High-power copper vapor lasers (CVLs) have been under development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for more than 15 years in support of the DOE`s Program in Laser Isotope Separation. The technology is now quite mature, having met many of its goals in system architecture, power, reliability, and maintainability. Over the past several years we have begun an effort to utilize this technology in other industrial applications, such as metals processing, and have found a number of unique processes. In this paper we describe briefly the general characteristics of the CVL, our recent progress in developing the laser as an industrial tool, and our progress in using the laser in precision drilling and cutting.

The electrical discharge techniques, called non-thermal, utilize high voltage breakdown of gases using short pulses of one to a few hundred nanoseconds. These short pulses between metal electrodes generate energetic electrons without appreciable thermal heating of the gas. The energetic electrons collide with gas molecules to form radicals. The radicals then react with pollutants to form harmless compounds. Our experimental device uses a wire in a pipe geometry. The wire is driven by a 40 kilovolt pulse 100 nanoseconds long. Gas is circulated in a loop through the pipe geometry in a closed system. This system permits the introduction of various gas combinations prior to testing. The recirculated gas can be heated to determine the effect on the electrical discharge, and chemical reactions. The efficiency of pollutant removal is the key to applications. We have been able to significantly improve the efficiency of NO removal by the addition of hydrocarbons. Nitric oxide has been removed with an energy cost of 15 ev per NO molecule. We believe the hydrocarbon additive serves by recycling the hydroxyl radicals during the oxidation and reduction of NO. The implementation of this process will depend largely on how much additives, electrical power consumption, and final …

This report discusses numerous elements of the maintenance program at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) which have undergone changes during the last 5 years. Looking back, many of the maintenance program changes prior to 1991 were fragmented. Maintenance program elements were being ratcheted to address specific productivity and safety concerns. The improvements were warranted, but often improvements were implemented without a systematic review of how they impacted other maintenance program elements. After 1990 when WINCO began using the Chapter II guidelines of DOE Order 4330.4A as a maintenance program model, there was a marked improvement in the quality of the maintenance program changes. The post 1990 changes have been part of a systematic plan that has been communicated to all of the maintenance players. The Chapter II guidelines and the maintenance implementation plan (MIP) personnel with a focus for improvement that was missing prior to 1991.

In many applications, x-ray multilayer mirrors are exposed to high peak fluxes of x-rays with subsequent damage to the mirror. Mirror damage is a particularly severe problem with the use of multilayers as cavity optics for short wavelength x-ray lasers. Intense optical and x-ray radiation, from the x-ray laser plasma amplifier, often damage the multilayer mirror on time scales of hundreds of picoseconds. The phenomenon of multilayer mirror damage by pulsed x-ray emission has been studied using short duration (500 psec) bursts of soft x-rays 1 from a laser produced gold plasma. The results of the experiments will be compared with some simple models and the possibility of increasing the damage thresholds of short wavelength multilayer mirrors will be discussed.

The Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP) has initiated the Minimum Additive Waste Stabilization (MAWS) Program to demonstrate and evaluate integrated treatment of the FEMP site`s Operable Unit 1 contaminated soils and sludges. The demonstration will require on-site operation of an integrated treatment system consisting of soil washing, water treatment by ion exchange, and vitrification of all contaminated solid wastes at a rate of 300 kg per day. Compliance with all relevant environmental regulations is a major priority of this program. Relevant regulatory requirements come under the jurisdiction of the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), and the Department of Energy (DOE). The plethora of potentially applicable regulations were reviewed and an efficient regulatory compliance strategy developed. This strategy was documented in the MAWS Regulatory Compliance Plan which was presented to the regulatory agencies as a reasonable working plan. The FEMP has found the development of a comprehensive, organized regulatory plan to be critical to the successful implementation of integrated demonstration projects such as the MAWS Program. This paper discusses the approaches used in the MAWS Regulatory Compliance Plan and highlights which could prove useful for others that want to approach the DOE and/or …

We herein present an observational and theoretical review of the winds of compact binaries. After a brief consideration of the accretion disk coronae and winds of X-ray binaries, the review concentrates on the winds of cataclysmic variables (CVs). Specifically, we consider the related problems of the geometry and mass-loss rate of the winds of CVs, their ionization state and variability, and the results from studies of eclipsing CVs. Finally, the properties of bona fide accretion disk wind models are reviewed.

The workshop was called to assess the performance of neutron dosimetry per the responses from ten DOE accelerator facilities to an Office of Energy Research questionnaire regarding implementation of a personnel dosimetry requirement in DRAFT DOE 5480.ACC, ``Safety of Accelerator Facilities``. The goals of the workshop were to assess the state of dosimetry at high energy accelerators and if such dosimetry requires improvement, to reach consensus on how to proceed with such improvements. There were 22 attendees, from DOE Programs and contract facilities, DOE, Office of Energy Research (ER), Office of Environmental Safety and Health (EH), Office of Fusion Energy, and the DOE high energy accelerator facilities. A list of attendees and the meeting agenda are attached. Copies of the presentations are also attached.

The workshop was called to assess the performance of neutron dosimetry per the responses from ten DOE accelerator facilities to an Office of Energy Research questionnaire regarding implementation of a personnel dosimetry requirement in DRAFT DOE 5480.ACC, Safety of Accelerator Facilities''. The goals of the workshop were to assess the state of dosimetry at high energy accelerators and if such dosimetry requires improvement, to reach consensus on how to proceed with such improvements. There were 22 attendees, from DOE Programs and contract facilities, DOE, Office of Energy Research (ER), Office of Environmental Safety and Health (EH), Office of Fusion Energy, and the DOE high energy accelerator facilities. A list of attendees and the meeting agenda are attached. Copies of the presentations are also attached.

This article characterizes the infinitesimal generators of semigroups of linear transformations.