A test methodology for measuring temperature, impedance, pH, and electrochemical potential distributions within a sludge-packed tube support plate crevice in a laboratory test is described. The method successfully showed that there were large concentration gradients between the tube and tube support plate sides of the crevice. The testing also showed that strong bases concentrated more effectively than strong acids, and that the crevice pH, when exposed to seawater-based solutions, increased with increasing superheat and decreasing bulk concentration. The large variations in the crevice chemistry observed under heat transfer were eliminated upon shutdown. These new test data suggest that it might be beneficial to evaluate the variation in the extent of stress corrosion cracking with tube support plate elevation found in some steam generators in light of local chemistry changes, as well as the variation in tubing temperature. Because of the large crevice chemistry gradients during boiling heat transfer and their subsequent homogenization upon test shutdown, the results suggest reassessing the use of hideout return measurements and tube deposit analyses in industry to infer the crevice chemistry under heat transfer conditions.

This field investigation was undertaken to determine the present condition of sediment in Lauritzen Channel and Parr Canal approximately 2 years after completion of sediment remedial actions at the United Heckathorn Superfund site. The study was designed to supplement the post-remediation monitoring program by determining the extent and identifying potential sources of observed pesticide contamination in marine sediments near the site. Core samples collected from Lauritzen Channel and Parr Canal in July 1999 were described geologically, and samples were prepared from different sediment types, such as younger bay mud or older bay mud. Sediment samples were analyzed for grain size, organic carbon, and DDT compounds. Only minor changes have occurred in Parr Canal since remedial actions were taken in 1996-1997, but in Lauritzen Channel, DDT concentrations exceed the remedial goal of 590 ug/kg dry weight in nearly all the unconsolidated sediment (younger bay mud, sand, and disturbed older bay mud). The source of contaminated sediment could not be confirmed by this study; there was no clear correlation between high DDT concentrations and sediment remaining between the pilings, as was originally suspected. There also was no correlation between high DDT concentrations in sediment and the locations of outfalls, although some of …

Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) technology has been pioneered at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for applications in personnel radiation dosimetry and commercially has become highly successful in replacing older technologies such as Thermoluminescence Dosimeters (TLDs) and film. OSL phosphors are used to measure radiation exposure by illuminating them with light after ionizing radiation exposure and measuring the amount of light emitted by the OSL phosphor. By using a two-dimensional plate of OSL material and raster scanning a light beam across the OSL plate a radiation pattern or image can be measured. The Arms Control community requires an electrons-free medium to measure the attributes of extent and symmetry on Pu pits in storage containers. OSL technology, used in the two-dimensional imaging mode, provides a means to measure these attributes with exposure times on the order of an hour. A special OSL reader has been built by PNNL to measure OSL imaging plates with a size of 20 cm by 30 cm. The reader uses 10 light emitting diode clusters with 10 corresponding photomultiplier tubes to measure an OSL imaging plate in less than 5 minutes. The resolution of each of the 10 measurement assemblies is 1 square-centimeter. A collimator assembly …

Since the mid-1980s, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has been participating in the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA's) efforts to mitigate for the negative impacts to fish and wildlife resulting from the development and operation of the 7 Columbia Basin Federal Hydropower System. BPA's mitigation obligations were formally recognized and mandated by the Northwest Power Act of 1980 and are guided by the Northwest Power Planning Council's (NWPPC's) Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. BPA funds fish and wildlife projects throughout the Basin to meet the habitat and population restorative goals and objectives outlined in the NWPPC's Fish and Wildlife Program and to fulfill its mitigation responsibilities under the Power Act. Impacts to wildlife resulting from hydrofacility construction/inundation were estimated using Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) in the mid and late 1980s and are documented in BPA' s Wildlife Loss Assessments (Rasmussen and Wright 1990,a,b,c,d) and in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lower Snake River Wildlife Habitat Compensation Evaluation (ACOE 1991). The loss assessments provided estimates of lost habitat quality and quantity for the target species selected to represent the habitat cover types impacted by hydropower construction/inundation. The NWPPC incorporated these losses into their Fish and Wildlife Program, …

