The final technical report for this project contains detailed technical results for the various tasks performed in the projects. The project scope was to develop an apparatus and process for second-stage drying of softwoods, such as southern yellow pine, for construction lumber. The focus of the project was on increasing the efficiency of high-temperature drying. The project tasks were: (1) computer simulation refinement and extension of the theory to commercial-sized kilns, (2) detailed heat exchanger equipment design, (3) pilot-scale design and fabrication, (4) experimental evaluation of the pilot-scale system, and (5) preliminary design of a prototype system. The effort on this project has been continuous and productive in gaining a better understanding of the processes involved in the drying of softwoods. 19 refs., 41 figs., 13 tabs.

Implementation of major farm and food program changes enacted last year under omnibus farm (P.L.104-127) and welfare (P.L.104-193) measures is likely to draw the attention of the 105th Congress. The size and cost of these programs also could make them a target for reductions in congressional efforts to balance the budget.

Federal R&D funding at academic institutions totals over $10 billion annually. About one-third pays for indirect costs or overhead; the rest supports the direct costs of conducting R&D. On May 8, 1996, OMB revised Circular A-21, governing indirect costs policies, to change the designation "indirect costs" to "facilities and administrative costs" (F&A). The Departments of Defense and of Health and Human Services negotiate to determine indirect cost rates with about 96% of U.S. and audit compliance -- DOD with a few schools and HHS with hundreds. F&A costs encompass such items as facilities maintenance and renewal, heating and cooling, libraries, salaries of administrators, and student support.

Residual stresses and strains in a tube with circumferential weld overlay were analyzed by the finite element (FE) method. The objective of this work was to develop and verify a FE model, to determine the magnitude and distribution of residual stresses in the weld overlay tube, and to evaluate the significance of two contributing factors to residual stress: (1) difference in material properties between tube and weld material, and (2) thermal gradients in the weld. An axisymmetric FE model was developed to simulate the circumferential two-layer welding process of alloy 625 overlay on SA210 tube. The first layer was modeled as a gas metal arc welding process with filler metal, whereas the autogenous gas tungsten arc welding process was modeled for the second layer. Neutron diffraction technique was used to experimentally determine residual elastic strains in the weld overlay tube. Comparison with the FE results shows overall good agreement. Both the experimental and FE results show high compressive stresses at the inside tube surface and high tensile stresses in the weld overlay. This suggests that weld overlay may be used to relieve tensile or produce compressive stresses at the inside tube surface, which is significant for applications where crack initiation …

This safety assessment was required to complete the evaluation of a USQ for the storage and use of phosphoric acid in B Plant.

Compilation of monthly reports from departments in the city of San Antonio, Texas providing statistics, project updates, and other information about services and activities.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Field investigation of the Kootenai valley-fill sandstones was begun in the first quarter. About one half of the outcrop belt was inventoried for occurrences of channel sandstone before heavy snows came to the area. Five exposures of valley-fill sandstone have been located, of these two are 15 meters (50 feet) or greater in thickness and have excellent porosity and permeability. These will be measured and studied in detail during the next field season (1997). No further field work was possible during the second quarter because of snow cover. Subsurface data is being collected, organized, and a digital database is being prepared for the project. A collection of most of the oil and gas well logs for the Crow Reservation area was donated to the project by a company that had initiated an exploration program on the reservoir several years ago. Geographix petroleum software will probably be used to manage and manipulate the data. Regional subsurface cross sections are being constructed for correlation purposes. All of the four 30 ft. x 60 ft. geologic quadrangles, the Billings, Bridger, Hardin, and Lodge Grass, have been scanned to produce a digital surface geologic data base for the Crow Reservation. These maps are currently …

Responding to a need to include realistic chemistry and ionization in the driven plasmas in plasma-aided manufacture, we became convinced that existing computational tools were not able to fulfill our requirements. In response to this, we invented an entirely new approach to such problems. Our approach is to generalize the capabilities of existing methods: Particle-In-Cell (PIC) contains the required details of the distributions but becomes overwhelming expensive when applied to realistic, multidimensional problems. The common alternative, the hydrodynamic model, has simply lost the ability to model this science because of the simple fluid assumption. Our solution, GAPH (for Grid and Particle Hydrodynamics), retains the kinetic capabilities of PIC while using fluid concepts within each particle to control the incredible expense. The coupling of these two methods has resulted in a very powerful new algorithm that is now being applied to a range of programmatic problems throughout LLNL that now far outstrips the initial applications area.

