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Oil and Gas Leasing: Interior Could Do More to Encourage Diligent Development (open access)

Oil and Gas Leasing: Interior Could Do More to Encourage Diligent Development

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2007, the Department of the Interior (Interior) collected about $10.5 billion in revenues from companies that hold federal oil and gas leases. Interior's Minerals Management Service manages offshore leases, while its Bureau of Land Management manages onshore leases and leases in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Acquiring a federal lease gives the lessee the rights to explore for and develop the oil and gas resources under the lease. Development entails many tasks, including drilling wells and building pipelines that may lead to oil and gas production. GAO agreed to (1)describe Interior's efforts to encourage development of federal oil and gas leases and compare them to states' and private landowners' efforts, (2)examine trends in leasing and factors that may affect development, and (3) describe development on a sample of leases. GAO reviewed data on about 55,000 leases and spoke to officials at Interior and in eight states with leasing experience, among others."
Date: October 3, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Highway Safety: Foresight Issues Challenge DOT's Efforts to Assess and Respond to New Technology-Based Trends (open access)

Highway Safety: Foresight Issues Challenge DOT's Efforts to Assess and Respond to New Technology-Based Trends

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Fatalities on U.S. roads now total over 40,000 each year. Future reductions may require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to address new trends such as evolving crash-avoidance technologies and rapidly changing electronic devices that may distract drivers who use them on the road. (See figure.) GAO was asked to examine how DOT is addressing fast-moving trends such as these. This report examines how DOT is (1) deciding on responses to the crash avoidance and electronic distractions trends--given available evidence and uncertainties; (2) developing new evidence on these trends' safety impacts; and (3) communicating with the Congress about these and other trends and related issues. To conduct this study, GAO analyzed DOT reports, peer-reviewed literature, and other documents; interviewed DOT officials and staff; and interviewed over 30 experts."
Date: October 3, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Questions for Competitive Sourcing Hearing Record (open access)

Questions for Competitive Sourcing Hearing Record

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs requested GAO's views on various competitive sourcing issies, including the recent revisions made by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to its Circular A-76. GAO answered questions on (1) making "best value" instead of "lowest cost" the factor that agencies must use in determining who will win a public-private competition; (2) agencies' capability to effectively manage public-private competitions and overseeing contracts; and (3) whether the 12-month time limit placed on competitions in the revised OMB Circular A-76 is appropriate and how much of the time taken to conduct competitions in the past was used to do things that could be handled before the competition begins."
Date: October 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Security Disability Programs: Clearer Guidance Could Help SSA Apply the Medical Improvement Standard More Consistently (open access)

Social Security Disability Programs: Clearer Guidance Could Help SSA Apply the Medical Improvement Standard More Consistently

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Social Security Act requires that the Social Security Administration (SSA) find an improvement in a beneficiary's medical condition in order to remove him or her from either the Disability Insurance (DI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. GAO was asked to (1) examine the proportion of beneficiaries who have improved medically and (2) determine if factors associated with the standard pose challenges for SSA when determining whether beneficiaries continue to be eligible for benefits. To answer these questions, GAO surveyed all 55 Disability Determination Services (DDS) directors, interviewed SSA officials, and reviewed pertinent SSA data."
Date: October 3, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center: Claims Payment Process Was Functioning Effectively, but Additional Controls Are Needed to Reduce the Risk of Improper Payments (open access)

U.S. Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center: Claims Payment Process Was Functioning Effectively, but Additional Controls Are Needed to Reduce the Risk of Improper Payments

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (Fund) is a $1 billion fund authorized by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) to pay for (1) federal removal actions, (2) certain claims for uncompensated removal costs and damages,and (3) natural resource damage and restoration activities resulting from oil spills or the substantial threat of oil spills to the waters or shorelines of the United States. The Fund is administered by the National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) of the U.S. Coast Guard. In May 2002, our Office of General Counsel reported on legal issues and limitations of the Fund and concluded that certain administrative costs were inappropriately being paid out of the Fund. In light of this conclusion, we reviewed the internal controls over disbursements from the Fund. Specifically, we reviewed the Fund to determine whether (1) the design of internal controls over the claims process provides reasonable assurance that improper payments will not occur or will be detected in the normal course of business and (2) internal controls over the claims process are operating as designed to help ensure proper payment of claims."
Date: October 3, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
ATF: Thefts of Explosives from State and Local Government Storage Facilities Are Few but May Be Underreported (open access)

ATF: Thefts of Explosives from State and Local Government Storage Facilities Are Few but May Be Underreported

