This document describes the condition of the multi-sensor cone penetrometer probe system at project termination.

'The report, Technical Basis for Safe Operations with Pu-239 Polymer in NMS S Operating Facilities (F H Areas), (WSRC-TR-99-00008) was issued in an effort to upgrade the Authorization Basis (AB) for H Area facilities relative to nuclear criticality. At the time, insufficient data were found in the literature to quantify the adsorption of Pu polymer onto the surfaces of stainless steel tanks. Additional experimental or literature information on the adsorption of Pu(IV) polymer and its removal was deemed necessary to support the H Area AB. The results obtained are also applicable to processing in F Area facilities.Additional literature sources suggest that adsorption on the tank walls should not be a safety concern. The sources show that the amount of Pu polymer that adsorbs from a solution comes to a limiting amount in 5 to 7 days after which no additional Pu is adsorbed. Adsorption increases with Pu concentration and decreases with acid concentration. The adsorbed amounts are small varying from 0.5 mg/cm2 for a 0.5 g/l Pu / 0.5M HNO3 solution to 11 mg/cm2 for a 1-3 g/l Pu / 0.1M HNO3 solution. Additionally, acid concentrations greater than 0.1M will remove a percentage of adsorbed Pu.The experimental results have generally …

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Semiweekly newspaper from Boerne, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Evidence for capillary waves at a liquid/vapor interface are presented from extensive molecular dynamics simulations of a system containing up to 1.24 million Lennard-Jones particles. Careful measurements show that the total interfacial width depends logarithmically on L{sub {parallel}}, the length of the simulation cell parallel to the interface, as predicted theoretically. The strength of the divergence of the interfacial width on L{sub {parallel}} depends inversely on the surface tension {gamma}. This allows us to measure {gamma} two ways since {gamma} can also be obtained from the difference in the pressure parallel and perpendicular to the interface. These two independent measures of {gamma} agree provided that the interfacial order parameter profile is fit to an error function and not a hyperbolic tangent, as often assumed. We explore why these two common fitting functions give different results for {gamma}.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Clifton, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Japanese automakers have introduced hybrid passenger cars in Japan and will soon do so in the US. In this paper, we report how we used early computer simulation model results to compare the commercial viability of a hypothetical near-term (next decade) hybrid mid-size passenger car configuration under varying fuel price and driving patterns. The fuel prices and driving patterns evaluated are designed to span likely values for major OECD nations. Two types of models are used. One allows the ''design'' of a hybrid to a specified set of performance requirements and the prediction of fuel economy under a number of possible driving patterns (called driving cycles). Another provides an estimate of the incremental cost of the hybrid in comparison to a comparably performing conventional vehicle. In this paper, the models are applied to predict the NPV cost of conventional gasoline-fueled vehicles vs. parallel hybrid vehicles. The parallel hybrids are assumed to (1) be produced at high volume, (2) use nickel metal hydride battery packs, and (3) have high-strength steel bodies. The conventional vehicle also is assumed to have a high-strength steel body. The simulated vehicles are held constant in many respects, including 0-60 time, engine type, aerodynamic drag coefficient, tire …

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

This is the final report of a three-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The detailed dynamics of an atom in a strong laser field is rich in both interesting physics and potential applications. The goal of this project was to develop a technique for characterizing high-field laser-plasma interactions with femtosecond resolution based on the direct measurement of the phase change of an optical pulse. The authors developed the technique of Multi-pulse Interferometric Frequency Resolved Optical Gating (MI-FROG), which recovers (to all orders) the phase difference between pumped and unpumped probe pulses, enabling the determination of sub-pulsewidth time-resolved phase and frequency shifts impressed by a pump pulse on a weak probe pulse. Using MI-FROG, the authors obtained the first quantitative measurements of high-field ionization rates in noble gases and diatomic molecules. They obtained agreement between the measured ionization rates an d those calculated for the noble gases and diatomic nitrogen and hydrogen using a one-dimensional fluid model and rates derived from tunneling theory. However, much higher rates are measured for diatomic oxygen than predicted by tunneling theory calculations.