Reactor vessel internal components made of nickel-base alloys are susceptible to environmentally assisted cracking (EAC). A better understanding of the causes and mechanisms of this cracking may permit less conservative estimates of damage accumulation and requirements on inspection intervals. The objective of this work is to evaluate and compare the resistance of Alloys 600 and 690 and their welds, such as Alloys 82, 182, 52, and 152, to EAC in simulated light water reactor environments. The existing crack growth rate (CGR) data for these alloys under cyclic and constant loads have been evaluated to establish the effects of alloy chemistry, cold work, and water chemistry. The experimental fatigue CGRs are compared with CGRs that would be expected in air under the same mechanical loading conditions to obtain a qualitative understanding of the degree and range of conditions for significant environmental enhancement in growth rates. The existing stress corrosion cracking (SCC) data on Alloys 600 and 690 and Alloy 82, 182, and 52 welds have been compiled and analyzed to determine the influence of key parameters on growth rates in simulated PWR and BWR environments. The SCC data for these alloys have been evaluated with correlations developed by Scott and by …

There are many terms that are used in association with the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Transparency Project associated with the Mayak Fissile Materials Storage Facility. This is a collection of proposed definitions of these terms.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is considering the possible recommendation of a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for development as a geologic repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. To facilitate public review and comment, in May 2001 the DOE released the Yucca Mountain Science and Engineering Report (S&ER) (DOE 2001 [DIRS 153849]), which presents technical information supporting the consideration of the possible site recommendation. The report summarizes the results of more than 20 years of scientific and engineering studies. A decision to recommend the site has not been made: the DOE has provided the S&ER and its supporting documents as an aid to the public in formulating comments on the possible recommendation. When the S&ER (DOE 2001 [DIRS 153849]) was released, the DOE acknowledged that technical and scientific analyses of the site were ongoing. Therefore, the DOE noted in the Federal Register Notice accompanying the report (66 FR 23013 [DIRS 155009], p. 2) that additional technical information would be released before the dates, locations, and times for public hearings on the possible recommendation were announced. This information includes: (1) the results of additional technical studies of a potential repository at Yucca Mountain, contained …

Large distributed systems, such as computational grids,require a large amount of monitoring data be collected for a variety oftasks, such as fault detection, performance analysis, performance tuning,performance prediction and scheduling. Ensuring that all necessarymonitoring is turned on and that the data is being collected can be avery tedious and error-prone task. We have developed an agent-basedsystem to automate the execution of monitoring sensors and the collectionof event data.

Adaptive management consists in patterning human sustenancewithin the constraints of Earth and biological systems whose behavior isinherently uncertain and difficult to control. For successful adaptivemanagement, a mind-set recognizing the limitations of science isneeded.

We describe the goals and research program leading to the Heavy Ion Integrated Research Experiment (IRE). We review the basic constraints which lead to a design and give examples of parameters and capabilities of an IRE. We also show design tradeoffs generated by the systems code IBEAM.

This report summarizes the results of Phase II of this program, 'Low-Cost Manufacturing Of Multilayer Ceramic Fuel Cells'. The objective of the program is to develop advanced ceramic manufacturing technologies for making planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) components that are more economical and reliable for a variety of applications. Phase II development work focused on three distinct manufacturing approaches (or tracks) for planar solid oxide fuel cell elements. Two development tracks, led by NexTech Materials and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, involved co-sintering of planar SOFC elements of cathode-supported and anode-supported variations. A third development track, led by the University of Missouri-Rolla, focused on a revolutionary approach for reducing operating temperature of SOFCs by using spin-coating to deposit ultra-thin, nano-crystalline YSZ electrolyte films. The work in Phase II was supported by characterization work at Ohio State University. The primary technical accomplishments within each of the three development tracks are summarized. Track 1--NexTech's targeted manufacturing process for planar SOFC elements involves tape casting of porous electrode substrates, colloidal-spray deposition of YSZ electrolyte films, co-sintering of bi-layer elements, and screen printing of opposite electrode coatings. The bulk of NexTech's work focused on making cathode-supported elements, although the processes developed at NexTech also …

BP Corporation North America, Inc. (BP) currently operates a nitrogen enhanced recovery project for coal bed methane at the Tiffany Field in the San Juan Basin, Colorado. The project is the largest and most significant of its kind wherein gas is injected into a coal seam to recover methane by competitive adsorption and stripping. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) and BP both recognize that this process also holds significant promise for the sequestration of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, while economically enhancing the recovery of methane from coal. BP proposes to conduct a CO2 injection pilot at the tiffany Field to assess CO2 sequestration potential in coal. For its part the INEEL will analyze information from this pilot with the intent to define the Co2 sequestration capacity of coal and its ultimate role in ameliorating the adverse effects of global warming on the nation and the world.