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "More than 5.5 billion pounds of explosives are used each year in the United States by private sector companies and government entities. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has authority to regulate explosives and to license privately owned explosives storage facilities. After the July 2004 theft of several hundred pounds of explosives from a state and local government storage facility, concerns arose about vulnerability to theft. GAO analyzed (1) the extent of explosives thefts from state and local government facilities, (2) ATF's authority to regulate and oversee state and local government explosives storage facilities, (3) the information ATF collects about state and local government storage facilities, and (4) security oversight measures in place at selected state and local government storage facilities."
Date: October 3, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Abstinence Education: Efforts to Assess the Accuracy and Effectiveness of Federally Funded Programs (open access)

Abstinence Education: Efforts to Assess the Accuracy and Effectiveness of Federally Funded Programs

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Reducing the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies is one objective of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS provides funding to states and organizations that provide abstinence-until-marriage education as one approach to address this objective. GAO was asked to describe the oversight of federally funded abstinence-until-marriage education programs. GAO is reporting on (1) efforts by HHS and states to assess the scientific accuracy of materials used in these programs and (2) efforts by HHS, states, and researchers to assess the effectiveness of these programs. GAO reviewed documents and interviewed HHS officials in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) that award grants for these programs."
Date: October 3, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Information: EPA Needs Better Information to Manage Risks and Measure Results (open access)

Environmental Information: EPA Needs Better Information to Manage Risks and Measure Results

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs comprehensive and accurate data to manage its programs more effectively. In reports going back to 1988, GAO has identified many long-standing problems in the agency's efforts to collect and use environmental data. This report summarizes GAO's findings on: (1) EPA's need to set risk-based priorities for its programs, and (2) develop outcome-oriented measures of its programs' results. EPA's ability to assess risks and establish risk-based priorities has been hampered by data quality problems, including critical data gaps, databases that do not operate compatibly with one another, and persistent concerns about the accuracy of the data in many of EPA's data systems. To ensure future success in developing outcome measures, however, EPA will need to make a long-term commitment to overcome major challenges to obtaining the data needed to show the results of environmental programs."
Date: October 3, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Management: Strategies to Address Improper Payments at HUD, Education, and Other Federal Agencies (open access)

Financial Management: Strategies to Address Improper Payments at HUD, Education, and Other Federal Agencies

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses (1) how internal control weaknesses make the departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Education vulnerable to, and in some cases have resulted in, improper and questionable payments and (2) strategies these and other federal agencies can use to better manage their improper payments. Despite a climate of increased scrutiny, most improper payments associated with federal programs continue to go unidentified as they drain taxpayer resources away from the missions and goals of our government. GAO found that both HUD and Education lacked fundamental internal controls over their purchase card programs that would have minimized the risk of improper purchases. Combined with a lack of monitoring, environments were created at HUD and Education where improper purchases could be made with little risk of detection. One of the most important internal controls in the purchase card process is the review of supporting documentation and approval of each purchase by the approving official. Another control that is effective in helping to prevent improper purchases is the blocking of certain merchant category codes. This control, available as part of the agencies' purchase card contracts with the card …
Date: October 3, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Energy: NRC Has Made Progress in Implementing Its Reactor Oversight and Licensing Processes but Continues to Face Challenges (open access)

Nuclear Energy: NRC Has Made Progress in Implementing Its Reactor Oversight and Licensing Processes but Continues to Face Challenges

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is responsible for overseeing the nation's 104 commercial nuclear power reactors to ensure they are operated safely. Since 2000, NRC has used a formal Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) to oversee safety. NRC is also responsible for licensing the construction and operation of new reactors. Electric power companies have announced plans to submit 20 applications in the next 18 months. This testimony is based on GAO reports that reviewed (1) how NRC implements the ROP, (2) the results of the ROP over several years, (3) the status of NRC's efforts to improve the ROP, (4) NRC's efforts to prepare its workforce and manage its workload for new reactor licensing, and (5) NRC's efforts to develop its regulatory framework and review processes for new reactor activities. In conducting this work, GAO analyzed programwide information and interviewed cognizant NRC managers and industry representatives."
Date: October 3, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs: Goals and Monitoring Are Needed to Further Improve Customer Communications (open access)

Office of Workers' Compensation Programs: Goals and Monitoring Are Needed to Further Improve Customer Communications