This research and development contract has resulted in several benefits for Trace Engineering and the PV industry that are directly attributable to the PVMaT program: Application of the hardware based protection circuit developed in Phase I was completed on Trace's existing DR and SW series product lines. This additional protection circuit was phased into full production starting in April of 1997. This resulted in a substantial improvement in factory yields and a very significant reduction of field failures - a drop of as much as 80% on some product models. Accelerated development and introduction of the Power Module enclosure/balance of systems package. This product is a big step towards the standardization of system and equipment design for Trace's customers. Developed the cost reduced 2.5-kW modular inverter based on the current SW series software and topology. This new inverter/charger uses many new construction and manufacturing methods to reduce cost by 40%, simplify production, decrease parts count by over 20%, reduce labor required by 30%, and increase the flexibility in the manufacturing process. It will enter production in the first quarter of 1999 as the Trace Engineering PS series inverter/charger.

This is the final report of a one-year, Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program Development project at the Los Alamos National laboratory (LANL). The focus of this development has been an innovative beryllium air monitor for on-site' real-time continuous monitoring which overcomes limitations of the previous techniques for beryllium monitoring. A bench-top instrument has been set up and the performance of the instrument has been tested based on a solution aerosol. The sensitivity obtained with the instrument is sufficient to ensure workers can respond at airborne levels well below current exposure regulations. With this versatile, real-time monitor, worker exposure can be greatly reduced.

We present direct measurements of the neutral weak anomalous magnetic dipole moment, a{sub {tau}}{sup w}, and neutral weak electric dipole moment, d{sub {tau}}{sup w}, of the tau lepton. The dipole moments are measured by analyzing the decays of {tau} leptons produced in the annihilation of positrons and longitudinally polarized electrons on the Z boson resonance at the SLC. Using 6736 Z decays to {tau}{sup +} {tau}{sup {minus}} pairs elected from our 1993-1998 data sample we obtain Re(a{sub {tau}}{sup w}) = (0.26 {+-} 1.24) x 10{sup {minus}3}, Im(a{sub {tau}}{sup w}) = ({minus}0.02 {+-} 0.66) x 10{sup {minus}3}, Re(d{sub {tau}}{sup w}) = (0.18 {+-} 0.67) x 10 {sup {minus}17} e {center_dot} cm, and Im(D{sub {tau}}{sup w}) = ({minus}0.26 {+-} 0.37) x 10{sup {minus}17} e {center_dot} cm.

We consider the interface between a (100) silicon surface and several naturally occurring crystalline silicon dioxide (SiO{sub 2}-silica) polymorphs: {alpha}-quartz, {beta}-cristobalite, tridymite, and keatite. Using a classical empirical potential, we compute the strain energy required for epitaxy for each silica structure. Tridymite is the least energetically favorable epitaxial phase, followed by {alpha}-quartz, then {beta}-cristobalite, while the most energetically favorable phase is keatite. We discuss the implications of this for epitaxial growth, and the crystalline to amorphous transition within atomically thin silica layers.

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

A computational procedure for extracting substructure-by-substructure flexibility properties from global modal parameters is presented. The present procedure consists of two key features: an element-based direct flexibility method which uniquely determines the global flexibility without resorting to case-dependent redundancy selections; and, the projection of cinematically inadmissible modes that are contained in the iterated substructural matrices. The direct flexibility method is used as the basis of an inverse problem, whose goal is to determine substructural flexibilities given the global flexibility, geometrically-determined substructural rigid-body modes, and the local-to-global assembly operators. The resulting procedure, given accurate global flexibility, extracts the exact element-by-element substructural flexibilities for determinate structures. For indeterminate structures, the accuracy depends on the iteration tolerance limits. The procedure is illustrated using both simple and complex numerical examples, and appears to be effective for structural applications such as damage localization and finite element model reconciliation.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the effectiveness of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Weed and Seed Program, focusing on how: (1) the program is managed by DOJ's Executive Office for Weed and Seed (EOWS); (2) EOWS monitors local Weed and Seed sites to ensure that grant requirements are met; (3) EOWS determines when sites have become self-sustaining; and (4) EOWS and selected sites are measuring program results."