A CRADA with Kevex Instruments was carried out to develop improved XRMF instrumentation for the nondestructive analysis of electronic components during manufacture. Experiments conducted at Y-12 proved the feasibility of a new Kevex x-ray tube design. Tests also show that the current commercial supply of straight glass capillaries is unreliable; however, other vendors of tapered single and multiple glass capillaries were identified. The stability of the Y-12 x-ray microprobe was significantly enhanced as a result of this CRADA.

Low-frequency electromagnetic simulation models have a wide range of industrial applications. We have built several models, differentiated by slightly different physics approximations or computational solution methods, that have proven quite useful in a variety of applications. Our models been used to investigate beam plasma interactions in ICF targets, antenna plasma coupling in plasma processing, and magnetic implosion drive in Z-pinch pulsed power generators. The common feature of these models is that they retain inductive effects but implicitly ignore computationally intensive, fully electromagnetic effects. However, the preponderance of our work has been limited to only two dimensions. We have made significant progress modeling low-frequency electromagnetic physics with a new model in 2-D that is now capable of modeling antenna structures in 3-D. Although LLNL`s interest in plasma processing has diminished, we have certainly added to LLNL`s capabilities. Interestingly, we have already found another application, the magnetic behavior of read/write heads in the magnetic storage industry, that can make use of many of the computational methods described here, rewarding us again for maintaining a strong core competency in low-frequency EM plasmas.

There has been an accelerating national interest in countering nuclear smuggling. This has caused a corresponding expansion of interest in the use of gamma-ray spectrometers for checkpoint monitoring, nuclear search, and within networks of nuclear and collateral sensors. All of these are fieldable instruments--ranging from large, fixed portal monitors to hand-held and remote monitoring equipment. For operational reasons, detectors with widely varying energy resolution and detection efficiency will be employed. In many instances, such instruments must be sensitive to weak signals, always capable of recognizing the gamma-ray signatures from nuclear weapons materials (NWM), often largely insensitive to spectral alteration by radiation transport through intervening materials, capable of real-time implementation, and able to discriminate against signals from commonly encountered legitimate gamma-ray sources, such as radiopharmaceuticals. Several decades of experience in classified programs have shown that all of these properties are not easily achieved and successful approaches were of limited scope--such as the detection of plutonium only. This project was originally planned as a two-year LDRD-ER. Since funding for 1997 was not sustained, this is a report of the first year's progress.

This report documents activities carried in support of the design and construction of an ultra-high precision measuring machine intended for the support of Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography development (for semiconductor fabrication). At the outset, this project was aimed at the overall fabrication of such a measuring machine. Shortly after initiation, however, the scope of activities was reduced and effort was concentrated on the key technical advances necessary to support such machine development: high accuracy surface sensing and highly linear distance interferometry.

Congressional debate over U.S. population assistance policy was quite contentious in the 104th Congress. House and Senate differences over abortion restrictions and United Nations population programs were such that the 104th Congress was not able to agree to a final, long-term resolution on what level of abortion restrictions should govern U.S. international family planning assistance. Instead, House, Senate, and White House negotiators eventually reached a settlement that did not directly address the abortion issue. The settlement, included in the FY1997 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations measure, represented more of a temporary solution to the family planning issue requiring further presidential and congressional action in February 1997.

The Pre/Post-Strike Atmospheric Assessment System was proposed to show the importance of local meteorological conditions in the vicinity of a site suspected of storing or producing toxic agents and demonstrate a technology to measure these conditions, specifically wind fields. The ability to predict the collateral effects resulting from an attack on a facility containing hazardous materials is crucial to conducting effective military operations. Our study approach utilized a combination of field measurements with dispersion modeling to better understand which variables in terrain and weather were most important to collateral damage predictions. To develop the PAAS wind-sensing technology, we utilized a combination of emergent and available technology from micro-Doppler and highly coherent laser systems. The method used for wind sensing is to probe the atmosphere with a highly coherent laser beam. As the beam probes, light is back-scattered from particles entrained in the air to the lidar transceiver and detected by the instrument. Any motion of the aerosols with a component along the beam axis leads to a Doppler shift of the received light. Scanning in a conical fashion about the zenith results in a more accurate and two-dimensional measurement of the wind velocity. The major milestones in the benchtop system …