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP). GAO reviewed how OWCP communicates with injured federal workers, agencies who employ these persons, and medical and other service providers who treat them. To evaluate OWCP's system, GAO used criteria suggested by the National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR). This report summarizes GAO's findings on NPR's study of private sector practices for providing telephone customer service, which included: (1) setting challenging goals for meeting callers' needs for timely and accurate information; (2) collecting credible performance data to measure progress in attaining those goals; and (3) improving telephone service by using the performance data and results to periodic surveys of customers and stakeholders to determine levels of satisfaction. GAO found that OWCP provided consistent customer service regardless of where injured workers live. GAO made 2,400 telephone calls to OWCP's 12 district offices. To compare OWCP's goals and practices for telephone communication with those of model organizations, GAO surveyed three agencies that have won awards for their telephone communication practices: the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs' Benefits Administration, and Ohio's Bureau of Workers' Compensation."
Date: October 3, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
District of Columbia Government: Progress and Challenges in Performance Management (open access)

District of Columbia Government: Progress and Challenges in Performance Management

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony focuses on the District of Columbia's progress and challenges in performance management. GAO discusses whether the District: (1) met the 29 performance goals that it scheduled for completion by the end of fiscal year 2000 that Congress chose from the more than 400 performance measures contained in the Mayor's fiscal year 2001 budget request, and (2) provided evidence that the performance data are sufficiently reliable for measuring progress toward goals. Mayor Williams' performance management system contains many--but not all--of the elements used successfully by leading organizations. The District could improve the usefulness of its mandated annual performance plans and reports by ensuring that the District government's most significant performance goals are included in both the annual performance plan and the annual performance report that federal law requires the Mayor to send to Congress every year."
Date: October 3, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Program: Management Problems May Increase Vulnerability of U.S. Agriculture to Foreign Pests and Diseases (open access)

Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Program: Management Problems May Increase Vulnerability of U.S. Agriculture to Foreign Pests and Diseases

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. agriculture generates over $1 trillion in economic activity annually, but concerns exist about its vulnerability to foreign pests and diseases. Under the agricultural quarantine inspection (AQI) program, passengers and cargo are inspected at U.S. ports of entry to intercept prohibited material and pests. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 transferred responsibility for inspections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP). APHIS retained some AQI-related responsibilities, such as policy setting and training. This testimony is based on issued GAO reports and discusses (1) steps DHS and USDA took that were intended to strengthen the AQI program, (2) views of agriculture specialists of their work experiences since the transfer, and (3) management problems. As part of these reports, GAO surveyed a representative sample of agriculture specialists on their work experiences, analyzed inspection and interception data, and interviewed agency officials."
Date: October 3, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Executive Correspondence - Letter dtd 09/19/05 from Chairman Principi to Iowa Senator Charles Grassley (open access)

Executive Correspondence - Letter dtd 09/19/05 from Chairman Principi to Iowa Senator Charles Grassley

Executive Correspondence - Letter dtd 09/19/05 from Chairman Principi to Iowa Senator Charles Grassley in reply to his letter of 09/12/05. The Chairman provides answers to the Senator's questions regarding Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois.
Date: October 3, 2005
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Letter
System: The UNT Digital Library
BRAC Early Bird 03 October, 2005 (open access)

BRAC Early Bird 03 October, 2005

BRAC Early Bird 03 October, 2005
Date: October 3, 2005
Creator: United States. Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Software Engineering Processes Used to Develop the NIF Integrated Computer Control System (open access)

Software Engineering Processes Used to Develop the NIF Integrated Computer Control System

We have developed a new target platform to study Laser Plasma Interaction in ignition-relevant condition at the Omega laser facility (LLE/Rochester)[1]. By shooting an interaction beam along the axis of a gas-filled hohlraum heated by up to 17 kJ of heater beam energy, we were able to create a millimeter-scale underdense uniform plasma at electron temperatures above 3 keV. Extensive Thomson scattering measurements allowed us to benchmark our hydrodynamic simulations performed with HYDRA [1]. As a result of this effort, we can use with much confidence these simulations as input parameters for our LPI simulation code pF3d [2]. In this paper, we show that by using accurate hydrodynamic profiles and full three-dimensional simulations including a realistic modeling of the laser intensity pattern generated by various smoothing options, fluid LPI theory reproduces the SBS thresholds and absolute reflectivity values and the absence of measurable SRS. This good agreement was made possible by the recent increase in computing power routinely available for such simulations.
Date: October 3, 2007
Creator: Ludwigsen, A P; Carey, R W; Demaret, R D; Lagin, L J; Reddi, U P & Van Arsdall, P J
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Facilitation of the Estuary/Ocean Subgroup for Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation, FY06 Annual Report (open access)