Weekly newspaper from Grandview, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

In the aftermath of the Cold War, the United States has begun addressing the environmental consequences of five decades of nuclear weapons production. In November 1989, DOE established the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) as the central authority for cleaning up the DOE weapons complex legacy of pollution, for preventing further environmental contamination, and for instituting responsible environmental management. While performing its tasks, EM found that many aspects of its large and complex mission could not be achieved using existing science and technology or without incurring unreasonable costs, risks, or schedule impacts. Consequently, a process was developed to solicit needs from around the DOE complex and focus the science and technology resources of EM-50, the National Laboratories, private industry, and colleges and universities on those needs. This document describes those needs that the Hanford Site has identified as requiring additional science or technology to complete.

Weekly newspaper from Sulphur Springs, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The implementation of a backscattered x-ray landmine detection system has been demonstrated in laboratories at both Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the University of Florida (UF) The next step was to evaluate the modality by assembling a system for fieldwork and to evaluate the systems performance with real landmines. To assess the system's response to a variety of objects, buried simulated plastic and metal antitank landmines, surface simulated plastic antipersonnel landmines, and surface metal fragments were used as targets for the field test. The location of the test site was an unprepared field at SNL. The tests conducted using real landmines were held at UF using various burial depths. The field tests yielded the same levels of discrimination between soil and landmines that had been detected in laboratory experiments. The tests on the real landmines showed that the simulated landmines were a good approximation. The real landmines also contained internal features that would allow not only the detection of the landmines, but also the identification of them.

We present a direct measurement of the parity-violation parameter A{sub c}. The measurement is based on 550k Z{sup 0} decays collected by the SLD detector. The mean electron-beam polarization is |P{sub e}| = 73%. The tagging of c-quark events was performed using two methods: The exclusive reconstruction of D*{sup +}, D{sup +}, and D{sup 0} mesons, and the inclusive P{sub T} spectrum of soft-pions ({pi}{sub s}) in the decay of D*{sup +} {yields} D{sup 0}{pi}{sub s}{sup +}. The results of these two methods are combined to give A{sub c} = 0.688 {+-} 0.035(stat.) {+-} 0.025(sys.) (preliminary).

This paper examines the correlation between mechanical properties and the density, phase, and hydrogen content of deposited alumina layers, and compares them to those of sapphire and amorphous alumina synthesized through ion-beam irradiation of sapphire. Alumina films were deposited using electron beam evaporation of aluminum and co-bombardment with O{sub 2}{sup +} ions (30-230 eV) from an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma. The H content and phase were controlled by varying the deposition temperature and the ion energy. Sapphire was amorphized at 84 K by irradiation with Al and O ions (in stoichiometric ratio) to a defect level of 4 dpa in order to form an amorphous layer 370 nm thick. Nanoindentation was performed to determine the elastic modulus, yield strength and hardness of all materials. Sapphire and amorphized sapphire have a higher density and exhibit superior mechanical properties in comparison to the deposited alumina films. Density was determined to be the primary factor affecting the mechanical properties, which showed only a weak correlation to the hydrogen content.

The effect of shrapnel on target chamber components and experiments at large lasers such as the National Ignition Facility at LLNL and the Megajoule Laser at CESTA in France is an important issue in fielding targets and exposure samples. Modeling calculations are likely to be an important component of this effort. Some work in this area has been performed by French workers, who are collaborating with the LLNL on many issues relating to target chamber, experiment-component, and diagnostics survival. Experiments have been performed at the Phebus laser in France to measure shrapnel produced by laser-driven targets; among these shots were experiments that accelerated spheres of a size characteristic of some of the more damaging shrapnel. These spheres were stopped in polyethylene witness plates. The penetration depth is characteristic of the velocity of the shrapnel. Experimental calibration of steel sphere penetration into polyethylene was performed at the CESTA facility. The penetration depth has been reported (ref. 1) and comparisons with modeling calculations have been made (ref. 2). There was interest in a comparison study of the modeling of these experiments to provide independent checks of the calculations. This work has been approved both by DOE headquarters and by the French Atomic …