The subject analyses were conducted on 3 critical locations on the lower flange of the load-beam of the Ederer 5 ton and 4 ton cranes in the D.A.F. facility. An expression for the fatigue-crack growth behavior of ferritic-pearlitic constructional steels (``Barsom Equation``) was used in place of the previously used equation to describe fatigue-crack growth behavior in this steel (base-line equation) to evaluate the effects of varying the fatigue-crack growth rate. Results appear that: (1) Propagation of a 1/4-in. long flaw, previously undetected by NDE, to a length sufficient to cause failure of either flange, should not occur in at least 70.8 times the postulated operating scenario, down from 104 times as calculated using the base line equation. (2) Should each crane undergo annual inspection, any surface flaw with a length greater than 1.10 in. should be removed and repaired by qualified and approved repair procedures. This flaw length has increased from a surface flaw length of 0.9 in. (base line equation). (3) The indicated change in empirically measured fatigue-crack growth equation did not adversely affect the previous work on modeling fatigue performance of these cranes.

This report was written to comply with the objectives of the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, Tri-Party Agreement Milestone M-43-03 Provide to the Washington State Department of Ecology and Department of Health the Results of the Single-Shell Tank Ventilation Upgrades Needs Analysis. The needs analysis consists of identifying the current type and status of each single-shell tank ventilation system, identifying current and projected authorization basis requirements, and identifying ventilation system compliance deficiencies.

This document summarizes the information on the historical uses, present status, and the sampling and analysis results of waste stored in Tank 241-B-201. This report supports the requirements of the Ri- Party Agreement Milestone M-44-05.

Newsletter of the Texas Department of Health discussing the news, activities, and events of the organization and other information related to health in Texas.

Argonne National Laboratory and Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company have jointly participated in the Department of Energy`s (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Transuranic Waste Characterization Program since 1990. Intrusive examinations have been conducted in the Waste Characterization Area, located at Argonne-West in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on over 200 drums of mixed contact-handled transuranic waste. This is double the number of drums characterized since the last update at the 1995 Waste Management Conference. These examinations have provided waste characterization information that supports performance assessment of WIPP and that supports Lockheed`s compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Operating philosophies and corresponding regulatory permits have been broadened to provide greater flexibility and capability for waste characterization, such as the provision for minor treatments like absorption, neutralization, stabilization, and amalgamation. This paper provides an update on Argonne`s intrusive characterization permits, procedures, results, and lessons learned. Other DOE sites that must deal with mixed contact-handled transuranic waste have initiated detailed planning for characterization of their own waste. The information presented herein could aid these other storage and generator sites in further development of their characterization efforts.

Selected fuel elements stored in both ``good fuel`` and ``bad fuel`` canisters in K East Basin were extracted and visually examined full length for damage. Lower end damage in the ``bad fuel`` canisters was found to be more severe than expected based on top end appearances. Lower end damage for the ``good fuel`` canisters, however, was less than expected based on top end observations. Since about half of the fuel in K East Basin is contained in ``good fuel`` canisters based on top end assessments, the fraction of fuel projected to be intact with respect to IPS processing considerations remains at 50% based on these examination results.

Over 250 fuel assemblies stored in sealed canisters in the K West Basin were extracted and visually examined for damage. Substantial damage was expected based on high cesium levels previously measured in water samples taken from these canisters. About 11% of the inner elements and 45% of the outer elements were found to be failed in these examinations. Canisters that had cesium levels of I curie or more generally had multiple instances of major fuel damage.

Quarterly newsletter of the Community Resource Coordination Groups of Texas discussing news and events, work of the CRCGs, and other information related to the coordination of medical and social services for juveniles who need specialized care.

HfO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} Brewster`s angle polarizers are being developed at LLNL for the National Ignition Facility. Damage threshold studies using a 3-ns pulse length 1064-nm laser have revealed a number of different damage morphologies such as nodular ejection pits, plasma scalds, flat bottom pits, and overcoat delaminations. Of these laser damage morphologies, delaminations have the most negative impact on the multilayer stability. By selecting the proper SiO{sub 2} overcoat thickness, the delamination morphology is eliminated without significantly modifying the spectra characteristics of the coating and the functional damage threshold is increased by 2-4x. A model of the thermal mechanical response of the overcoats is presented for various SiO{sub 2} overcoat thicknesses. The overcoat thickness influences the electric-field profile resulting in different thermal gradients between the outer SiO{sub 2} and HfO{sub 2} layers. This modeling effort attempts to understand the relation between the thermal stress distribution in the overcoat and the occurrence of delamination.