The DOE Geothermal Research Program Update reports contain a fair amount of technical detail and management information at the individual project level. (DJE 2005)

The mission of the Engineering Research, Development, and Technology Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is to develop the knowledge base, process technologies, specialized equipment, tools and facilities to support current and future LLNL programs. Engineering's efforts are guided by a strategy that results in dual benefit: first, in support of Department of Energy missions, such as national security through nuclear deterrence; and second, in enhancing the collaboration with US industry and universities in pursuit of the most cost-effective engineering solutions to LLNL programs. To accomplish this mission, the Engineering Research, Development, and Technology Program has two important goals: (1) identify key technologies relevant to LLNL programs where they can establish unique competencies, and (2) conduct high-quality research and development to enhance their capabilities and establish themselves as the world leaders in these technologies. To focus engineering's efforts, technology thrust areas are identified and technical leaders are selected for each area. The thrust areas are comprised of integrated engineering activities, staffed by personnel from the nine electronics and mechanical engineering divisions, and from other LLNL organizations. This annual report, organized by thrust area, describes Engineering's activities for fiscal year 1997. The report provides timely summaries of objectives, methods, and …

The annual summary report presents the fiscal year (FY) 1 997 research activities and accomplishments for the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Biological and Chemical Technologies Research (BCTR) Program. This BCTR program resides within the Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE). The annual summary report for 1997 (ASR 97) contains the following: program description (including BCTR program mission statement, historical background, relevance, goals and objectives); program structure and organization; selected technical and programmatic highlights for 1 997; detailed descriptions of individual projects; and a listing of program output, including a bibliography of published work, patents, and awards arising from work supported by the program.

Subsurface contamination from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been found at many Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DoD) and industrial sites due to the widespread use of organic solvents and hydrocarbon fuels. At ambient pressures and temperatures in the shallow subsurface, these substances are liquids that are immiscible with water; hence they are commonly designated as non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). At some DOE sites, NAPLs are the presumed source of groundwater contamination in fractured rocks, such as basalts (at Hanford and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL)), shales (Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant), and welded tuffs (Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)). The flow, transport and biodegradation processes controlling NAPL behavior in the vadose zone must be understood in order to establish the possible extent of contamination, the risk to groundwater supplies, and appropriate remediation action. This is particularly important in and sites with deep water tables (such as at Hanford, INEEL and LANL). In fractured rock aquifers, NAPL migration is likely to be dominated by the highly permeable pathways provided by rock fractures and joints. Two- and three-phase fluid phases may be present in vadose zone fractures, including NAPL-gas, NAPL-water (in regions of perched water) and NAPL-water-gas.

With the end of the cold war, funding for the Environmental Management program increased rapidly as nuclear weapons production facilities were shut down, cleanup responsibilities increased, and facilities were transferred to the cleanup program. As funding for the Environmental Management (EM) program began to level off in response to Administration and Congressional efforts to balance the Federal budget, the program redoubled its efforts to increase efficiency and get more productivity out of every dollar. Cost savings and enhanced performance are an integral pair of Hanford Site operations. FY1997 was the third year of a cost savings program that was initially defined in FY 1995. The definitions and process remained virtually the same as those used in FY 1996.

The Naval Petroleum Reserves in California (NPRC) are oil fields administered by the DOE in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California. Four federally endangered animal species and one federally threatened plant species are known to occur on NPRC: San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica), blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia silus), giant kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ingens), Tipton kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides), and Hoover`s wooly-star (Eriastrum hooveri). All five are protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. The DOE/NPRC is obliged to determine whether actions taken by their lessees on Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 2 (NPR-2) will have any effects on endangered species or their habitats. The primary objective of the Endangered Species and Cultural Resources Program is to provide NPRC with the scientific expertise necessary for compliance with the ESA, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The specific objective of this report is to summarize progress, results, and accomplishments of the program during fiscal year 1997 (FY97).

Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico, conducts the Energy Storage Systems Program, which is sponsored by the US Department of Energy`s Office of Utility Technologies. The goal of this program is to collaborate with industry in developing cost-effective electric energy storage systems for many high-value stationary applications. Sandia National Laboratories is responsible for the engineering analyses, contracted development, and testing of energy storage components and systems. This report details the technical achievements realized during fiscal year 1997. 46 figs., 20 tabs.