Facilitation of the Estuary/Ocean Subgroup for Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation, FY06 Annual Report

This annual report is a deliverable for fiscal year 2006 (FY06) for Project 2002-077-00, Facilitation of the Estuary/Ocean Subgroup (EOS). The EOS is part of the research, monitoring, and evaluation (RME) effort the Action Agencies (Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) developed in response to the 2000 and 2004 Biological Opinions on operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System. The goal of the EOS project is to facilitate activities of the estuary/ocean RME subgroup as it coordinates implementation of the Estuary RME Plan. In FY06, EOS project accomplishments included: 1) subgroup meetings; 2) participation in the estuary work group of the Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership; 3) project management via the project tracking system, PISCES; 4) quarterly project status reports; and 5) a major revision to the Estuary RME Plan (new version May 2006) based on comments by EOS members, the Independent Scientific Review Panel, and other reviewers. In the context of uncertainty about the direction of the federal RME due to litigation on the FCRPS Biological Opinion, FY06 activities for the EOS project resulted in expanded substantive coordination with other regional RME forums, project tracking infrastructure, and a new version of the …
Date: October 3, 2006
Creator: Johnson, Gary E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Review of the margins for ASME code fatigue design curve - effects of surface roughness and material variability. (open access)

Review of the margins for ASME code fatigue design curve - effects of surface roughness and material variability.

The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code provides rules for the construction of nuclear power plant components. The Code specifies fatigue design curves for structural materials. However, the effects of light water reactor (LWR) coolant environments are not explicitly addressed by the Code design curves. Existing fatigue strain-vs.-life ({var_epsilon}-N) data illustrate potentially significant effects of LWR coolant environments on the fatigue resistance of pressure vessel and piping steels. This report provides an overview of the existing fatigue {var_epsilon}-N data for carbon and low-alloy steels and wrought and cast austenitic SSs to define the effects of key material, loading, and environmental parameters on the fatigue lives of the steels. Experimental data are presented on the effects of surface roughness on the fatigue life of these steels in air and LWR environments. Statistical models are presented for estimating the fatigue {var_epsilon}-N curves as a function of the material, loading, and environmental parameters. Two methods for incorporating environmental effects into the ASME Code fatigue evaluations are discussed. Data available in the literature have been reviewed to evaluate the conservatism in the existing ASME Code fatigue evaluations. A critical review of the margins for ASME Code fatigue design curves is presented.
Date: October 3, 2003
Creator: Chopra, O. K.; Shack, W. J. & Technology, Energy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Linking Continuous Energy Management and Open Automated Demand Response (open access)

Linking Continuous Energy Management and Open Automated Demand Response

Advances in communications and control technology, the strengthening of the Internet, and the growing appreciation of the urgency to reduce demand side energy use are motivating the development of improvements in both energy efficiency and demand response (DR) systems. This paper provides a framework linking continuous energy management and continuous communications for automated demand response (Auto-DR) in various times scales. We provide a set of concepts for monitoring and controls linked to standards and procedures such as Open Automation Demand Response Communication Standards (Open Auto-DR or OpenADR). Basic building energy science and control issues in this approach begin with key building components, systems, end-uses and whole building energy performance metrics. The paper presents a framework about when energy is used, levels of services by energy using systems, granularity of control, and speed of telemetry. DR, when defined as a discrete event, requires a different set of building service levels than daily operations. We provide examples of lessons from DR case studies and links to energy efficiency.
Date: October 3, 2008
Creator: Piette, Mary Ann; Kiliccote, Sila & Ghatikar, Girish
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Light-Front Holography: A First Approximation to QCD (open access)

Light-Front Holography: A First Approximation to QCD

Starting from the Hamiltonian equation of motion in QCD, we identify an invariant light-front coordinate {zeta} which allows the separation of the dynamics of quark and gluon binding from the kinematics of constituent spin and internal orbital angular momentum. The result is a single variable light-front Schroedinger equation for QCD which determines the eigenspectrum and the light-front wavefunctions of hadrons for general spin and orbital angular momentum. This light-front wave equation is equivalent to the equations of motion which describe the propagation of spin-J modes on anti-de Sitter (AdS) space. This allows us to establish formally a gauge/gravity correspondence between an effective gravity theory defined on AdS5 and light front QCD.
Date: October 3, 2008
Creator: de Teramond, Guy F. & Brodsky, Stanley J.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Target Diagnostic Instrument-Based Controls Framework for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) (open access)

Target Diagnostic Instrument-Based Controls Framework for the National Ignition Facility (NIF)