Results are presented of a fully ab initio calculation of impact ionization rates in GaAs within the density functional theory framework, using a screened-exchange formalism and the highly precise all-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method. The calculated impact ionization rates show a marked orientation dependence in k space, indicating the strong restrictions imposed by the conservation of energy and momentum. This anisotropy diminishes as the impacting electron energy increases. A Keldysh type fit performed on the energy-dependent rate shows a rather soft edge and a threshold energy greater than the direct band gap. The consistency with available Monte Carlo and empirical pseudopotential calculations shows the reliability of our approach and paves the way to ab initio calculations of pair production rates in new and more complex materials.

The Big Island site is located in the McKenzie River flood plain, containing remnant habitats of what was once more common in this area. A diverse array of flora and fauna, representing significant wildlife habitats, is present on the site. Stands of undisturbed forested wetlands, along with riparian shrub habitats and numerous streams and ponds, support a diversity of wildlife species, including neotropical migratory songbirds, raptors, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians (including two State-listed Sensitive Critical species). The project is located in eastern Springfield, Oregon (Figure 1). The project area encompasses 187 acres under several ownerships in Section 27 of Township 17S, Range 2W. Despite some invasion of non-native species, the site contains large areas of relatively undisturbed wildlife habitat. Over several site visits, a variety of wildlife and signs of wildlife were observed, including an active great blue heron rookery, red-Legged frog egg masses, signs of beaver, and a bald eagle, Wildlife habitat values resulting from the purchase of this site will contribute toward the goal of mitigating for habitat lost as outlined in the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) Mitigation and Enhancement Plan for the Willamette River Basin. Under this Plan, mitigation goals and objectives were developed as a result …

First-order reliability methodology (FORM) is used to develop reliability-based design factors for deterministic analyses of stress corrosion cracking. The basic elements of FORM as applied to structural reliability problems are reviewed and then employed specifically to stress corrosion cracking evaluations. Failure due to stress corrosion cracking is defined as crack initiation followed by crack growth to a critical depth. The stress corrosion cracking process is thus represented in terms of a crack initiation time model and a crack growth rate model, with the crack growth rate integrated from the initiation time to the time at which the crack grows to its critical depth. Both models are described by log-normal statistical distribution functions. A procedure is developed to evaluate design factors that are applied to the mean values of the crack initiation time and the crack growth rate for specified temperature and stress conditions. The design factors, which depend on the standard deviations of the statistical distributions, are related to a target reliability, which is inversely related to an acceptable probability of failure. The design factors are not fixed, but are evaluated on a case-to-case basis for each application. The use of these design factors in a deterministic analysis assures that …

Transmission Electron Microscopy developed from an imagingtool into a quantitative electron beam characterization tool that locallyaccesses structure, chemistry, and bonding in materials with sub Angstromresolution. Experiments utilize coherently and incoherently scatteredelectrons. In this contribution, the interface between gallium nitrideand sapphire as well as thin silicon gate oxides are studied tounderstand underlying physical processes and the strength of thedifferent microscopy techniques. An investigation of the GaN/sapphireinterface benefits largely from the application of phase contrastmicroscopy that makes it possible to visualize dislocation corestructures and single columns of oxygen and nitrogen at a closest spacingof 85 pm. In contrast, it is adequate to investigate Si/SiOxNy/poly-Siinterfaces with incoherently scattered electrons and electronspectroscopy because amorphous and poly crystalline materials areinvolved. Here, it is demonstrated that the SiOxNy/poly-Si interface isrougher than the Si/SiOx interface, that desirable nitrogen diffusiongradients can be introduced into the gate oxide, and that a nitridationcoupled with annealing increases its physical width while reducing theequivalent electrical oxide thickness to values approaching 1.2 nm.Therefore, an amorphous SiNxOy gate dielectric seems to be a suitablesubstitute for traditional gate oxides to further increase device speedby reducing dimensions in Si technology.