To model tank waste aging and interpret tank waste speciation results, the authors began measuring the reactivity of organic complexants and related compounds towards radiation-induced oxidation reactions. Because of the high efficiency of scavenging of the primary radicals of water radiolysis by nitrate and nitrite ion, the major radiolytically-generated radicals in these solutions, and in Hanford tank wastes, are NO{sub 2}, NO and O{sup {minus}}. Prior to this effort, little quantitative information existed for the reactions of these radicals with organic compounds such as those that were used in Hanford processes. Therefore, modeling of actual waste aging, or even simulated waste aging, was not feasible without measuring reactivities and determining reaction paths. The authors have made the first rate measurements of complexant aging and determined some of their degradation products.

This report summarizes the results from the 1997 irradiation of the corrosion insert at the LANSCE A6 Target Station. It addresses the corrosion measurements made on the in-beam Inconel 718 probe only. To simulate the environment that materials may be exposed to in a spallation neutron target/blanket cooling loops, samples were irradiated by the proton beam at the A6 Target Station of the Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center (LANSCE). EIS measurements have demonstrated that the polarization resistance of IN718 decreases from approximately 3 x 10{sup 5} ohms prior to irradiation to approximately 1,000 ohms during irradiation at a proton beam current of 400 {micro}A. From the polarization resistance measurements, corrosion rate as a function of beam current was calculated for several different scenarios of beam/sample interaction. As the beam spot was small relative to the size of the IN718 corrosion probe (2{sigma} = 3 cm vs. 1.3 cm diam. x 15.9 cm length respectively), The first method for calculating corrosion rate used beam profile as a criterion for the area of highest damage. The beam spot intensity profile at LANSCE has been characterized and found to be a Gaussian distribution rotated about a central axis. From this relationship, and R{sub …

Experimental cryogenic capabilities are essential for the study of ICF high-gain target and weapons effects issues involving dynamic materials response at low temperatures. This report describes progress during the period 2/97-11/97 on the FY97 LDRD project ``Cryogenic EOS Capabilities on Pulsed Radiation Sources (Z Pinch)``. The goal of this project is the development of a general purpose cryogenic target system for precision EOS and shock physics measurements at liquid helium temperatures on the Z accelerator Z-pinch pulsed radiation source. Activity during the FY97 LDRD phase of this project has focused on development of a conceptual design for the cryogenic target system based on consideration of physics, operational, and safety issues, design and fabrication of principal system components, construction and instrumentation of a cryogenic test facility for off-line thermal and optical testing at liquid helium temperatures, initial thermal testing of a cryogenic target assembly, and the design of a cryogenic system interface to the Z pulsed radiation source facility. The authors discuss these accomplishments as well as elements of the project that require further work.

The Government Management Reform Act and the Government Performance and Results Act both have the objective of ensuring that Federal government agencies are accountable to American taxpayers. This report provides a clear accounting of the return on the investment entrusted to the Department of Energy. Unlike previous annual reports prepared by the Department, this report is fashioned along the lines of a corporate report to the shareholders. Not only does this report contain audited financial statements for the fiscal year but it also describes what the shareholders, American taxpayers, received in the way of services and contributions to the important National goals this Administration and the Department have promised to provide. This report provides a progress report on how the Department is serving the country and how they are doing it for much lower cost.

This report present the results of FY 1997 technical studies conducted by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as part of the Hydrology and Radionuclide Migration Program (HRMP) and Underground Test Area Operable Unit (UGTA). The HRMP is sponsored by the US Department of Energy to assess the environmental (radiochemical and hydrologic) consequences of underground nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site.

The general purpose of the Grout Development Program is to solidify and stabilize the liquid low-activity wastes (LAW) generated at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP). It is anticipated that LAW will be produced from the following: (1) chemical separation of the tank farm high-activity sodium-bearing waste, (2) retrieval, dissolution, and chemical separation of the aluminum, zirconium, and sodium calcines, (3) facility decontamination processes, and (4) process equipment waste. Grout formulation studies for sodium-bearing LAW, including decontamination and process equipment waste, continued this fiscal year. A second task was to develop a grout formulation to solidify potential process residual heels in the tank farm vessels when the vessels are closed.