The extreme physics of targets shocked by NIF's 192-beam laser are observed by a diverse suite of diagnostics including optical backscatter, time-integrated and gated X-ray sensors, and laser velocity interferometry. Diagnostics to diagnose fusion ignition implosion and neutron emissions are being planned. Many diagnostics will be developed by collaborators at other sites, but ad hoc controls could lead to unreliable and costly operations. An instrument-based controls (I-BC) framework for both hardware and software facilitates development and eases integration. Each complex diagnostic typically uses an ensemble of electronic instruments attached to sensors, digitizers, cameras, and other devices. In the I-BC architecture each instrument is interfaced to a low-cost Windows XP processor and Java application. Each instrument is aggregated with others as needed in the supervisory system to form an integrated diagnostic. The Java framework provides data management, control services and operator GUI generation. I-BCs are reusable by replication and reconfiguration for specific diagnostics in XML. Advantages include minimal application code, easy testing, and better reliability. Collaborators save costs by assembling diagnostics with existing I-BCs. This paper discusses target diagnostic instrumentation used on NIF and presents the I-BC architecture and framework.
Date: October 3, 2007
Creator: Shelton, R. T.; O'Brien, D. W.; Kamperschroer, J. H. & Nelson, J. R.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Scaled Accelerator Test for the DARHT-II Downstream Transport System (open access)

Scaled Accelerator Test for the DARHT-II Downstream Transport System

The second axis of the Dual Axial radiography Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT-II) facility at LANL is currently in the commissioning phase[1]. The beam parameters for the DARHT-II machine will be nominally 18 MeV, 2 kA and 1.6 {micro}s. This makes the DARHT-II downstream system the first system ever designed to transport a high current, high energy and long pulse beam [2]. We will test these physics issues of the downstream transport system on a scaled DARHT-II accelerator with a 7.8-MeV and 660-A beam at LANL before commissioning the machine at its full energy and current. The scaling laws for various physics concerns and the beam parameters selection is discussed in this paper.
Date: October 3, 2005
Creator: Chen, Y.; Blackfield, D. T.; Caporaso, G. J.; Guethlein, G.; McCarrick, J. F.; Paul, A. C. et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
CRITICALITY CURVES FOR PLUTONIUM HYDRAULIC FLUID MIXTURES (open access)

CRITICALITY CURVES FOR PLUTONIUM HYDRAULIC FLUID MIXTURES

This Calculation Note performs and documents MCNP criticality calculations for plutonium (100% {sup 239}Pu) hydraulic fluid mixtures. Spherical geometry was used for these generalized criticality safety calculations and three geometries of neutron reflection are: {sm_bullet}bare, {sm_bullet}1 inch of hydraulic fluid, or {sm_bullet}12 inches of hydraulic fluid. This document shows the critical volume and critical mass for various concentrations of plutonium in hydraulic fluid. Between 1 and 2 gallons of hydraulic fluid were discovered in the bottom of HA-23S. This HA-23S hydraulic fluid was reported by engineering to be Fyrquel 220. The hydraulic fluid in GLovebox HA-23S is Fyrquel 220 which contains phosphorus. Critical spherical geometry in air is calculated with 0 in., 1 in., or 12 inches hydraulic fluid reflection.
Date: October 3, 2007
Creator: WD, WITTEKIND
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
MELT RATE FURNACE TESTING FOR SLUDGE BATCH 5 FRIT OPTIMIZATION (open access)

MELT RATE FURNACE TESTING FOR SLUDGE BATCH 5 FRIT OPTIMIZATION

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) was requested to provide the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) with a frit composition for Sludge Batch 5 (SB5) to optimize processing. A series of experiments were designed for testing in the Melt Rate Furnace (MRF). This dry fed tool can be used to quickly determine relative melt rates for a large number of candidate frit compositions and lead to a selection for further testing. Simulated Sludge Receipt and Adjustment Tank (SRAT) product was made according to the most recent SB5 sludge projections and a series of tests were conducted with frits that covered a range of boron and alkali ratios. Several frits with relatively large projected operating windows indicated melt rates that would not severely impact production. As seen with previous MRF testing, increasing the boron concentration had positive impacts on melt rate on the SB5 system. However, there appears to be maximum values for both boron and sodium above which the there is a negative effect on melt rate. Based on these data and compositional trends, Frit 418 and a specially designed frit (Frit 550) have been selected for additional melt rate testing. Frit 418 and Frit 550 will be run in the …
Date: October 3, 2008
Creator: Miller, D.; Fox, K.; Pickenheim, B. & Stone, M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library