The primary objective of the Advanced Emissions Control Development Program (AECDP) is to develop practical, cost-effective strategies for reducing the emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs, or air toxics) from coal-fired boilers. This objective is being met by identifying ways to effectively control air toxic emissions through the use of conventional flue gas cleanup equipment such as electrostatic precipitators (ESPs), fabric filters (fabric filters), and wet flue gas desulfurization (wet FGD) systems. Development work initially concentrated on the capture of trace metals, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride. Recent work has focused almost exclusively on the control of mercury emissions.

To support the corrosion study for Tank 241-AN-107, corrosion coupons consisting of C-rings and pins were removed from four detectors of the corrosion probe retrieved from the tank. The detectors were located as follows: one in the sludge layer, one in the liquid layer, one in the lower head space and the last in the upper head space. ASTM Method G-190 was used to determine the amount of corrosion product present.

Steigenvald Lake National Wildlife Refuge (NWR, refuge) was established as a result of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) transferring ownership of the Stevenson tract located in the historic Steigerwald Lake site to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS, Service) for the mitigation of the fish and wildlife losses associated with the construction of a second powerhouse at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River and relocation of the town of North Bonneville (Public Law 98-396). The construction project was completed in 1983 and resulted in the loss of approximately 577 acres of habitat on the Washington shore of the Columbia River (USFWS, 1982). The COE determined that acquisition and development of the Steigenvald Lake area, along with other on-site project management actions, would meet their legal obligation to mitigate for these impacts (USCOE, 1985). Mitigation requirements included restoration and enhancement of this property to increase overall habitat diversity and productivity. From 1994 to 1999, 317 acres of additional lands, consisting of four tracts of contiguous land, were added to the original refuge with Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) funds provided through the Washington Wildlife Mitigation Agreement. These tracts comprised Straub (191 acres), James (90 acres), Burlington Northern …

Zircaloy cladding tubes strain in-situ during service life in the corrosive environment of a Pressurized Water Reactor for a variety of reasons. First, the tube undergoes stress free growth due to the preferential alignment of irradiation induced vacancy loops on basal planes. Positive strains develop in the textured tubes along prism orientations while negative strains develop along basal orientations (Reference (a)). Second, early in life, free standing tubes will often shrink by creep in the diametrical direction under the external pressure of the water environment, but potentially grow later in life in the diametrical direction once the expanding fuel pellet contacts the cladding inner wall (Reference (b)). Finally, the Zircaloy cladding absorbs hydrogen as a by product of the corrosion reaction (Reference (c)). Once above the solubility limit in Zircaloy, the hydride precipitates as zirconium hydride (References (c) through (j)). Both hydrogen in solid solution and precipitated as Zirconium hydride cause a volume expansion of the Zircaloy metal (Reference (k)). Few studies are reported on that have investigated the influence that in-situ clad straining has on corrosion of Zircaloy. If Zircaloy corrosion rates are governed by diffusion of anions through a thin passivating boundary layer at the oxide-to-metal interface (References …

Idaho National Laboratory is experimenting with electrical neutron generators, as potential replacements for californium-252 radioisotopic neutron sources in its PINS prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) system for the identification of military chemical warfare agents and explosives. In addition to neutron output, we have recently measured the x-ray output of the Thermo Scientific P385 deuterium-deuterium neutron generator. X-rays are a normal byproduct from a neutron generator and depending on their intensity and energy they can interfere with gamma rays from the object under test, increase gamma-spectrometer dead time, and reduce PGNAA system throughput. The P385 x-ray energy spectrum was measured with a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector, and a broad peak is evident at about 70 keV. To identify the source of the x-rays within the neutron generator assembly, it was scanned by collimated scintillation detectors along its long axis. At the strongest x-ray emission points, the generator also was rotated 60° between measurements. The scans show the primary source of x-ray emission from the P385 neutron generator is an area 60 mm from the neutron production target, in the vicinity of the ion source. Rotation of the neutron generator did not significantly alter the x-ray count rate, and the x-ray …

The Federal Emergency Management System (FEMIS) is an emergency management planning and response tool. The FEMIS Data Management Guide provides the information needed to manage the data used to support the administrative, user-environment, database management, and operational capabilities of FEMIS.

Presented at the 2001 NCPV Program Review Meeting: Comparative studies of dynamics of photoexcited carriers in range of Si-based materials of interest for PV applications.

Quarterly newsletter from DOE's Office of Industrial Technologies to promote the use of energy-efficient industrial systems. This issue's focus is alternative power sources.