed and tested further with observations from the 1997 Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study (CASES-97) at the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiments (ABLE) site in the Walnut River Watershed (WRW), an area …

This report provides an overview of applications within the DOE complex which could benefit from the use of modular robotics technology during remediation operations. Each application area contains one or more specific tasks which are presently conducted by humans under hazardous conditions or which are deemed highly impractical, or are altogether impossible without automation. Five major areas were investigated for specific needs with respect to automation. Information was collected on Mixed Waste Operations, Contaminant Automated Analysis, Tanks, Decontamination and Dismantlement and Automated Plutonium Processing. During this investigation, information was gathered from available literature, telephone interviews with informed personnel and on-site visits. This data serves to provide design requirements and guidelines for the design of a family of modular actuators, which will be used to construct manipulators suited to each task. In addition, a survey of existing modular manipulator designs is presented. This survey addresses modular manipulators developed inside government labs and in universities for such applications as space exploration or controls research. It also addresses efforts at commercially viable industrial manipulators which have been built. This survey of robotic systems provides the reader with a glimpse into what technology currently exists in the way of modular manipulator automation and, to …

The objectives of our participation in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program were (1) to improve GCM treatment of subgrid-scale variability of cloud-radiation interaction, and (2) to study the effect of variability on GCM climate simulations. Specifically, the studies focused on the development of a ''mosaic'' approach to parameterize the variability associated with cloud vertical ''geometric association'' and horizontal ''inhomogeneity''; and the evaluation and improvement of radiative effects of aerosols and layer clouds. These studies were conducted using the shortwave and longwave radiation and cloud parameterizations employed in the SUNY-Albany regional climate model and the NCAR-CCM3 global climate model. The measurements at the ARM Southern Great Plains were used to evaluate and improve these GCM parameterizations. In addition, we also used the cloud resolving model simulations to supplement the cloud statistics, in particular the cloud geometric association and vertical water/ice distribution.